The return trip was far from what he'd expected. Alec had suspected that, after several days of long-awaited peace and comfort with his family, there would be some form of unwanted excitement to shatter the reverie, but this was a tad too much, even for him.

They arrived at Helix shortly before sunset. The great barrier glistened like a large, crystalline bubble around the magnificent expanse of silver and grey, and after a brief period of verification, a small breach appeared in the wall, permitting them entrance. The jet touched down on top of the school, exactly where the helicopter had landed with Alec on his first day; but unlike then, all sense of wonder and excitement was gone, replaced by urgency and apprehension.

Hartley bounded out of his seat the moment they touched down, grabbed Tony's body none too gently, and hurtled off towards the staircase leading into the school.

Katrina followed, but nobody else did. Everyone was too stunned to even move. Alec exhaled deeply and looked around from the ripped-off hatch door. The ocean of trees surrounding them rippled and swayed in the wind, which was pleasantly warm. The setting sun cast a deep red glow across the water. And the student body, from what he could make out from their vantage point, was bustling around below, attention perking up as the small figure that was Hartley emerged into their midst, followed by Katrina.

"We should go." Maddison broke the silence. She sounded as if she had a slight head cold, and her eyes were red, but her expression remained as inscrutable as ever. "We won't hear any updates from here."

With obvious reluctance, they gathered themselves up and began to stalk towards Helix. Alec felt a stab of guilt as he looked back, eyes fixed on the torn-apart ship. But they had other worries to deal with, he reminded himself. It was as they started descending the stairs that Alec noticed Charlie's frequent winces and the way his right hand kept inching towards his ribs each time, but how he kept pulling his hands back before his fingers could make contact, as if he was angry with himself.

"You should probably visit the Medwing too, you know," Alec said.

"I'm fine," Charlie said, through gritted teeth. "Nothing's broken, just bruised. Besides, I expect they'll have their hands full right now."

"Do you think they followed us?" said Reya. She had kept silent all the time they flew, but now the words burst from her as if she could not contain herself any longer.

"No," Maddison said. "Their goal obviously wasn't to trace us back to Helix, otherwise they would've done that. They wanted something. Whether they got it . . . I don't know. But either way, they're not stupid enough to come showing up here looking for it.

"A ship full of inexperienced teenagers and a single adult pilot is one thing. A high tech school brimming with extremely dangerous weapons, fully trained superheros, and a virtually impenetrable barrier is going to be more of a challenge, I expect."

They touched level ground, and predictably, all eyes swiveled onto them. It was a phenomenon that Alec had witnessed countless times, but which he could never get used to. Whether in a store, at the movies, at school or on the street, whenever something of intrigue happened, a crowd would follow, hungry for more information. And with the arrival of Hartley in their midst, carrying a lifeless, blood-soaked Anthony, Alec could tell that these kids were positively starving.

But the people here did not speak. They simply stared and stared, as if waiting for them to start explaining everything.

"Don't tell anyone about what happened," Maddison muttered. "Not until we talk to the teachers, at least. I expect they'll be coming soon to hear all about it."

They nodded and began their swift trek through the endless hordes of staring, silent students. The more they walked, the more that seemed to join the masses. It was as if the population of Helix had inexplicably doubled over the minor break. At last they rounded the corner, and began to trail through the sparser parts of the gatherings. Helix looked as splendid as ever, with its gleaming silver-grey walls, expertly carved white marble statues of past superheroes and benches dotting sweeping lawns of well-cut emerald grass.

The grand Dorms soon came into view as well. Gold and white Zeus, with its magnificent oak tree sprouting up to the sky and beautiful eagle banner hanging above their door, was first. Yet the only two members of their group who belonged to this Dorm were not present to join the mass of students gathered at the entrance, who were also staring at them. It had only been a few minutes, and yet Alec was sure that everyone at Helix had already heard the news.

Next in line was the blue and silver Poseidon, whose front step was adorned with a large, bearing pine tree, and a banner bearing a powerful white stallion.

Here Charlie and Reya said their goodbyes, avoiding the curious looks of their Dormmates as they slipped inside.

Last along the path was Hades. Black and bronze, with its beautiful yet slightly eerie-looking white poplar towering beside their door, over which hung a great screech owl. The owl's eyes seemed to follow them as they walked through, much like the eyes of their peers.

"Can't they do anything but stare?" Ethan asked irritably.

Javon, whose hands were still covered in Anthony's blood from all the time he had spent trying to stabilize the wound with his powers, kept his head down and his hands balled into fists and stuffed into his pockets. Maddison peeled away from their side and strode towards the girls' staircase, walking confidently, her head up and her eyes fierce, as if daring someone to question her. Alec watched, with his first kindling of amusement, how the crowd hastily fell back into conversation as she passed. He knew well enough that no one would even think to do something that may annoy her.

After another five minutes, the journey was finally complete and they were safely concealed in their own Dorm room, with Ethan somewhere down the hallway in his own. Alec sank onto the bed and fell backwards, and it suddenly dawned upon him how tired he really was.

Javon heaved his suitcase out from under his bed and pulled out a dark T-shirt that he wrapped around his hands. Alec suspected that he was far less fond of the sight of the blood than he had let himself appear to be. "I'm gonna take a shower," he said, now slinging the black and bronze uniform of the Hades Dorm over his shoulder. "Coming?"

"Nah . . . Think I'm gonna stay here for a bit."

Javon nodded and left the room, looking positively nauseous. With the lights off, the darkness of the room, with its single window, night falling beyond it, and the pitch-black walls, the atmosphere felt strangely oppressive. Though he knew in his mind that it was impossible, he had a faint fear that the darkness around him might suddenly come alive once more, reaching for him like long, black tentacles.

He flipped over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. It was going to be a long night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

He realized that he had drifted off only when the sound of the bell jerked him out of his sleep. For a mere second he lay puzzled, wondering what was going on. Then in a rush of disconnected images, the scenes of earlier that morning came speeding back into his mind. Alec sighed, peeled himself out of bed, threw on his own jumpsuit, and headed out of the room and downstairs, along with the rest of the Dorm to dinner.

The curious looks still followed him, but he was too tired to pay much attention to that. Somehow, his little doze had made him feel much more drained.

Near the giant fireplace, with its blazing emerald fire, Maddison walked up beside him. She looked almost ghastly, the eerie green light bouncing off her serious expression rather menacing, but she delivered welcome news.

"Anthony's doing okay. Katrina left the Medical Wing about a half hour ago. They said he's going to pull through, but he'll need to stay there for a while longer because those quills were laced with an uncommon poison. They managed to stabilize him, but a lot of damage was done."

"That's good news," Alec said, relieved. She nodded, and the train of small talk drifted off. The only sound that followed them was the padding of hundreds of feet across the concrete, marching up towards the other Dorms and finally to the Canteen, where the gleaming silver tables at the back of the room bore a vast array of extravagant meals. Here Alec cheered up a bit. It was hard to maintain his gloomy demeanour when faced with all his favourite desserts.

He loaded his plate with a significant amount of everything, realizing just how hungry he was as his stomach let out a fierce growl, and they met up with Ethan and Javon at the Hades table. Then they began to eat.

It was a good few minutes. Their trays were almost sparkling by the time they finished, at which point Professor Lewis rose to her feet, clad in a beige pantsuit and matching earrings (how many pantsuits did she have?). She cleared her throat for silence, waited a few seconds, then her beige lips stretched in a wide smile.

"Good afternoon to you all. It is a pleasure to see you all back here, safe and secure, where you belong. Now, I am sure that you have all heard the rumours — likely of varying degrees of embellishment — so I shall quell your suspicions right now.

"Yes, there was a coordinated attack launched on Bluebell City earlier today by a group of superpowered criminals on the mainland," she said, speaking loudly and clearly. "Yes, the Hydraloop has sustained significant damage, which has resulted in a great number of students being forced to find alternative methods to arrive at school. . ." She took a breath. "And yes, one of our very own students was injured in a confrontation between members of our party and theirs. Fortunately, he is now in stable condition and we have assurances from our very capable Medical team that he will make a full recovery."

Though she spoke confidently into the silence, Alec could see no one else smiling, no one looking relieved. The silence was taut with tension, faces marred with incredulity, and everyone was looking anxiously up at the principal, no doubt wondering what other horrors she could have to unload on them.

"As expected, there was a swift and firm response to the devastation earlier today by our allies from the Hero League, which drove the Villains from the city and managed to secure the majority of the at-risk population in well-secured safehouses."

At this point, Alec exchanged a glance with Maddison. It was still so strange. The Villains had appeared and started an extremely destructive fight, for entirely no reason.

"And in an effort to ensure the safety of both the mundane and superhuman populations, our Heroes have joined forces with the aid of different branches around the world and have sent teams comprised of their best agents to monitor high-risk places should our enemies try to launch any more assaults. You may have glimpsed a few such — er — bodyguards around the campus."

She held out her hand and indicated several of the people behind her along the teacher's table, who, now that they stood up, Alec could see were dressed in vibrant, elaborately designed jumpsuits all bearing the crest of the Hero League.

"For those of you who may know them, you will join me in welcoming Crystal Zero" — a tall, slender man in a pale blue and white suit with frizzy, paper-white hair waved, flashing a brilliant smile — "Mid-knight Lancer" — a fair-haired woman with short, spiky hair dressed in deep purple, at whose hip hung a shining, oddly thick saber — "and Beluga." A rather portly man wearing a sea blue leotard, adorned with the image of an orca whale. "They will be with us for the rest of the year."

"The year?" Javon whispered, looking bewildered. Alec glanced around again. This time he could see alarm on most people's faces, and he could understand why.

Did the League truly believe the threat to Helix would persist throughout the rest of the term?

"It is merely a precaution," said Mrs. Lewis, once again holding up a brightly painted hand, correctly interpreting the sudden storm of muttering. "As we have said many times, we at Helix are committed to the safety and security of our students, and we will guarantee it no matter the cost. On a brighter note, some of you may also have noticed yet another surprise we have for the reopening of school.

"I am pleased to announce that, with the much appreciated help of the Hero League, the playing field has now been restored to its original condition after the — er — unfortunate accident earlier this term."

Alec felt heat rising up in his cheeks and hastily turned his eyes to his empty tray as students all around swiveled around to look at him, some grinning.

"Even more pleased am I to announce that many improvements have also been made, including the addition of a new, exciting exercise course, to be revealed in due time."

Another rush of murmuring, but this time it was of excitement.

"Yes," Mrs. Lewis said, beaming. "This year was meant to be the start of the traditional Interform Tournament, but after some reflection, we have decided to use the opportunity of renovation for a more casual setting. The details of this new course will be revealed to you further down the week, along with any following updates pertaining to our current situation. For now, you may return to bed."

The student body looked far more satisfied than it had the entire time she had been talking, speaking in loud, excited voices about these new developments as they deposited their trays and flocked through the doors.

"What do you think this new exercise is?" Charlie had just joined their side, his hulking figure looming head and shoulders above them.

"No idea," said Maddison. "But it could be interesting."

"Could be," Alec agreed. "What if it's something like —"

"Mr. Michael's," said a new voice. They stopped dead and turned. Professor Wyatt was wading towards them through the sea of students, his pale blond hair looking almost silver in the moonlight, and an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. "There's no need to look so worried," he said, his face suddenly breaking into a smile. "I've just been asked to escort you to the Headmistress's office."