I wouldn’t deny that, in spite of everything that was going on, I felt just a little bit cool.

My battle for this round was already up, so I was standing at the top of the stadium. The view from up here was so horrible, you could barely see the fight if you weren’t looking at the screens that loomed above the stands.

I was standing just under one of them, but I wasn’t here for it, or the view. I was out of my costume. No more Moros. Just Alex, watching everyone participate. Ahmed and Maria were currently at the bottom floor, waiting for their own fights, so I was here alone waiting for Ivan and Birgit.

Jensen’s phone was in my pocket. I could feel its weight, dragging down the fabric. Even the metal was still cold against my skin. A sensation that was almost comforting. It reminded me of Birgit’s touch–as cringey as that sounded even in my head.

I leaned forward and a smile formed on my face without even trying. A fact that made me way prouder than it should have.

“Trying to look cool, kæreste?" As if on cue, I could almost hear Birgit’s laugh from her voice.

“Never as cool as you, unfortunately.”

Another laugh–from Ivan I assumed–and I turned around to face them. Both were in their standard Atlantis gym shorts and T-shirt. I held onto the railing, clenching it as hard as I could.

It’d been a while since we really did anything about Alpha Surge’s mystery. I forced down any smiles and took out the phone. Ivan and Birgit took out their own phones.

“So, what do we have here, lovebirds?” said Ivan. He showed us his screen. He had the notes app open. “A few ideas Ahmed had. He acts like he doesn’t care, but I know he wants to be a part of this.”

“Spare us the prologue,” said Birgit. “What’s he got?”

“Ever so eloquent, my lady,” said Ivan. “He said something about italics. Apparently they’re all numbers.”

“Maybe it’s a code. You got the article, Birgit?”

Moros, Moros.

Suddenly, I felt like I was shot in the head. A burning ache that came and went immediately. I stumbled and probably would have fallen if I wasn’t holding onto the railing. Birgit’s hands were suddenly on me.

“I’m fine,” I said as soon as she opened her mouth. “Just a headache.”

And Paragon’s smug voice in my head. I wanted to tell him to shut up but I kept my own mouth shut. First we would deal with this. And then the voices in my head.

“You sure, man? Maybe we can wait for a bit.”

“No! Jensen’s here now, Ivan. I don’t know what he’s doing, but we can’t afford to waste any time. We must learn everything we can and find him.”

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The temperature dropped and rose again, but Birgit scrolled through her phone. Many words were in italics. Most of them were numbers: eighty, twenty-seven, thirty-eight, twenty-nine, six, thirty thousand.

Maybe it was a code? Or a phone number? I tried calling them–and as many random combinations as I could think of but nothing came up.

“Maybe the World Weekly website has something for us?” said Birgit. “It’s also in italics.”

We did a little more digging. The announcer’s voice boomed in the background, calling out moves and people all the while the crowd that was just below us cheered and booed–sometimes both at once. I didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t care.

My heart beat so strong and fast I was worried it would rip itself out of my chest.

We went to the World Weekly website. Birgit was right, there were a few links there for Project: Tomorrow, which was also highlighted in the article. One was to install an app that could notify heroes whenever you asked for help. One would lead to the official website.

And one for a private server: Let’s get our numbers to Thirty Thousand! If you’re an official hero, put your–and your association’s if you are in one–credentials in the server below.

Birgit tapped on it, and it led to the app store. She downloaded it. Three things to fill. Hero Name. Licence Number. Association Name.

“Atlantean Secret Society,” said Ivan. “And your personal name.”

I was honestly a little surprised at how fast he came up with the answer. It was easy to forget, but behind his ever-present smirk and relaxed attitude, Ivan was smart and skilled enough to make it into Atlantis and stay through to the second year.

“There’s a message.” Her eyes widened. I shuddered. It got cold. Way too cold to be natural. From the corner of my eye I could even see some of the crowd start to shiver.

“What is it?” I put my hands on Birgit’s shoulders. “It’s going to be fine. Whatever it is, we’ll be together. All of us. And we’ll deal with it.”

Silence. I turned to Ivan. Even he was out of words to say. Of something sarcastic to diffuse the situation.

“Alex!” Sofia’s voice broke us out of it. “They’re here.”

“What are you talking about?”

She grabbed me by the arm and turned me around so I was facing the screen opposite us. Two figures stood at the arena. One was a guy I didn’t recognize. The other was a blonde figure with blue eyes.

She wasn’t from here, but I could recognize her.

No.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” The announcer’s voice boomed from every direction. “One of the last fights of today and it is a doozy! Doctor Incredible of the Hanuman School of India and Ms Justice from the North American Institute of Heroes!”

Ms Justice? That-that was Lady Doom. How did she get in here?

“Alex?” Ivan. Ivan said my name. I turned around, barely able to comprehend what just happened.

“It’s Will. And Beatrice. They’re the ones we can’t trust.”

“What?”

I looked at the screen. It was the same mail he had sent me, except there wasn’t anything covered up or gibberish.

If you’re reading this, consider me MIA. And Alpha Surge is dead.

I’m sorry I won’t be able to help. I’m sorry. Even this message is not completely safe, but I can safely say: Don’t trust him. I’m talking about Birgit’s brother, William, and all the older Society members. Find Lily Long. She will have the answers you need.

To find your way, you have to remember the first hero. And don’t let them get away with it. If they do, all we did was for nothing.

My eyes flicked between the two screens. The phone and stadium. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, everything got messed up again.