Sofie looked back at me as Manos, Ahmed and Will took her away.

It was hard, but I didn’t look back. She would live. That was all that mattered, and it was all I’d promised to Jacob. Apparently, Kent Smith had arranged for her to be imprisoned in New Weston, the city that Alpha Surge generally appeared in.

“You look rough,” said Sadid. It’d been a couple of hours since they took her away. I hadn’t even changed my clothes or showered, so I probably looked worse than rough.

“Yeah, well, I don’t really know what to tell you,” I muttered before getting up and going to my closet. With the exams and Sofie, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Sadid.

“Well, someone’s in a good mood,” he shot back, mimicking my tone. “I take it the exams didn’t go too well for you either?”

“Actually, I think I did pretty well.”

“Oh? Well, that makes one of us.” He laid down on his bed, opening his phone.

On one hand, I was pretty upset. The exams–everything surrounding Atlantis really–had been extremely important and extremely stressful to me. And yet, he didn’t seem to care.

On the other hand, I was also envious of that attitude. I’d been constantly overwhelmed by everything since day one. I’d made progress, sure, but I was far from being where he was.

I took a deep breath. This didn’t matter. Not now. Not with Paragon and Frankenstein on the horizon.

I made my way to the showers. I walked through the pristine white corridor to find an empty stall and got in.

That was the last calm day I had. I spent the next two weeks training–and I meant training–with the Secret Society, Birgit, and Ivan.

And before I knew it, the day of the tournament came. And everything went to hell.

–

I didn’t drink normally.

I was Alpha Surge and, while I hated dwelling in my own importance, I knew that that meant something. It meant that I had to live up to all the ideals Alpha Surge believed in and preached, both in public and in private.

Plus, you never did know what could happen.

Of course, I was currently staring at an empty beer bottle, my second of the night, while also considering ordering another one. One week from now was the big day. The InterSchool tournament would begin, and Frankenstein and Paragon would attack.

And so, I chose to spend my night at a small bar in the Isle of Heroes. I had to admit that it was a cosy place. It had a warm feel to it, with wooden floors and walls. It also didn’t have too many people, meaning I could properly relax here, if only for a bit.

But that all changed with one scotch.

“For you, sir,” said the waiter.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t order this.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It’s from the man from that table.” He pointed to one of the tables they had. Only one man was sitting there, taking a sip from his own scotch.

Charles.

Thanking the waiter, I grabbed my scotch and made my way over to him. I felt the electricity around me buzzing, my every instinct telling me to leave. One week. One week and they would all be defeated. More than that I didn’t know if I would be able to handle myself against him.

“I meant what I said the last time we spoke,” he said as I sat down. “I truly do trust you, even if you’ve gotten sneakier lately.”

“Trust me, I don’t enjoy acting like this.” And that was the truth. When I became a journalist, I wanted to fight for the truth. To expose those that worked in the shadows and manipulated the world to suit their ideals. Be they villain, hero, or anything in between.

“I used to have faith, you know,” he said bitterly. He had dark circles under his eyes, and a small smile decorated his face. “In the world. In doing the right thing,” he said somberly.

I gripped my glass tighter. After everything he’d done, I wanted nothing more than to throw him in a prison cell so deep that he would never be able to see sunlight again. But I couldn’t. I hated myself for the fact that I couldn’t.

Everything that he had done, it would have to remain a secret. The world couldn’t know–at least not now.

“I want you to know,” I said, leaning closer to him, “whatever it is you’re planning, it won’t work. I just–I have to know: Why? How?”

“I used to have powers.” He brought his hand to his head. “I could read people’s minds, influence them. But it came at a cost.” He gestured to his leg. “Physical and mental. I stopped until the Alex-Jacob situation. I almost died. ”

I didn’t want to empathise with the man, but I found I couldn't resist. In spite of his flaws, I respected Charles Morris at one time. I supposed that it was another stroke of luck, having him face such a situation.

“You still didn’t answer the why.” Still, I didn’t let up. I had to know. I had to know what it was that would drive someone like him to such extremes. I had to.

He chuckled, before taking another sip from his glass.

“You haven’t touched your drink. Should I have gotten you something else?”

“Charles. Please.”

A few moments of silence followed, Charles seemingly contemplating what to say next. Until he finally spoke.

“Paragon’s true strength didn’t lie in his physical capabilities. His presence, his legend. People followed him. That was why we couldn’t beat him. We had people to match his strength, but he had created a regime of powerful heroes–even some villains–that stamped out anyone who opposed him.

“Even after he fell, there were those that followed his dogma. And the rest of the world? They cried and grieved. All of it, for a man that was still alive. All of it, for a man that had tried to oppress them and rule over them. And so, I gave up my leg! I almost gave up my life! I I-I pushed myself past every limit, to the point where even simple uses of my power were life threatening. I wiped the world’s mind. At least–as many as I could. I dealt with any leakage, anyone that had still remembered, even imprisoning some of them. I did what I had to.”

“There’s nothing I can say that won’t sound like a bad cliche,” I said, standing up. “Know that I have already begun the process of writing a piece about Paragon’s attack on Atlantis. And we both know Frankenstein is on his way too. You can say goodbye to Atlantis. To your power.”

“You think my power’s limited to Atlantis?”

“You won’t hurt anyone else. Neither will Frankenstein and Paragon. I’ll make sure of it. And I’ll do so without crossing any of the lines you did.”

Another sip.

“I have no doubt that you will. But the balance of the world has shifted. Their actions have started things that cannot be undone. Focus on getting back to normal. The balance of these past few years has been delicate, but it’s worked. And it can continue to work.”

“Villains have been running rampant. More every year. And now we have this Frankenstein? Do you not see? If we don’t act now, we’ll either end up with another Paragon, or a world dominated by villains.”

I barely managed to stop myself from yelling at him.

“And what if you become the next Paragon?”

“I won’t,” I said with confidence. “I wish not to rule. Or even save. Only help. And Project: Tomorrow will reflect that.”

And with that I left. Although I could still faintly hear him chuckling to himself in the background. I wouldn’t be like Paragon.

I couldn’t.