"So what else can you do? Can you like, feel vibrations in the ground, sense people approaching? Think I watched a cartoon with something like that when I was younger . . ."

"I don't know," Alec said flatly. He and Damon had just had their fourth narrow escape so far, having been confronted by a Poseidon fourth-year named Derwin Humptee, a very tall, very large boy, with a rather peculiar ability that allowed him to create and launch egg-like projectiles that emitted great plumes of toxic gas when broken by first chewing on a large amount of sustenance and seemingly transforming the chewed meal, then spitting it out, on top of enhanced strength.

Damon had defeated him with nothing more than regular hand-to-hand combat, and he and Alec were now hurrying down a new passageway, trying to find a safe place to rest.

"Though if I could, I'd probably have sensed the giant," Alec continued pensively. "And anyways, why should I tell you? Don't think I don't know what you're doing."

"Oh, please, share with the rest of the class. What am I doing?"

"You're hiding your powers," Alec said, barely keeping a note of accusation from his voice. "Trying to keep me from seeing what you can really do. That's why you fought Humptee melee-style, and why you wanted us to stay out of sight, isn't it? To keep your powers out of sight?"

"Please," Damon scoffed. "I didn't use my powers because I didn't need to. We still have well over three hours to go and not only have I barely slept, I'm still hungry. I did it to conserve energy. But maybe you're right," he added after a second's pause. "Maybe I don't want to throw all my cards on the table just yet. But why shouldn't I try to keep my secrets? I'm competing in the Tournament, aren't I? Can't have my enemies seeing all my tricks. Unless," he went on, when Alec didn't reply, "you're not planning on entering?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Sure, take your time, the teachers will absolutely wait till next year to hear your answer," Damon said sarcastically.

Alec rolled his eyes, then came to an abrupt halt, staring around. He had just noticed something.

"What?" said Damon, stopping too. "Wait, have you actually sensed something?" he added eagerly.

"No, you idiot," Alec said, still looking around. "Haven't we just been through here?" Damon imitated him, casting a suspicious eye around their stretch of tunnel.

"That's where Humptee hit me." Alec pointed at the spot a short distance down the tunnel where the fourth-year boy had smashed his head into the wall; luckily, he had been wearing his stone armour at the time.

"You know, you might just be right, Hades," Damon said thoughtfully.

"How did we get back here? We left this place behind almost half an hour ago!"

"Are you quite sure?"

Alec started, feeling his heart leap into his throat. He and Damon whirled around, then blinked confusedly. Professor Laylor was standing in front of them.

She was the third teacher they had seen so far, the first, of course, being Professor Sheilds, the second Professor Kennedy from Criminal Justice, who they had found chasing a small knot of students a while back, all of whom ended up captured.

"Professor," said Damon, looking slightly nervous. He may have been the best in the year, but he was still quite inexperienced compared to their teachers.

"Hello, Damon, Alexander," she said pleasantly. "How nice to see you here, again."

"How did we get here?" Alec demanded. Professor Laylor threw him a sharp, questioning look and he recoiled. "Ma'am?" he added meekly.

"Well, you'll soon see," she said. "And sorry about this, boys. Just doing my job."

They waited apprehensively, but she didn't move.

"What exactly are you going to — dah!" Damon staggered, flying forward. Just before he hit the jagged floor he turned his fall into a roll and backflipped, landing in a crouch and looking up in shock at the area he'd just been standing, which Alec was now backing away from.

"What the heck was that?"

"Language, Mr. Michaels," scolded Professor Laylor. "And pay attention."

"Pay attention to — agh!" Just like Damon, he was struck mid-sentence by a heavy blow, falling towards the ground. Unfortunately, his gymnastic prowess was nowhere near as refined as Damon's; he splattered against the ground, and to his horror, his stone covering faded completely. He felt suddenly drained, vulnerable, naked.

Alec groaned, tasting blood in his mouth. Damon was slowly backing away from Professor Laylor, holding up both arms, one outstretched towards her, the other in Alec's direction, as though to ward off whatever invisible force had attacked them. Professor Laylor had not moved all this time. How had she done it? Was she perhaps telekinetic, like Ethan?

"Something the matter, dear?" she said kindly to Damon. He frowned at her, then immediately stiffened. Alec blinked, and almost missed it.

Damon suddenly leapt to the side, rolling again, and Alec heard a loud thud and a cry of "Ouch!" from where he had been standing. As Damon got to his feet beside him, Alec realized what was going on. Laylor was not alone: she had brought companions, and they were invisible.

"Are you going to get up or not?" Damon growled at him. "I know you're an earth-based Elemental but I doubt even you would be that fond of the taste of dirt!"

Alec scowled at him. Did Damon think he wanted to be lying here, prone on the ground, completely defenseless? His stomach was rumbling, his eyes itching with tiredness, and he had clearly overtaxed himself with his abilities: he simply couldn't move.

Damon took another swift dive downwards, then kicked out at thin air, which yelled out in pain; Alec heard the dull thud of another invisible ally crashing against the ground. Damon immediately swerved, dodging what must have been another blow, and Alec saw, for the first time, just why he'd always been said to be the best in the year. Even without using his powers, even without being able to see his enemies, he was maneuvering perfectly, not a single step out of place as he ducked and wove, striking out in turn. Another body tumbled to the ground as he performed a graceful spinning kick, this time landing beside Alec, who gasped. Slowly and tentatively, he reached out, and his hand brushed over what was unmistakably the silky material of the Helix uniform. As it did so, the air around him rippled and the boy came into view for a split second.

Ahead of them, Damon was still grappling with his invisible opponent, and behind them stood Professor Laylor, still stock-still, watching them with her arms behind her back. Alec had a sudden idea, inspired by a rather wild suspicion.

Digging his fingers into the ground again, he concentrated hard on the tunnel around them, remembering that day he and Dusty had found themselves caught up in the battle with Wildfire and Shadow Shifter. The whole tunnel began to shake violently. Huge cracks ripped along the walls, dust trickling from the wounds. It was the same as that night, except no pillars suddenly erupted from the ground. The tunnel simply quaked, the people ahead of him yelling out in terror as they were thrown every-which-way by the force, and Alec heard a metallic clatter as something else smashed against the unsteady tunnel wall.

The whole place shimmered, and Alec saw the dimly lit corridor in which he and Damon had fought Humptee fade, replaced by a new, gloomier, slightly narrower passage. What looked like the wreckage of a camera stand was flying around, and the invisible bodies came into view at last.

Alec stopped, his muscles aching. The tunnel settled, and after a minute or so, Damon recovered, pulling himself to his feet using one of the new cracks as an armhold, but Professor Laylor and her student accomplices lay dazed on the ground.

"Look," Damon said suddenly, pointing at the overturned camera stand. "It's a projector. The whole thing was an illusion. This place was cloaked, it's why we couldn't see anything, the projection was hiding them."

Alec struggled to his feet, imitating Messus and clutching the ragged wall for support.

"They're out cold," he said.

Damon shrugged. Before he could speak, the sound of racing feet met their ears, and a small group of people came hurtling around the corner: Ethan, Maddison, and a Poseidon student with long, silver hair, led by Javon.

"I knew it!" Javon said triumphantly. "Thought that was you, where else would a quake like that come from? And —" His eye passed over the surrounding bodies, he did a double take to see Damon as though wondering if he was seeing right, and his face fell. "What are you doing with him?" he said, pointing at him, sounding simultaneously scandalized and disgusted.

"Careful, Hades," Damon said, in a threatening sort ot voice. "We both know where this will lead, and it's not good for you." Javon's face twisted, and he looked as though he was about to retort defiantly. Before he could, however, Maddison spoke.

"Enough, Messus," she said, looking furious. "You're insulting a whole Dorm here, unless you want to see what the other Hades students are capable of?"

Their eyes locked, him looking calculating, her fierce. Then Damon smirked.

"All right, I get the picture," he said, holding up his arms in surrender. He looked down at Alec. "Well, was fun while it lasted, guess I'll see you around. Keep thinking about that other thing." He stuck his hands in his pockets and strode nonchalantly away, Maddison's eyes boring into the back of his neck all the while. She did not relax until his bright hair had disappeared around a corner.

"Good, now you can tell us what's been going on," Ethan said to Alec.

"I have no idea. I woke up with him in the corridor, and we ended up fighting together," Alec said. "That's about it." He tried to stand up, but his legs wobbled and he went crashing to the ground once more.

"Woah!" Javon started forward, but though he'd never reached him, Alec found himself suspended mid-fall, feeling a kind of tug on his body. Ethan's hand had shot out as well, using his psychic power to keep him steady. Javon took one look at the scene, understood what happened, and then grabbed hold of Alec. Settling him gently on the ground, he held one hand over his back, and energy streamed from his palm as it had done in the common area.

After a few minutes, Javon withdrew his hand. "Better?" he said.

"A lot, thanks!" Alec said, getting to his feet and flexing his now pain-free muscles. "By the way, who's she?" he added in a low voice, nodding towards the Poseidon girl, who was standing beside Maddison and gazing around at the unconscious students with interest.

"We met her about an hour back, she helped us out against Professor Elliott," Javon replied quietly. "Name's Serena. She was alone, so we just, you know." He ended with a shrug.

"All right, well, we should get out of here now," Maddison said. "The longer we wait, the more chance we have of being found."

"What about them?" Alec said.

Maddison stalked over to Professor Laylor, groped around in her pocket for a few seconds, then extracted a small badge-like object engraved with a large H. "Elliott had one," she said in reply to Alec’s questioning look. She tapped the badge and it began to beep. "It's a beacon, someone's going to be here soon to pick them up." She set the badge down beside the teacher and turned. "So let's go."

They hurried down the passage and turned right. They had barely started down the new tunnel, however, when they heard slow, heavy footsteps and a similar beeping to that of Laylor's device approaching from around the corner on the other end. A moment later Professor Duncan appeared before them, holding his own beacon in front of him, a wide smile on his face.

"Well, well, well . . . this does look fun."

"Of course," Alec muttered.

Duncan shut off his device and pinned the badge to the front of his uniform. "I have to say, it's impressive that you managed to last this long, most of my own Dorm has already been taken out."

"His Dorm?" Alec murmured. The silver-haired girl tapped the large, foam-white picture of the horse emblazoned across her back, the symbol of the Poseidon Dorm. Alec understood at once. So Wyatt was the Head of Hades, and Duncan was the Head of Poseidon, he thought. Did that mean Vera was the Head of Zeus?

"Anyway, there's a passage out of the maze just behind me," Professor Duncan continued. "You want to get out of here, you'll have to get past me first."

Maddison promptly assumed a defensive stance, her huge bone knives clutched in both hands. Ethan stood beside her, his hands at his sides, looking unusually avid. Alec joined them, while Javon and the Poseidon girl drew back.

"Well?" Duncan smirked. "Come and get me."

Almost before he had even finished talking, Maddison flung one of her knives; it whistled as it flew through the air, sailing towards his head. To Alec’s horror, the blade planted itself firmly between his eyes, the force knocked him backwards, and he went crashing to the ground, where he lay completely still.

There was a stunned pause. Professor Duncan did not stir.

"You . . . you killed him," Alec whispered, aghast. "You —"

"He's not dead," Serena said placidly. Alec looked quickly around at her, and she pointed past him, towards Duncan's body. "Look. No blood."

She was right. No scarlet fluid glittered in the pool of firelight washing over his face. The knife was wriggling in his forehead, as though coming loose. With a sudden groan, he sat up, and yanked the blade out. There was no wound on his forehead, no sign at all that he had been hit.

He chuckled as he got to his feet. "You're a feisty one, aren't you?" he said. He surveyed her more closely. "Yes, I remember you — Smith, wasn't it? Shame. You were pretty good. But you were only ever fit for Hades —"

Maddison let out a scream of fury and darted forward, her hair flying behind her. She kicked off from the ground and leapt through the air, high above the assessor, and she actually spat at him: a thick green fluid flew from her mouth, racing towards him: the inspector ducked, letting it fly over his head. It splattered against the wall and began to froth and bubble madly, leaving a gaping hole in its wake as it faded away.

Maddison landed and stormed towards Professor Duncan, her usual easy grace gone as she hacked and stabbed at him with clearly no intention of anything other than to cause him as much pain as possible. But he ducked around her strikes with speed quite impressive for a man his size, obviously more to taunt her than out of any necessity, but his foot ran over a loose rock, he stumbled, and her knife plunged into his chest.

For a moment, a triumphant smirk curled her lips. But then a look of shock and bewilderment crossed her face. His chest was contorting, melting into a viscous black slime.

The knife was sinking into it; she tried to pull away, but tendrils of slime erupted from his chest and latched onto her arms, pulling her towards the dark mass as he laughed jeeringly above her.

"Maddison!" Javon shouted. Professor Duncan whirled around, looking as though he had only just remembered that he and Maddison were not alone in the corridor. He threw out an arm and it extended, shifting into more black slime and whizzing towards them. Alec dove forward and pulled up a wall of earth that blocked off the entire corridor; from this side, they heard a sickening splat! as the slime crashed against it.

"Nice job," Javon said. "When did you learn to do that?"

"Few hours ago." Alec grinned back, but Serena shook her head, pointing towards the wall, and he looked back to see slime seeping through the tiny crevices between the tunnel walls and the stretch of earth, spreading quickly across the surface until it had swallowed the barrier whole. Then the slime fell to the ground in a bubbling puddle, the corridor clear once again, as though it had dissolved the wall.

"Would you like to give up now?" Professor Duncan asked, in a voice of mock-sincerity; Maddison had disappeared entirely. "Or shall we continue to draw this out?"

Alec looked quickly around at Ethan and Javon. They looked stunned as well, but as their eyes met his, both shook their heads defiantly.

Duncan sighed dramatically. "Suit yourselves." The pool of slime on the floor suddenly reared, launching jets of fluid with incredible speed. One clocked Alec in the stomach before he could react, and he flew backwards, skidding along on his back yet again.

Groaning, he raised his head and looked up. Ethan seemed to be projecting a wall of telekinetic force, repelling the oncoming hail of slime with his psychic prowess. The balls seemed to be striking an invisible barrier around him, Javon, and Serena, rebounding onto the walls and digging into them, leaving large holes like gunshot wounds.

He was struggling, his face screwed up with the effort. Alec knew from his prior knowledge of the superhuman world that psychic powers were especially taxing. It also didn't help that they weren't properly rested or fed.

"Look!" Javon cried suddenly. A line of slime was gliding sneakily across the ground towards them. The abrupt yell startled Ethan, disturbing his concentration, and his barrier fell: a volley of black jets cascaded into his stomach and he spun through the air, spit flying from his mouth.

"Etha —!" Javon stopped abruptly, looking down as the pool of slime lunged, wrapping around his leg and quickly crawling upwards. "No!" He held both hands above his knee and Alec watched, bewildered, as energy began to pour from his palms. Was he trying to heal the slime? But . . . no . . . The aura erupting from his hands was a bright, acidic green, not the usual orange, and the slime seemed to be receding, recoiling under the green glare.

Duncan looked shocked, but he immediately recovered himself, increasing the volume of slime. It leapt upon Javon like a snake, coiling around his arms. In a matter of seconds he had been completely covered by the substance, his screams no longer audible, and the slime fell to the floor, with no sign of Javon’s figure anywhere amid the dark mass.

"Get up." Serena had joined him, helping him to his feet.

"He's your Head, any ideas on how to stop him?"

"Water," she said. "The slime is weak against water. But there's none here."

Alec looked around. Ethan was still unconscious, Maddison and Javon were incapacitated. It was up to them, Alec and this strange silver-haired girl. We're toast.

"Michaels, I admire your perseverance," Duncan called, "but it's hopeless. Even superheroes have to know when it's time to lay their arms down. You're just wasting my time here. Concede so that you and your friends can get out of this place, and I can move on to catch a few more of you. It's a win-win."

Alec ignored him. He was thinking hard. Without water, how were they going to get out of this?

"Fine, guess I'll have to drag your insubordinate behinds back upstairs, then!" Duncan said, and the tide of slime came gushing once more down the hall. Alec threw up another wall, knowing it was ultimately futile, but hoping for at least a few more seconds as he turned and sprinted down the tunnel, pulling Serena with him. They were heading towards Ethan, but it was too late.

The slime melted down the new wall easier than it had done the first and filled the hall, washing over them like a great black wave. Alec couldn't see, couldn't feel, but strangely, he wasn't having trouble breathing. He was suspended in an endless torrent of darkness, drifting in a silent void. It felt as though he was being carried away by the tide, which direction he did not know.

Then the darkness lifted, and light pierced his eyes. Breathing heavily, but not coughing or spluttering as he would have guessed he'd be doing, he found himself flat on his back, surrounded by his friends, staring up at the still-smirking Professor Duncan. Slime was receding into his body. He was standing down, lowering his guard, believing it to be over. . . .

"That takes care of that," he said smugly. "Now —"

"Sorry, Professor," Alec croaked from the floor, "but it's not done yet. You've forgotten where we are."

"Hmm? What's that now?"

Alec threw up an arm, and a pillar burst up from the ground and slammed into the assessor, knocking him backwards. Alec got to his feet and looked around, finding Maddison, Javon, Ethan, and Serena around him, looking baffled. As Professor Duncan rose on the other side of the tunnel, snarling, Alec stamped hard on the ground, whirling his hands around as though pulling air towards himself, and the earth responded, funneling downwards as though a great drain had opened up below them. The slime was being pulled away from Professor Duncan, disappearing into the spiraling section of earth, and Alec slammed his foot on the ground again.

A massive tremor spread through the tunnel, through the tunnels beyond, and all around the walls began to crumble. He looked past the teacher, who was trying to remain steady, and focused on the escape route he had declared was behind him. He concentrated his hardest yet, and the wall behind them exploded, showering them with debris.

Their stretch of earth broke away from the tunnel floor with a frightening lurch and bucked forward, rising into the massive passageway and gliding upwards under the force of his powers. They elevated steadily for a few seconds, then an opening appeared above them and early morning light began to pour down upon them as they erupted from the tunnel and launched themselves into the sky.