The first day of the tournament had started out relatively well.

Dozens of students and teachers had come from two of the best Hero Schools–the North American Institute and the Hanuman School of India–and we had all gathered around the track field outside the First Mansion, while Charles Morris was sitting at the top with a few teachers surrounding him.

Now the rest of the day, that was a little fuzzy.

I remembered Loudmouth yelling at us to calm down, before blue lightning fell from the sky, hitting the ground right where and bringing up a lot of smoke.

Right where Loudmouth had previously stood, now stood Alpha Surge. He was clad in an electric blue suit with white arm braces, boots and belts. His symbol was now not in a square but rather plastered on top of his whole upper body. All in all, he still looked awesome.

All of the cameras there, and there were a lot, had turned to him.

“Are you ready?” I remembered feeling Birgit’s hand on my shoulder, an action far more intimate than anything she’d done ever since Charles made us forget about one another. We’d spoken, quietly and hurriedly, saying things I had–as much as I hated to admit it–forgotten due to my injury.

And then…and then I was down on the floor, a burning smell filling my nostrils, while fire and smoke filled my vision. Ringing filled my ears, and then Beatrice was there helping me up.

We were all here. The Secret Society, Birgit, a confused Ivan, and even Alpha Surge, who placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Everything alright?”

I nodded before turning back. Behind us all, opposite to us both literally and figuratively was a small army of villains.

“Consider this,” said the man standing in front of them all. He had white hair and a moustache, and he was dressed in a pure red business suit with only a black tie to break it up. “The eternal battle between good and evil. Heroes and villains. You thought you had won. I say no. We say no. Turn your cameras to us, heroes of the land! And witness the birth of a new war! I am Frankenstein, and I claim tomorrow for the villains..”

As if on cue, all the villains charged at us. Not to be outdone however, the heroes–both teacher and student–from across all the schools, rushed to meet them in the middle.

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A battle of powers and skills began. Everything from the elements to laser beams to people without powers clashed. I couldn’t remember much, but I did remember feeling like the ground itself shook with the conflict’s might.

Birgit and I made our way through the various goons. I sidestepped and dodged their attacks, while Birgit sent out waves of ice to trap them. Alpha Surge was with us and, one of the things that I did remember clearly, was the awe I felt when I saw him fight.

Electricity flowed from his arms and fingertips. Anyone who tried to get close to him was either blasted away, or taken down completely with an energy infused punch.

We fought and weaved our way through the villains until we saw him. Surrounded on all sides by fights, he had a gleeful smile on his face. Frankenstein.

“No!” Alpha Surge’s eyes widened as he charged at him, a trail of electricity following him. But he just phased through the man, like he wasn’t there.

It was then I noticed that he had no shadow extending from his feet. He turned back to Alpha Surge.

“I’m afraid that today will not be our day, Alpha Surge.” He smiled sadly. “There is another opponent I have to take care of first.”

I remembered feeling like I’d failed. Like everyone had counted on me, and I’d let them all down.

“Don’t.” Birgit’s voice shook me out of my stupor. “Don’t be an idiot. Don’t give up.”

She was right. I couldn’t give up. That had been the thought that was first among my head.

“Frankenstein is looking for something. An object,” said Alpha Surge. “He has to be here physically.”

“The Library.” I breathed out. “In the First Mansion. I can barely remember Charles storing a lot of things in there. Knowledge. Dangerous information.”

Next thing I knew, Alpha Surge had grabbed onto both of us. I felt a twinge of electricity and a churn in my stomach as we whooshed through the sky to the nearby mansion.

And, soon enough, there he was, sneaking around behind the mansion.

Dressed in the same clothes as his projection, and accompanied by Crisis–a chill ran through my arm as I remembered the nightmare I had with him–and a tan skinned, black haired woman with yellow eyes.

“I’m honestly embarrassed, Alpha Surge,” he said, a superior smile on his face. “You bring children to fight your battles? Rosita. Crisis.”

Crisis conjured a few small disks from his coat, while ‘Rosita’s’ eyes and veins glowed a golden colour.

“You can’t beat him, Frankenstein,” said Alpha Surge. “Paragon–or as you know him, Order–won’t wait for your plan, whatever it is, to be ready. If you surrender, we can help you.”

“Ah, heroes…” said Rosita, and I could almost taste the sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Enough words.”

“For once,” said Crisis’ modified voice. “We agree.”

Their stances shifted ever so slightly, like they were about to attack. My eyes found Birgit’s and, in spite of having lost so much time, we were able to perfectly understand each other.

This time, we charged first, not waiting for them to make the first move. I removed my gloves as she sent out a burst of ice, and the battle continued.