"Do I sense the green monster, Lydia?" he asked, turning to face her. "Nice to know you're not completely influenced by his charms. He might not seem malicious, but that's probably intentional. Don't let him fool you," he said.

"Yeah, right, like I'd be jealous," she quirked an eyebrow. "No way. You might have your weird teleporty powers, but I like being able to take a beating... And I still think you're being absolutely ridiculous about Benjamin..." She threw her hands up in the air. “I’ll see you after the fight, I guess.” She went into the Heroes’ Arena, climbing the bleachers until she found a seat. The fights hadn’t even started yet.

The arena was packed to the max with the young freshman heroes and she reflected on her first time in the arena, as a freshman. I was so new here, so angry… I’m surprised all that rage didn’t kill me. I hated everything. I’m surprised I even was recognized as a hero… she watched some of the heroes down in the arena chatting amongst themselves, some of them friends, others arguing about who would win, and others enemies. Her eye caught on a brunette girl standing off from the rest of the group, a look of pure annoyance and anger across her face.

That one, right there, was me. I guess I haven’t really changed that much. I still hate almost everything. But I’m working on it… The match started and her eyes scanned the field lazily, as the heroes turned on each other, brutally fighting. Lydia looked back over at the brunette, who was diving into the fight hand over fist, roundhouse kicking one, and grabbing another, swinging them over her shoulder, slamming them onto the ground with force.

If I’m going to graduate… never see my mom again, or my dad… maybe I should at least say goodbye to them. “Hey, thanks for not wanting anything to do with me at all. It really helped shape me as a person.” Lydia thought, sarcastically. Actually, I don’t think I’ll even spare a ‘fuck you’ to my father. Just because he has the genetics for superheroes doesn’t mean he should run around impregnating every woman he sees… fuck him. I am not in the wrong here.

The girl in the arena jumped, delivering a spinning kick across the face of a young man, and Lydia saw his teeth fly out. The girl smirked, clapping her hands and dropping another hero with a leg sweep, and Lydia sat up. Impressive. Who is she? She hasn’t used a power yet. Lydia glanced at the screen, her eyes scanning down the list. Sapphire, huh? She was rank 3 before this match… Impressive. Lydia looked back down at the match, continuing to watch.

Adrian chuckled at Lydia. "Don't believe me yet, huh? Well, we'll see how things turn out." Adrian began walking toward the entrance of the villain arena, but a voice halted his progress.

"Well, well, well," she said, and Adrian turned to see a lanky girl with long, brunette hair and light skin. "If it isn't the big, bad Abaddon."

"Sally," said Adrian as he turned to face her. "Just who I was looking for."

Sally raised an eyebrow at this, "Oh, really? If I recall correctly you didn't want a damn thing to do with me. What'd you want?"

"I have use of you now. Nothing more, nothing less."

"'Use of me?' Christ, you're still a prick."

"What?"

Sally rolled her eyes and sighed, "and clueless," she said before walking past him, but as she did Adrian lightly grabbed her by the arm.

"Listen, you don't have to do much. All I need you to do is heal me."

Sally ripped her arm away from him, "Fuck off! Even Lilith treats me better than you did, and she's a fucking demon. She actually communicates with me and doesn't shut me out. So why the hell would I help you?" she asked, staring him down.

Adrian stood his ground and a moment of silence passed before the arena below them erupted into cheers and whoops, "Don't worry about it," he said, turning to make way to the villain arena.

"I feel bad for Dillon! She must be going through hell!" Sally called after him, but Adrian offered her no response as he continued to descend the stairs to the arena. Despite his silence, however, her words did not ring hollow.

Khione vs. Miasma

Veronica and Frank put their hands to their lips to hush the crowd, and the villains and minions quieted themselves. In the arena stood only two villains this time, and standing on the first place pedestal was Khione. She stood at 5'5 with platinum blond hair, icy blue eyes, and pale skin. From her body drifted a cold mist and the entire platform she stood on was frozen solid, covering the glowing one in blue ice. To her left stood Miasma who was a young boy with straight, short black hair but was seemingly ordinary as he stood upon the platform numbered '2.'

"Unfortunately, since our third ranked villain isn't here, we'll have to disqualify him," she said, making a sad face for the audience to see, and then following up with running her index finger from the corner of her eye down her cheek.

"As heart breaking as it is, Veronica," said Frank as he pretended to pull a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her, but she responded by playfully smacking his hand away. "Luckily, we have two villains here ready to rip one another to pieces!"

The crowd cheered in response to this as Frank waltzed over to Miasma and asked, "So, Miasma, do you feel good about today's match?"

"I-I don't know."

"Oh? Well, will you challenge Khione then? Or will you stay where you are?"

Miasma took a deep breath and swallowed hard, and looked over to Khione who glared at him, daring him to answer with anything that isn't "no." He hesitated to say anything, but the crowd's wide eyes stared him down as they held their breath.

"I-I don't think I will," he stammered.

"Booo!" yelled a minion from the audience, which prompted the other villains and minions to join in, causing the entire stadium to erupt in boos and insults.

"Aww," said Veronica as she made another sad face. "Come on!"

"Yeah!" encouraged Frank. "Give the people a show! Right?" he said, encouraging the crowd to cheer, which they did, various whoops and yells could be heard in the stands.

"Y-yeah. A-alright, I'll challenge her."

"Atta boy!" Frank cajoled as the audience cheered along with him. "Let's get this match started then!"

Khione sighed upon his response, uncrossed her arms, and stepped down from her platform. Frank and Veronica simultaneously clapped twice, and disappeared in their usual dense cloud of pink smoke, leaving Khione and Miasma to stare at one another.

"Can't say I'm surprised, just disappointed," Khione said, a white smoke left her mouth upon every word she uttered. "You think you're brave taking me on, don't you? In actuality, you're foolish and cowardly by giving into them," she said. "All they want to do is see you bleed. And they will."

Miasma's brows furrowed as he gritted his teeth. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Miasma took a long, deep breath, his chest expanding to unnaturally large proportions before closing his mouth. A moment passed in hushed silence amongst the crowd as something stirred within Miasma's chest, but Khione only callously examined the cuticles of her fingernails.

Suddenly Miasma lurched forward, opening his mouth and releasing a purple gas that bulleted toward Khione and the audience behind her. Immediately, ice already formed beneath Khione's feet expanded, and erected into a massive ice pillar that lifted her fifty feet into the air. The gas slamming into the base of the ice pillar instead of Khione.

Just then, a blue force-field formed around and above the arena, enveloping Miasma and Khione within the battle-zone, and closing off any of the gas from escaping into the stands.

The purple gas was so thick and prominent the floor and base of the ice pillar could not be seen, and surrounded Miasma as it loomed a few feet above the arena floor. "So," Khione called down to him with her hands on her hips. "This is suppose to be the part where your opponent inhales your gas, coughs, and then passes out; but only if they don't hold their breath for a period of time before finally having to breathe, am I right?"

"No, this is the part where I do this," he said as he motioned his left hand toward Khione and pointed at her. The gas flew toward her as she snapped her head around, eyes wide. She clapped her hands together, and the ice pillar expanded again, surrounding her in an ice dome. The gas besieged the fortress of ice with a resounding 'boom', but the fortress did not crack, but stood firmly. The gas surrounded the ice dome's entirety, attempting to locate a way to circumvent the ice's hard exterior.

"You can't stay in there forever, Khione!" Miasma called up to her. "What will you do now?!"

After a moment a dozen ice spikes flew out from the side of the ice dome and straight toward Miasma. Miasma jumped back, and the ice spike shattered upon impact with the ground where he previously stood, but another managed to fly into his upper shoulder. "Gah!" He cried out in pain while blood poured from his wound. "Dammit!"

The other ice spikes impeded themselves into the sand behind him. More sharp spikes jutted out from the ice dome, ready to fly again.

"Interesting," thought Adrian. "A defeat like this might be boring, but it's slow, humiliating, painful, and cruel. Reminds me of my match with Lilith.

The ice spikes shot from the ice dome again, but this time one flew into Miasma's foot and upper thigh. Miasma continued to scream in pain and desperation. "Now he can't move. This is over."

Leaving no time for recovery more ice spikes shot from the ice dome toward Miasma. He covered his head in a protective manner as the ice spikes shot toward him and sank into his chest. He continued to cry out in pain and coughed up blood into the tanned sand. Miasma raised his hand defensively and said, "O-okay! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I yield! I quit!" Miasma's gas slowly dispersed as he held his hand up and the ice dome opened up to reveal a smirking Khione. Her eyes shifted over to Adrian while he stared back at her, "Were you trying to get my attention?" he thought to himself. "Well, you certainly have it now."

Sapphire ran and wrapped her legs around a young man carrying a spear, swinging herself back, on her hand, bringing him over her head and slamming him down, the spear wrenching itself out of his hand, landing on the ground with a thump. Once she was on top of him, she brought her fist down into his solar plexus, leaving him gasping for air. She jumped up, grabbing him and hurling him out of the arena. Her power isn’t strength like mine. I can tell that. Lydia mused.

There were only a few heroes left now. Two heroes were tag teaming a blue haired young man pinned against the wall, pounding on him with their fists. They stepped aside, watching as he vomited blood. Sapphire ran over to them, grabbing them by the hair, slamming their heads together, and they dropped. She exchanged a glance with the blue-haired boy before kicking him in the stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground.

Someone was sneaking up behind her and she turned, bringing her foot across their face, causing them to stagger back. She yelled something at them that was unheard by the crowd, and they disappeared. Sapphire ran and kicked at the air, and someone turned visible and slammed into the ground, before passing out. The crowd screamed as she was the last one left in the arena, and she looked around, before slinking out of the arena, ignoring the announcers trying to speak to her.

Lydia got to her feet as well, filing out of the arena, thinking to herself. She spotted the new number one up ahead, rubbing her arm and waiting. She’s like me. “Hey, you-” Lydia stopped when she saw the blue haired boy rushing towards Sapphire.

“Man, I can’t believe I lost!” He shook his head. “Those two were cheating,” he complained.

“I told you, you need to be more alert,” she said, dryly. She took his hand. “Come on, let’s walk back together. I’ll have to work with you so that doesn’t happen again.”

Lydia immediately turned and headed towards the exit, her hands in her pockets. I guess she’s not that similar to me. I think I’ll take the long way home... Besides, it's not like anyone or anything here matters anyway, at least not to the ones who graduate. The ones who form attachments don't plan on leaving.

Adrian walked out of the arena and into the hallway as Veronica and Frank eagerly interviewed Khione, allowing his ears a rest from the screaming students. He looked over to his right as he the sound of footsteps traveled throughout the otherwise silent hallway. Down the hallway strolled a man with his head down and hands in his blue jean pockets, but he looked up upon walking closer to Adrian.

"Abaddon. Congratulations on the win," he said as he stopped in front of Adrian. "Close call though. It didn't look like you had much of a plan for that fight, and If Titan had been faster you'd currently be ranked number two."

"I don't need to be told how lucky I am. Going to see the minion matches?"

"I am," he confirmed, scratching the black stubble on his chin. "I should be on my way then," he said before walking past Adrian.

"Wait, Medic. I need someone to heal me."

"Oh? You don't look afflicted."

"I won't be. Not yet. It's for my training."

"That must be some intense trainin' if you need me on standby."

"It is."

"Not going to tell me, eh? Well, when do you need me?"

"It can be immediately after the minion matches are over."

"Alright, not like I have papers to grade with these matches goin' on. Any specific place we meetin'?"

"We can meet in the training room."

"I'll see you then," he said as he descended the stairs toward the arena and Adrian followed behind him.

Vulcan vs. Acidulous

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," said Frank. "You've heard it from the Ice Queen herself! Give it up for Khione!" he cajoled and the crowd responded with applause.

"May we have the top three minions in the ring please?" Veronica said.

From the stands descended two minions into the arena. One with short, black hair confidently strolled over and stood on top of the platform labeled with the figure 'one.' It lit up aflame as he stood upon it with his matching black and red sneakers, pants, and jacket.

To his left stood a boy with skin a sickly green color that matched the number two platform he stood on.

Frank and Veronica looked around with perplexed expressions for the third minion but after a few moments no one came.

"This is weird, isn't it Frank?"

"It certainly is, V. Both third ranked minion and villain of the freshman class aren't here today. I hope they're alright!"

"So do I, Frank, but maybe our minion is just late. Should we wait for him?" she asked the audience, and they responded with boos and a series of thumbs down. "Well, the people have spoken." Veronica walked over to the boy standing on the number one platform. "Vulcan, what do you think of Khione's recent win?"

"Surprising, but only because Miasma was weak and I could've finished the match in half the time. It shouldn't have taken her that long to take him out."

"Really? Well, if Acidulous challenges you, do you think you can end it quicker than Khione could?"

"Of course I will."

"Acidulous," Frank said as he walked over to the boy on Vulcan's left. "Vulcan is talking a big game, what'd you think abou that?"

"I think he's full of shit."

"Oh really?" Vulcan said. "How 'bout you challenge me then?"

"...No."

"Typical. You say I'm full of shit, but you don't want to fight me yourself. Coward."

"I'm not like Miasma. I know when to back down."

"Dammit," Adrian thought. "Fight him. I need to know what he can do."

"Fuckin' chicken!" yelled one minion in the audience.

"Yeah! Back your shit up!" yelled another.

Acidulous' hand formed into a tight fist as he swallowed hard. "No. I refuse."

Lydia entered the house and she spotted Josh sitting on the couch with a tub of ice cream, and he looked over at her, guiltily. When she gave him a glare, he set it down. “Good timing, Lydia,” he muttered, uncomfortably. “I, uh,” he ruffled his brown hair. “I need to ask you a favor…” When she gave him a weird look, he went on. “I have… some plants. Strong ones. I need to get more practice controlling the really big ones…” he paused. “I never really got to open up and go all out… but you’re definitely strong enough that I could do it. I just need your help.”

Lydia frowned, but then she thought a moment. “Are you suggesting… that I help you train your plants, while you give me something big and tough and durable to beat the crap out of? Because this sounds fun.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” Josh nodded. “I’m ready now, if you are…” Lydia nodded and they went out to the backyard. Josh stood off to the side, taking deep breaths, rubbing his hands together. “Are you ready, Lydia? … Like, seriously, you can change your mind. These aren’t daisies and stuff, this is an actual… large, violent…” he tapered off. “And there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to stop this thing. Some of the bigger ones don’t listen to me.”

“Josh. Shut up and do it.”

Josh reached into his pocket and removed a round seed, wrapping his fist around it. Faster than Lydia could see, roots began shooting from the bottom and it rolled along the ground with all the same effect as if Josh had lobbed a grenade. The thing dug itself violently into the ground, growing up at a violent rate, until it was nearly four feet wide and three times as tall, looming over her, a horrific display of reds, greens, and purples, with more vines than Lydia could even count.

“Well, fuck.” Lydia muttered. She compared it against the house and shuddered. She felt it swing at her, and she dodged it. Josh stood, his hands in his pockets, watching as Lydia just narrowly jumped back, out of the way of a particularly violent spiked vine. She jumped on a vine and tried to approach the flower center but a smooth vine sent her flying, and she bounced on the ground. “This is awesome,” Lydia grinned, getting to her feet. “Can you manifest this thing anytime?”

Josh glanced up at it. “Yes, I can… I only have enough sugar in my body to put it out and put it back up once, so if I get interrupted, you’ll have to let it knock the stuff out of you while I get some more sugar in my bloodstream.”

Lydia opened her mouth to ask the obvious question but a vine grabbed her and yanked her off the ground. “Oof~” She struggled. “Willow, have this thing put me down.” she frowned, her blonde hair swinging. She was getting a little dizzy, being held fifteen feet off the ground and upside down.

“You sure?” The vine let go of her and she fell, but it grabbed her again. “It’d hurt from that height.” Josh said, amused. “Better get loose, Lydia. If it eats you, you lose.” He took a seat, his hands in his lap.

Benjamin’s Mansion, Dillon and Benjamin

“So,” Dillon began as she flopped onto the couch next to Benjamin who stared at the television screen in front of him. Servants scurried around them setting tables, which they sat food and drinks upon for the upcoming party. “Have you ever considered doing something else with your money?”

“Like buying a yacht?!” he said, suddenly excited at the random thought.

“Uh, no, like, something useful.”

“What’s more useful than spending my money on me?”

“Spending it on others? There are plenty of research facilities that could use the money you’re conjuring. You’re probably the richest man in the world, but here you are, wasting it away on booze, drugs, and women.”

“And men. Life is incredibly short, so I figure making myself happy while I'm here to be of the utmost importance.”

“Can’t you do both? Can’t you make yourself and others happy? With the amount of money you can conjure, you could make everyone in the world happy a trillion times over.”

“I’ll be damned if anyone gets my money,” his voice suddenly low and his eyebrows furrowed. “The world didn’t do a damn thing for me when I was on the streets, scrounging in dumpsters for food, sitting and sleeping in the cold, and dressed in rags. The world didn't give a fuck about me, but now that I have money everyone has favors, wants to be my friend, and lick my ass."

“I-I didn’t know that, Benjamin… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Dillon looked at Benjamin with a perplexed expression as she bit her lip. She then opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again. “Shit. I can’t do this.”

S.U.P.E.S. Hallway, Adrian and Medic

“You must be disappointed about not getting to see Vulcan fight, eh?” Medic said over his shoulder as the two walked down the hallway. “We have some strong students this year, especially the freshmen, that’s for sure. I don’t envy you; it'll be a hell of a fight to see. We're sure to get plenty of tourists this year thanks to you all.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything useful about Vulcan's powers, would you?”

"I know plenty of useful things about his powers, but where's the fun in just tellin' ya? It'd be more interesting to see you find out for yourself."

“It was worth a shot.”

“How ‘bout tellin’ me what this trainin’ of yours entails? It must be hella tough shit to need me.”

“Just do your job.”

“Listen, kid," he said as he stopped walking and turned to face him. "If you want my help you’ll have to tell me what’s what. As a teacher I can’t just let you run about and do as you please, I have responsibilities to keep you safe outside of that arena. Well?"

Adrian sighed as he rubbed the black stubble growing on his chin, "My father has ordered a number of master swordsmen to standby and wait for me to challenge them. If I defeat them in combat I receive their swords, but otherwise I don't. Regardless if I win or lose they don't heal me. That's why you're here."

"Oh wow," he said as he turned and walked toward the training room. "Shit. Your old man must have a serious rep to command men like that.”

“Yeah, he does,” he said as they approached a white door. Just outside the room Adrian could hear the humming of the machines within the training room. Medic lifted his hand to a small panel to the right of the door that clicked as he reached for it. The metal covering slid down, revealing a humming, green, gridded glass screen, prompted for his input. He placed his hand on the screen, a white light shinning from the left side of the screen and slowly motioned toward the right.

“Welcome, Medic,” said a man’s emotionless and mechanical voice from above them.

The door to the room slowly opened as the blinding lights turned on. The room was pure white with various exercising equipment spread throughout the large room. "What's the point in that anyways? It seems dangerous."

"It is. That's exactly why he's doing it. He wants to gauge my strength and progress depending on who I defeat. Not to mention receiving their swords will make me stronger."

“So, how we doin’ this? Are your master swordsmen meetin’ us here?”

“No, I meet them,” extending his arm in front of him Adrian commanded, “Arcesso gladio: Porta consectetur!” The air in front and extending from his palm to three feet in front of him glowed a bright green as a sword materialized into his hand. It was a dull, broken blade, and the leather grip of the sword was tattered to pieces.

“I don’t think that thing could cut wet paper.”

Adrian swung the sword in front of him, and the sound like the ripping of fabric could be heard as the blade whistled in front of him. As the blade descended a dim, green glow lit up where the tip of the blade and the open air met, and the air itself ripped open. It beheld a black and white, spiraling vortex that seemingly continued on endlessly.

“What in the hell?”

“Kind of funny, isn’t it? A broken thing like this can only act as a butter knife to physical objects, but it’s capable of tethering dimensions to one another. I’ll be back.”

“Whoa, kid. Wait!” but Adrian had already stepped into the portal and it closed behind him.

Abaddon vs. Strength

Adrian walked into the portal, his feet coming in contact with something solid despite the seemingly empty void. He looked up and then down, only to see utter blackness, he walked forward and white streams of brilliant light danced alongside Adrian as he walked until another similar rip in the air neared. Light briefly flashed from the other dimension into the void, and he stepped out of the portal.

The end of the portal hovered a few feet from the ground. He lowered his head as he stepped out of the portal and onto the ground, his boots crunching as he landed. The portal behind him closed itself like the steady stitching and healing of skin until the air returned to normal. In front of him stood a towering mountain with steps carved into the circumference that led to the dome of the jagged structure. High above it thunder boomed and dark clouds loomed as brief flashes of lightning danced across the clouds, illuminating the night sky. Adrian felt small rain droplets fall onto his face as he gazed up at the mountain.

"I hope he doesn't think I'm walking up that," he thought as he telekinetically lifted himself from the ground and flew himself toward the top. As he ascended he could feel the air noticeably grow colder. "Shit. This'll be pain to fight in. He's really trying to test me here."

The snow forming on the dome of the mountain crunched underneath Adrian's black boots as he landed. In front of him stood a six foot man who beheld a gladius in his right hand. From head to toe he wore heavy clothing in black leathers and furs, and the only exposed skin seemed to be his blue eyes in stark contrast to the rest of his clothing.

"About time. I was growing impatient," his muffled voice said underneath his clothing

"Even with such warm clothing you must be growing cold."

"I am not, you, however, will be feeling the effects of this mountain's cold grasp soon enough. You should've came prepared."

Adrian looked down at his muscle shirt as he shivered, "Dispersus," he commanded to the old sword in his hand, and it disappeared in a green flash. "Looks like I'll have to end this quickly then."

"I sense your overconfidence in your voice and manner, little Sumner. That can be dangerous."

Lydia squirmed, feeling a bit nauseous and ashamed at being swung upside down like a toy. She swung forward, grabbing the vine with her hand. She twisted her ankle out of its grasp and dropped the distance, rolling on the ground as she landed, to take the pressure off her feet. She saw a vine swooping down at her head and she dodged, grabbing it, ripping it off the plant.

“You need a weapon, Lydia,” Josh spoke up. “Your strength is great but … I don’t think you can really hurt it much with your bare hands. You can’t even get close to it. I think you’re kind of wasting your time.” Lydia could see him sitting there, smirking a bit, amused at her attempts to fight it.

She ground her teeth. “Fuck you, Josh.” She swung at the body of the plant, but it did little more than rattle. Maybe I do need a weapon. … She ran around the side of it, wondering where the weakness was. Everything needed a weakness. She tried various things, including ripping vines off of it, and a failed attempt at ripping it out of the ground.

She felt the ground tremble and she stopped to steady herself, getting smacked with another vine. “Ow! Shit. Josh, is this damn thing getting bigger?” She reeled, getting to her feet, staring up at the plant, trying to shake off her dizziness.

Josh looked up at it. “Uh…” Another tremor, and he got to his feet. “...” Lydia saw him stagger suddenly. “Uh yeah, yeah it is…” he said, a bit dizzily. “I’m definitely… feeling the symptoms of hypoglycemia. It’s getting out of my control.”

“Josh, control your fucking plant,” Lydia scowled. She watched as he pressed a hand to his head. He took off running towards the house, veering off once or twice before Lydia saw him disappear inside the house, anger welling up in her chest. “Well, fucking shit. Did he just abandon-” She jumped back as a vine shot down, digging into the ground, her anger shrinking down into pure rage.

All of the vines began waving and lunging about at once, as if Josh’s restraint on them had been lifted entirely. Lydia looked up at the plant, thinking to herself. I need something to come at it with! She looked around, catching the curved metal of a pool ladder, and she got an idea. She took off running for the pool. She ripped the pool ladder out of the pool, turning to face the giant plant, hoping the ladder would be a decent weapon.

Josh staggered into the kitchen, shoving aside a servant. “Sorry, emergency,” he muttered, and they gave him an angry look. He flung the cabinet open, knocking everything out of it. The servant had a thinly-veiled expression of rage, which would have made Josh feel terrible if it really hadn’t been an emergency. Moving aside, he flung open another cabinet, digging through it. He found a jar of honey in the back of that cabinet, pulling it out. He tilted the bottle up, squirting it into his mouth.

The servant shuddered. Josh thought he heard a low, “Supers are disgusting…” before they left the kitchen. Josh held the honey under his tongue for as long as he could, willing himself to get it into his bloodstream. He needed to hurry, not that he didn't trust Lydia to keep herself safe... but he needed to get back and help her as soon as possible. He had some emergency medicine in his room, but he wasn’t sure he could get there that easily.

Aserathia, Abaddon and Strength

Rock and snow flew wildly in all directions upon Strength’s downward punch into the top of the mountain. Adrian jumped back and covered his face as the debris of rock flew around him. Adrian’s black boots crunched as he landed in the snow and huffed, his white breath floated upwards and body violently shook.

“Guess I know why they call you Strength.”

Strength scoffed at this. “For supposedly the brightest of Adramelech’s children, you seem completely oblivious to the larger picture.”

“Larger picture? What’d you mean?”

“If memory serves me, little Sumner, you have an opponent who specializes in ice,” said Strength as he removed his left fist from the crater he created and stood to his full seven foot frame. “At this rate, she’d have your head.”

Adrian’s eyes widened at this, “What? How do you know of Khione?”

“Your father has Eyes everywhere.”

Adrian scoffed at this, “He doesn’t contact me for four years, but he’s watching me? For how long?”

“There isn’t much information your father tells me, but I’d guess for those four years.”

Adrian slowly flexed his stiff and numbing fingers around the grip of the broadsword. “Damn. I can’t take this much longer,” he thought. “But he tells you enough that you know about Khione and her abilities.”

"Look at you, little Sumner, proving your intelligence. Bravo," he said flatly, before turning his back to him. "You can concede now before I do any real damage. You’re quick, quick enough to evade my blows, but there’s no escaping winter’s cold grasp. Return when you are better equipped,” permitting the dual to end. Adrian's grip around the handle of the sword tightened as his brows furrowed on Strength's retreating back.

"Don't turn your back on me, you son of a bitch," he lunged for Strength, his feet leaving the ground as he flew toward him with his broadsword pointed at his back. Strength shifted his body to the right, as Adrian sped past him, and he grabbed Adrian by the torso, the palm of his hand landing firmly landing on Adrian's back as his large fingers wrapped around his torso.

"It wounds and angers you to try so hard yet not receive my, or anyone's, recognition, doesn't it?"

"Can you blame me?" he said angrily as he futilely squirmed in Strength's grasp. "You insult me by turning your back to me. My own fucking father and mother don't so much as congratulate me on reaching the number one spot or for working my ass off to get there. Is it so much to ask for a little fuckin' respect?"

Strength laughed, prompting Adrian's anger to grow hotter against the cold, but Strength released his grip around him. Adrian flopped to the ground and he attempted to lift himself up, but to no avail as his feeble arms gave out from under him.

"Be glad I didn't do any serious damage. I'll actually use this sword next time. You better come ready that time as well. However, clothing won't be all you need."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Do you know how your father amassed such a massive following in this realm? How he made the humans of this world bow to him and proclaim him as their god?"

"By collecting power and killing anyone who got in his way?"

"Yes, and he faced fearsome foes in the process, but he didn't do it alone. He had help."

Adrian stared up at him before the meaning behind his words finally sunk in. "Fuck off. I can do th-"

Before Adrian could finish his sentence, Strength said, "Dispersus!" and the gladius that was once in his hand disappeared in a blue shimmer of light. He then said, "Arcesso gladio: Porta consectetur!" and the broken, withered sword Adrian previously possessed appeared in his hand. He swung the sword and it ripped the air open. "Sorry to send you away from home again so soon, little Sumner." The spiraling vortex expanded as Strength threw Adrian and the sword into it.

As soon as the honey hit Josh’s bloodstream, he took off running for his room. He flung the door open and lunged for a box next to his bed. He flung the contents across the room, digging though the stuff. He grabbed the syringe and steadied his arm, injecting it. He ground his teeth, waiting for it to take effect. The effect was quick and powerful and he leapt to his feet, taking off running back outside. He skidded to a stop, just as he saw the plant lift Lydia and drop it into its large bell-shaped mouth, closing tight around her. “Lydia!” He yelled.

He stood unsure if he should shrink the plant or not, but he shrunk some of the limbs, removing the extra parts of the plant. He startled when suddenly the bell of the plant sliced open, and Lydia climbed out, cussing like a sailor. “You son of a BITCH,” she screamed at the plant. “I WILL TURN YOU INTO A FUCKING SALAD!” she screamed, a gooey liquid stuck to her skin. She swung her pool ladder at the plant, ripping a hole in the side of it. Josh rapidly shrunk it down, removing it from Lydia’s sight.

She whirled to face Josh, angrily. “This is your FAULT, where the hell did you go?”

“I was having a hypoglycemic attack!” Josh defended. “I was about to pass out! I had to get my medicine to shrink that thing because I didn’t have enough glucose!”

“You’re lucky you came back because I would have KILLED you when I got out of there!” Lydia threw the pool ladder. She stormed off, heading inside, leaving Josh to stare after her, embarrassed.

Adrian soared into the portal, the black abyss surrounded him and expanded infinitely upon his return, and the light from the exit shined brightly into the blackness like the end of a long tunnel. The white streams of light passed him in a mere haze as he flew out the portal's exit. He crashed onto the pristine floor face first; a mere grunt left his throat before his feet dropped to the floor behind him. "Argh," he groaned, attempting to sit up, "son of a bitch."

"And he sticks the landin'. I expected you to be longer than twenty minutes, though," a voice to his left said.

"That makes two of us," Adrian rose with quivering body and hands as he rubbed his aching face.

"What happened?"

"I lost.”

"I could’ve guessed that, considerin' the way you caught your fall with your face," Medic’s eyes scanned Adrian. "Aside from the fall, you don't seem injured, although…” he said as his eyes looked him up and down.

"Yeah, turns out I didn't need you anyway," he turned and walked toward the door to leave, but was stopped by Medic.

"Hold your horses, boy. You have hypothermia and need treatment. Come on, off to the bathroom. You'll have to get warm, so you'll have to take off those wet clothes, and I think I can find some spares for you to wear while I find some towels to dry and warm you up."

Adrian raised an eyebrow at this as he turned toward him, “That was a pretty quick diagnosis, and you didn’t even ask me how I was feeling.”

"One of my many gifts, now go and take off your clothes.”

Dillon, her room in Benjamin's mansion

Dillon rubbed her aching eyes, "Dammit. I can't do anything." Dillon sat in the chair in front of the desk in her room. Multiple tools such as pliers, a screwdriver, and a C.A.M. laser laid sprawled out around the metal boots. The metal soles of the boots had been removed, revealing a series of wirings and smaller tubes of blue liquid that coursed hurriedly back and forth through them.

"The boots lack the propulsion power and capacity to properly propel me in the air for extended periods of time. If I make them any larger to make more room for the ignition liquid, the metal would be too heavy for me to fly properly. I need another propulsion source."

She stood up, her chair moving back as her legs straightened. She stretched her tired arms and legs and yawned, "I was going to ask Benjamin for money since there's only so much funding S.U.P.E.S. can give me, but it felt... weird asking him," she sighed as she ran her fingers through her red hair. "I wonder what's going on in the mansion..." Dillon opened the door to her room and closed it behind her as she walked into the hallway. The hallway was decorated with paintings ranging from bland, odd and disturbing to beautiful, colorful and mesmerizing. There was always something to catch the eye, but all for different reasons.

As Dillon walked along the hallway, taking in every painting she passed, she reached the stairs that led to the first floor of the mansion and living room. Descending the steps and walking into the living room she immediately saw servants dashing and hurrying in front and behind her. Furniture was positioned all around the massive eighty inch television screen, turned to a first person shooter, ready to be played. Multiple counters had been set with various snacks and beverages, and behind them stood servants ready to serve anyone who came to them.

Dillon turned to the left and walked out into the sparkling white grand hall with towering, white pillars. Above Dillon loomed a massive, sparkling, and immaculate chandelier from the tall ceiling, and the countless, clear diamonds reflected the pure white tile floor. A pillar of large, white balloons tightly hugged the otherwise empty walls next to the wide, spiraling staircase, which was an alternate route to the second floor. To the side and out of the way rested a DJ's booth where the faint sound of remixed music could be heard. "Whoa. He's really going all out this time."

"I was hoping you'd wear something different than your usual," a voice said to Dillon's right. She turned to look at Benjamin who was clad in a white dress shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, and a grey vest with white dress pants and shoes.

She looked down at her blue tank top, jeans, and sneakers then back to Benjamin, "Sorry to disappoint you, but this is way too comfortable to change,” just then a tray of orange and bubbling alcohol passed them, filled to the brim in clear wine glasses. “By the way, have any of the teachers or the headmaster… said anything? About the parties, I mean."

"Nope. Humans tend to stay away, except for the ones who work here, of course, and they won't complain to the school considering what I'm paying them. My mansion is also pretty isolated, so no one will be bothered by rowdy teens. And with the whole, 'Don't engage or inflict bodily or mental harm to your fellow Supes outside of supervised training and battle,' which - surprisingly - everyone follows, so they don't seem to care."

"And you serving alcohol to minors?"

"Human cops turn a blind eye when I throw good ol' Benjamin and Grant their way," he said as he held out his hand, and in the palm of it a green hundred and fifty dollar bill materialized. "Funny how easy it is to manipulate humans with money."

Dillon raised an eyebrow at this.

"No offense."

"Yeah, yeah. So, when is the party suppose to start?"

Benjamin pulled back his sleeve and looked at the watch on his wrist. "Forty-five minutes."

Lydia stormed inside, still covered in plant slime and concrete dust and dirt, as she moved past the servants and through the house, Josh following after her, seeming annoyed. Lydia stopped at the food table, and flung the bowl at Josh. He flung his arms up to defend himself, and she hit him square with it, causing an orange cheese dust cloud to rise around him and making a mess on the floor. Josh coughed, accidentally inhaling the cheese dust cloud. “Ugh! What was that for?” He complained, looking around, shooting an apologetic glance at the servants.

“That’s for almost killing me,” she scowled.

“Why do you have to be such a bitch all the time?” Josh scowled. Lydia turned a corner, going off to her room. Josh glanced at Benjamin, Dillon, and the assorted group of people standing around. “Uh, I didn’t actually try to kill her, she’s… sorry about this mess. She’s… the same as always. Heroes, right? I’ll get a broom and clean this up.” He knelt down, scooping the cheese crackers into the now-empty bowl with his hand.

“... Uh, yeah, this is a good time to also mention that I’m sorry about what happened… in the backyard? I don’t know if you know about it yet, it’s kind of a mess,” he coughed, embarrassed. “Usually my plants don’t cause that much structural damage… to the ground…” He looked down at the crackers. “... although usually they don’t get that big,” he said in a quieter voice. He raised his voice, going on. “The pool, that was Lydia, and I apologize for that too… I mean, the pool’s okay, it’s not leaking or anything, just… missing a pool ladder."

Benjamin and Dillon turned to see Lydia storm through the house and toss a bowl of cheese at Josh. Benjamin erupted into a fit of high-pitched laughter at the sight, keeling over as he clutched his stomach. A look of sympathy formed on Dillon's face as she watched Josh fumble both with Lydia and cheese crackers. Servants' muffled their laughter, as others mumbled angry obscenities under their breath at their hard work being callously tossed around.

"Fuckin' supes," one servant grumbled, "always ruining work everyone else has done."

"Think they can do whatever they want just 'cause they're 'special,'" another murmured.

After composing himself from his laughter, Benjamin waved away Josh's apology. "Don't worry about it, mate. If there's anything I've learned, it's that problems are easily fixed when you can throw money at it. This works especially for women," he said with a wink and nudge of Josh's arm.

Dillon rolled her eyes, "I don't think Steelia is the type to be appeased by money," she said before shifting her eyes over to Josh. "If you want to fix this, you should just let her cool off and apologize later."

Benjamin shook his head, "I bet you've been suffering her lashing for awhile, haven't you? How far has just apologizing gotten you? Listen, mate," he said, putting his arm over Josh's shoulder, "I've heard... 'talk' of why you're Lydia's sidekick. Quite romantic."

Dillon quirked an eyebrow at this, "Wait, what?"

"Romeo here switched from hero to sidekick to get close to Lydia. How has it worked out for you so far?"

“She wouldn’t listen if I did apologize… I even told her it would be dangerous and she’s still mad,” Josh glanced at Dillon. “Another one of her many, many good points…” He shifted, a little awkward at Benjamin’s arm on his shoulder, reflecting on what Benjamin said, finally sighing.

"Geez, is that still going around?" Josh muttered under his breath, finishing scooping the crackers up. "I figured it would die out now that it's been three years..." he rose to his feet, awkwardly shaking Benjamin's arm off him, choosing to speak up. "It's not as romantic as it sounds... I mean, my intentions. Not really romantic. It's kind of a long story. Too long for the rumor mill, anyway." He dumped them in the trash and rinsed the bowl out, turning and leaning against the counter.

“It’s really complicated… I don’t know if you want to hear it or not. I’m returning a favor, while making up for who I was three years ago…” He frowned. “Trust me, she’s not my type.” He opened up a cabinet, looking for more cheese crackers to replace the ones he’d dropped. "I like girls who are intelligent, and don't act like they want to strangle me everytime they see me... Lydia's making progress. She's not completely against me helping her, she knows my name now, what my powers are, and she's letting me help her get better at fighting..." he lowered his voice, muttering, "Even if she bitches about it..." He was silent a second before the other two encouraged him on, so he shrugged. "It's a little long and it's going to be kind of hard to explain, but I'll give it a try..."

“I was a hero, and my first match I was ranked in the 8th spot. That doesn’t mean I’d be a good hero or ready to graduate… just that I’m a good fighter.” He paused. “In the arena, I noticed very little, it was such a commotion, but I did notice Lydia, and particularly what I noticed was how absolutely terrible she was.” He frowned, crossing his arms. “She didn’t know what she was doing, and it showed. She just attacked anything that got close to her, no strategy or talent or anything, just strength and nothing else. It was pitiable.” He frowned. “It bothered me to see someone with so little chance trying so hard…”

He thought a moment, then went on. “I thought I was better than everyone else then, so I beat her and moved on. It embarrassed me to see her even fight.” He shook his head. “Flash forward a few weeks, I got attacked by some classmates. They said a lot of things I needed to hear, sealed my powers and beat the crap out of me. Of course, out of everyone who could come along, it was Lydia. Without a second thought, she jumped in. Later, I found out she had no idea who I even was.” He frowned. "She had a grudge against the guy in the arena but she didn't even recognize me... she beat the crap out of them, and moved on, ignoring me completely. She was strong, but she couldn't graduate, though she was determined to. If she wanted to win, she needed help. So I changed to the sidekick side. Not because I liked her... but because she was kind of pathetic... I wasn't cut out to be a hero anyway. I never had that drive to succeed..." He laced his fingers behind his head. "Being the hero is too much work. I'd rather help someone else succeed over fighting to do it myself."

Benjamin shook his head and sighed, "Bugger. Now you got me feeling sorry for her. And you. I think I'll just pretend I didn't hear any of that. The rumors were nicer to listen to."

"That's... really sweet, Josh," said Dillon.

"'Sweet?'" said Benjamin, suddenly confused. "He has stuck by this angry, unappreciative bitch for three years. There's nothing 'sweet' about it."

"I think it's very commendable that he remained loyal to someone through thick and thin, actually," retorted Dillon, as she crossed her arms defiantly. "Especially to raise them higher. It's very selfless."

"It's very pathetic, more like. She has him by the balls."

Dillon shook her head and turned her attention to Josh, "Have you told her you switched sides to make her stronger? Maybe if you did, she'd respect and appreciate you more."

"Or you could just switch sides again and really show her to respect you. She's pissed at you right now 'cause you nearly killed her, aye? Think of what you can do in a real fight. She'd see what she really lost then."

"That's guaranteed to ruin their relationship."

"Maybe a good thrashing and ripping is exactly what she needs."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Honestly? The only thing Lydia cares about is Lydia. I guess my feelings are kind of complicated... I'm going to get my reward for it. I get to graduate, keep my powers, and be virtually responsibility free? Yes please. Sign me up." He rubbed his shoulder. "I'd like to really kick her around at least once, but Lydia believes in grudges, is incredibly durable, and... then I'd have to deal with Adrian."

Josh shrugged, half-heartedly. "It was easy for me to keep up with Lydia, I'd watch her and see how she did and adjust my success accordingly... but I have no clue how she and Adrian kept their ranks so perfectly on par. It's almost suspicious."

Dozens of waiters and waitresses dressed in tuxedos hurriedly zoomed past Benjamin, Dillon and Josh, as they balanced wide metal trays on the palms of their hands filled with delectable snacks and drinks. They began stationing themselves in front of pillars and the walls of the mansion, leaving room for the guests to move in and out of the rooms. The lights in the main foyer dimmed, and strobe lights on the ceiling spun, causing red, blue and yellow lights to rapidly dance about the room. The DJ stood at his booth, and the scratching of music could be heard from the loud speakers hanging from the walls.

"Adrian?" Benjamin asked, momentarily being pulled away from his standoff with Dillon, as he looked at Josh inquisitively, "Why would you have to deal with Adrian? I'd expect he'd help you."

"You don't know?" asked Dillon. "Adrian seems kind of... protective of her."

"Really?" said a surprised Benjamin who looked taken aback by this news. "That's... odd for a villain."

"That's what I said. Their relationship is a bit friendlier than most have with their rivals."

“How close are they, mate?” asked Benjamin, as he shifted his eyes over from Dillon to Josh. "And how long have their rankings matched up? Surely not for four years straight."

Josh snickered. "Isn't that an interesting question?... You know, for me to match up with Lydia... It was easy. Check her rank, match my own to that number. Easy enough. But for those two, that task is much more difficult. Especially when you realize that they both gave 100% to every match that they fought at the same time... You know, that question is one probably better posed to them. Ask them how long they've matched up." He shrugged. "I wouldn't recommend asking how close they are..." He grinned. "But the other answer is interesting enough." He swiped at his shirt. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change."

On the tile flooring that led to the infinity pool outside the mansion, one of Adrian’s sigil glowed a blindingly bright green. Just then a flash of light consumed the small area outside, and as it slowly faded it revealed Adrian who in a new change of clothes, which consisted of a bright yellow shirt and shorts. The mansion was now filled with supes. Villains, heroes, sidekicks, and minions laughed and danced with their respective allies. They held cigarettes and drinks in their hands, as the rhythm of the music boomed all around them.

”I bet he thought this would be funny,” thought Adrian, as he walked toward the steps leading to his room where he changed his clothes.

A few moments passed before Adrian descended the steps again and joined the party, which was now in full swing. Supers participated in keg stands where they were held upside down by a junior with super strength, and the alcohol was fueled by another super who conjured an infinite amount of alcohol. Supes dove into Benjamin’s infinity pool, and goaded their friends to join them and do the same.

A moment passed before Adrian felt a sudden chill run down his spine. It was as if the room’s temperature dramatically dropped in a matter of seconds. With each passing moment it only grew colder, and it felt like Adrian was atop the mountain again. Until suddenly it was as if the source of the cold was standing directly behind him. He looked over the black dress shirt covering his shoulder to find her piercing, icy blue eyes staring directly back at him. Around her eyes she wore dark eyeliner, and above that she wore dark blue eye shadow, all accentuating her eyes against her extremely pale skin.

“Khione,” Adrian said, his breath leaving his mouth, as his emerald green eyes met her blue.

“Abaddon,” she spoke, her breath visibly left her mouth as she spoke, as she crossed her arms across her white and blue dress. “Enjoy the show I put on today?”

“What do you want?” he asked impatiently and turned around to face her.

“You really are as unfriendly as the others say,” she remarked with a grin, as the cracks upon her lips webbed even further, and she stepped closer to him. Adrian could feel himself growing even colder every time she inched forward.

“I prefer to just get to the point,” he said before taking a step back.

“Fine then,” she said. “I think you, I, Vulcan, and Metallica should be allies in the upcoming exit exam.”

“I neither want nor need you as an ally.”

“I know I’m a freshman, but my understanding of the exit exam is that everyone needs allies.”

“But you misunderstand me. I don’t.”

“No, you misunderstand me. I do.” Adrian turned to walk away, but Khione reached out and grabbed his arm, “No, wait!” she said and her hand was like ice against his skin. He jerked away, jumping at the sudden shiver she sent up his arm as he grimaced at the unpleasant cold. She gasped and quickly let go of his arm, realizing what she had been doing.

“S-sorry,” she said, as she gripped one hand with the other. “I’m not in full control of my powers just yet.”

Adrian slowly felt the cold recede from the room and return to a warm temperature. He returned his attention to Khione, as color in her face was slowly returning. Her pale body was slowly filling with color, transforming from an almost sickly pale to a light skin color, and her white cheeks noticeably blushed with both embarrassment and warmth. Her blue eyes seemed to shine slightly brighter now, as if her eyes had absorbed all the cold.

“I can’t feel cold, so I wouldn’t notice if my powers were slowly seeping out.”

“You seemed to control your powers pretty well against Miasma.”

“There wasn’t much controlling to really be done there, honestly. I just… let it go.”

“You beat him pretty good.”

“So you were impressed?” she said with a small smile.

“Is that what you were trying to do? Impress me? Get me to like it?”

“Well, you certainly impressed – and terrified – everyone else by torturing Lilith in a live match, and skewing Titan through the chest on the same day.”

“And you pretty much did the same,” he said, putting the pieces together. “Do I have an admirer?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Khione rolled her eyes, "Don't get cocky," she said with a grin. "You're intelligent, manipulative, ruthlessly efficient, and your powers are so ambiguous it's hard to tell what you'll do next in a fight. I may be a freshman, but I know a strong contender when I see one. I did what I had to to get your attention and prove myself. And apparently it worked," she said, smug and confident.

Lydia could hear the noise coming from downstairs, of too loud music and people yelling, and she sat in her chair, her arms crossed over her body, thinking to herself. It sounds like a mess down there. she flexed her fingers. I didn't stand a chance against that plant of his. I was nearly devoured. I... I guess I always knew my strength wasn't everything. Does this mean Willow is technically stronger than me? I need something more.

She pushed some of her hair back off her face, deep in thought. I've hit the wall, I know... But damn. That wasn't a fight. It was a sacrifice. That was me, being sacrificed to Willow's plant monster. I was beating it with a pool ladder. And not phasing it.

Frustrated, Lydia rose to her feet, slipping her jacket on over her tank top. "How am I supposed to get stronger?" She flung her door open, heading towards the party, a scowl fixed on her face. She spotted Adrian, and some girl - she disregarded them. She was too annoyed to bother with him now.

Why am I down here? It'll only piss me off more. she glanced towards the door, spotting Willow talking with her least favorite person in the whole school. He was looking around awkwardly, probably worrying Lydia would pop out of nowhere. oh hell no. That time witch better not even look at me. I'll kill her. she turned on her heel and walked the opposite direction, towards the heroes' room. She snatched a glass of wine off a tray as she passed it.

She proceeded into the heroes' room, leaning against the wall, to study the attendees. "Don't you guys look like you're just having the time of your life?"

"Lydia, dial your bitch down to a one." Erin muttered, folding his wings against his back. "No one here wants to listen to you being a hormonal bitch."

Lydia's eyes narrowed, annoyed, but after a moment, shrugged. "True enough. I'll retain my inner bitch as best I can... Seriously, what are you doing?"

"Shot poker. Lose the round, take a shot. Last legs of the game mostly revolve around the girls crying and everyone else confused about what game we're playing." Dynabane shrugged. "I'd invite you but you're too much of a hardass to even have fun..."

"I have fun!" Lydia scowled. "Just not this kind..."

"Well, then don't join. I'm not your biggest fan anyway." Erin muttered, adjusting the girl on his lap.

Lydia scowled, but looked around. "Maybe just a few rounds..." I'm resistant to alcohol anyway.