The downed Spit Take tries to recall what just happened. One minute, he was standing shoulder to shoulder with his comrades, and then, all of a sudden, he was battered, bruised, and left on top of a broken car, humiliated. He distinctly remembers something like an octopus' tentacle grabbing his leg and slamming him down. But he wonders what exactly was that. He looks over to see Streetwise generating a storm right across his two villain teammates.

Unexpectedly, the strong breeze dissipates. Throwback and Tarare gaze upon Streetwise, but something seems off. They both notice that parts of Streetwise's suit, like the blue accents, are glowing. Most notably the ones on his eyes. Radiant white tendrils suddenly sprout from his arm, forming a cone-like shape, with the wider end facing the two villains. Streetwise then places his index and middle finger below his thumb before whispering,

"Tarmac."

With a flick of his fingers, a surging gust of condensed air slams right into them, even staggering nearby cars. Tarare plants his feet and maintains his footing, but Throwback can't keep his guard up and goes flying.

"Throwback!" Tarare exclaims. He tries to reach out for his comrade; however, Streetwise, not giving them any chance to breathe, rushes forward like a bat out of Hell. Tarare throws a blind hook in desperation, but Streetwise just jumps over it and slams his feet on Tarare's nape. Using the impact to propel himself upward and crush Tarare on the road.

Utilizing his ropes, he shoots it across nearby buildings, letting it guide him towards Throwback. He starts to speed up and when he gets just close enough, WHAM! He punches Throwback right in the jaw, sending several of his teeth flying.

"Get over here!" Streetwise shouts, throwing his ropes in Throwback's direction, binding him. He grabs the tether and swings the Villain's body right into Tarare. CRASH! A massive shockwave shakes the ground as Streetwise lands right in front of them. The two villains try to get up, but their body strength fails them.

Spit Take gets up, hides behind one of the scattered trash cans, and quietly observes the situation. He sees the two struggling to stand and assesses that if there were any time to help, it would be now. Across from them, Streetwise carelessly strolls towards them. With his whole body screaming 'off guard,' Spit Take smiles, slowly building up the acid spit in his mouth, and then... SPLAT!

A wave of clear green liquid spills all over Streetwise as Spit Take proclaims, "Yes! Strongest Hero of today, my ass." The ooze quickly drips all over Streetwise's body, even melting the road beneath him. Spit Take quickly helps his brethren up.

"You're still here?" Streetwise asks, seemingly unfazed. As the ooze droops down, Streetwise reveals his counter. A protective layer of his energy ropes all tied together like a ball of yarn, forming a hamster ball shield.

"What the hell is that?" Spit Take asks.

"This?" Streetwise points to his barrier, "It's my roadblock."

"Ah, cute. Because you're Street-wise."

"Yeah, you get it," Streetwise smiles. Without further warning, Spit Take is yet again yanked from his leg and clobbered against a nearby car. CLANG! He spits out more acid before going unconscious.

Usually, Streetwise's energy ropes glow white. However, after years of using his unique ability, Streetwise learned how to turn off the glow by distorting the light within, essentially making the ropes invisible. He calls this technique 'blindspot,' and his go-to strategy is to surprise his foes by slowly wrapping the tendrils on their leg and then tugging really hard, really fast, just like with Spit Take. Unfortunately, he cannot make himself invisible, only the ropes themselves even if he wraps himself up like a mummy.

"Now, where were we?" Streetwise smugly smiles.

"We're at that time you texted your ex 'good morning <3' after breaking up with her," Throwback remarks.

A burst of regret suddenly hits Streetwise's heart, making him take a knee. He clutches his chest hard as he struggles to breathe. It's as if a weighted lock caged his heart. The ground starts to crack, all while Streetwise grapples with this overwhelming force.

"Yeah, you don't have to remind me," Streetwise sighs.

The weight of his own guilt manifests as actual, tangible baggage. His shoulder starts to drop down. He tries to lift himself up, but his regret is far stronger than he ever was. From a distance, Throwback laughs, spitting a tooth and some blood out.

Throwback has the unique ability to use his opponent's worst memories against them. He can crush his foes with their weighted guilt by converting the shameful memories into concussive force. This force can adapt to the strength of their opponent, which means that the cringe will always be heavier no matter how strong the person is. However, he cannot learn more about the opponent through their memories, like their real name or where they live. He can only see the vague situation and how it became a regret.

"How about when you borrowed and damaged your mom's car?"

The weight doubles, breaking the ground even more. Streetwise starts sinking within the street.

"There's a reason why I don't drive anymore," Streetwise weakly laughs. This humungous force suddenly crushes the area around him. Creating a large dust cloud around the battleground. With no trace of Streetwise to be found.

Meanwhile, back at the facility, the students of class Sword look amongst themselves in confusion. The alarms continue to sound all the while the scientists activate their security protocols. A legion of Z-bots arrive in the room and command the scientists and students,

"Remain calm and follow us," they say in a monotonous tone.

"You heard the metal bastards," Sure-Shot states, "let's move!"

Everyone follows the metal bastards to the facility's safe room. They navigate through the red-tinted facility, passing and directing other cowering scientists. As they pass the reactor room, Dreadnought lingers for a minute.

"Consume me, and all this strength will be yours," the reactor whispers. This temptation of power, it starts to consume Dreadnought's mind. He leaves the line and enters the reactor room.

"Oi! You daft wanker, what the Hell are you doing?" Sure-Shot shouts. He rushes towards the room, leaving the line as well.

Another two notice this sudden deviation. White Mask and Double-Trouble.

White Mask is curious about why those two IDIOTS left the line. But he realizes something devious. Maybe these two are actually the REAL THIEVES planning to steal the reactor for themselves and sell it for a quick buck. YES! It makes so much sense, at least in his mind. And even if they aren't, the thought of harnessing the reactor's power for himself, well, it is enticing.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Double Trouble just got lost.

In another part of the facility, Glance and Aegis move to protect Doctor Lasiloo, for a villain stands before them, blocking the exit. A man wearing a purple beanie and black streetwear. He is drenched with liquid Zenithium and bits of Z-bot armor.

"Excuse me. I'm only here for the Doctor."

"Fuck off, Villain!" Glance shouts.

"The name's Recoil, and the only one fucking off... is YOU!"

Recoil charges forward and punches Glance in the chest. However, something blocks his path—a thin, bubble-colored wall. Recoil pauses for just a moment, giving Glance enough time to attack, shooting a yellow beam right at Recoil.

"Get the Doc out of here!" Aegis orders. Glance nods and leaves the room, taking Doctor Lasiloo with him.

"You're making a big mistake, lady!" Recoil shouts. Aegis remains silent and assumes a fighting stance. In her hands, a small, clear bubble starts to form. She locks eyes with Recoil, who is wiping away some blood from his nose.

As all the student heroes and scientists enter the safe room, Wager and Revenant continue watching from the shadows. Just as the safe room doors begin to close, Wager whispers to Revenant,

"Time for a full house~."

Revenant starts covering the safe room's outer wall with a thick fog of black shadow, locking them all in like zoo animals. The Z-bots outside don't even notice a difference and continue standing guard.

Inside the room, the scientists start to relax, not realizing they are all trapped inside. Gateway makes a headcount of all the students there and notices four missing students.

"Shit!"

Matter, discovering that Dreadnought isn't there, quickly dashes to the wall. SMACK! She falls and rubs her shoulder. All the while, Julia loudly cackles.

"Glimpse," Gateway asks, "could you try and look outside to see if something's wrong?"

She nods and tries to peer beyond the walls. Even with her imperfect vision, she should still be able to see outside, yet this time, she cannot. She tries removing her goggles and looking again, but it doesn't change anything.

"Something's blocking my vision," she states. Gateway tries throwing one of his portals, which, surprising no one, also doesn't work.

Gateway turns to one of the scientists and asks, "Does this room interfere with our powers?"

"It shouldn't. Power dampeners only work as small cuffs. Any bigger than that, and it starts to interfere with our tech."

"Meaning someone else is doing this," Gateway says, touching the metal wall.

"Could you at least quickly open the door? We need to check in on our classmates."

The scientist inputs the command to open the door. The walls start creaking, and the door does not move.

"It won't respond!" the scientist shouts, "we're trapped!"

Julia immediately tries to contact the teachers, but even with her advanced tech, she only gets static.

With the situation worsening, Gateway assumes command and orders the Paladins to console the scientists there. While yes, they may be trapped, they have enough resources to last a week, and if a Villain does break in, they will be there to protect them. He then silently prays for Dreadnought and the others' safety.

Within the reactor room, Dreadnought continues to stare at the prototype. He puts his hand on the glass and stares at the power core. In this trance, he can only continue to listen.

"Your friends are in trouble," it whispers, "I can help save them; I can give you the power you desperately yearn for. I can make you stronger than even Streetwise. I can even save your fami-"

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Sure-Shot pulls Dreadnought aside.

"Don't you hear it?" He asks.

"Hear what?" Sure-Shot looks around confused, "All Hell's breaking loose, and you're compromising the mission!"

"Yeah, you blew it Dreadcock," White Mask jokes. Leaning against the Z-Armor prototype. Sure-Shot laughs and pats him on the back, then realizes they have all strayed from the path.

"He blew what now?" Double Trouble asks, surprising all three of them.

"Well fuck me," Sure-Shot shrugs, "guess we're all here die. That's fine."

The four fledgling heroes have found themselves on a sinking ship. Just the four of them versus some Supervillains, and behind them is the Z-reactor, quietly humming energy. If there truly is an intruder, they have just become the last line of defense. On one of the metal walls, a black shadow starts to manifest in the shape of a portal. A woman wearing a white and red jacket and black pants appears from the portal. Her silky black hair reflects the red siren lights.

"Thanks, Revy!" Wager waves, "I'll take it from here."

She slowly walks towards the boys and sadistically smiles. Drawing what appears to be a tonfa. All four of them have instinctively taken a step back. They have fought each other, fought robots, and even sparred with their teachers, but this is something else.

"It's a shame that I won't be fighting Streetwise, but that's alright," Wager licks her lips, "I like em younger anyways~."

This is it; all their hero exercises and combat training have led to this—an actual fight with a fully fledge Supervillain. Usually, hero students don't undergo life-risking combat this early in their careers. But it's better early than never. Each of them readies up and prepares for the fight of their lives.

Dreadnought grabs his pistol.

Sure-Shot clutches his slingshot.

Double-Trouble clones himself three times.

White Mask clenches his bow staff.

"Alright, boys, how about a wager? " she asks, "I bet I can beat all of you in five minutes using only my right arm and this baton. If I can't, I'll let you all live. Sounds like a fair wager, yes?"

White Mask laughs, "You must be stupid if you think-"

"DEAL!" says Sure-Shot. The three heroes just stared at him in disbelief.

Wager has the unique ability known as 'All in,' allowing her to utilize the power of bets, either with another person or herself. When she bets with another person, she can set certain conditions to ensure her an advantage, such as a time limit on fights. The other party must also agree to these conditions, or her powers won't work. However, when betting with herself, she can impose specific rules in exchange for power. Like saying she will only be using one of her arms in a fight, removing the use of other limbs for attack, but significantly increasing the strength of her one arm. She also doesn't have to say the personal bet out loud.

"Well then," she grins, "let's get started."

Back in the main city, Throwback celebrates his victory by helping up Tarare and Spit Take. They look around and celebrate, for Streetwise is nowhere to be found.

"It seems the heroes of today have grown complacent in this era of peace," Throwback comments.

"Even the strongest ant is still just an ant," Spit Take laughs, clutching his broken shoulder.

"We should head to the facility to assist Wager," Tarare tells the other two.

"Hey, uh, Spit Take, what's that on your leg?" Throwback asks.

A glowing white rope has wrapped itself around Spit Take's ankle. Spit Take's eyes widen in a gaze of fear.

"Not agai-" before he could finish, WACK! Spit Take has been slammed on a nearby bus. On top stands Streetwise, but yet again, Streetwise seems off, even more so than last time. Parts of his suit still glow a shining white, but now he's gone silent—his mask squints at Throwback like a hunter staring at its prey.

Throwback steps back and peers into Streetwise's mind to use any piece of regret he has left. Yet he sees nothing. His heart used to be as busy as a highway, but now, the roads are empty. No memories can be found in his mind. It is like Streetwise is an entirely different person.

"What the hell did you do?!" Throwback screams. When he looks back at Streetwise, he is gone. A cold wind brushes past him as Streetwise appears right behind him. Before Throwback can even land a hit, hundreds of strikes land all across his body. He can't even tell if he was hit with Streetwise's fists or his ropes. He spits out more blood and collapses on the ground.

The glowing effect dissipates across Streetwise's body. His body becomes more tense, as if someone is waking up. He looks to Tarare and smiles, "And then there was one."

Without warning, Streetwise tackles Tarare to the ground. While he is lying down, Streetwise stands on his belly and starts talking,

"I've got you all figured out Isaac weighs a ton. Your fat allows you to absorb kinetic energy, almost as if you're 'eating the blows.' Which means I just have to hit you really, REALLY HARD!"

Streetwise leaps from Tarare's body and slams down with all his might. Shattering all the windows around them and shaking the earth itself. Tarare struggles to stand as he catches his breath. Streetwise notices that the fat man has gotten smaller and smiles. With his ropes, he reinforces his entire arm and goes in for another, then another, then another! Until Tarare is reduced to an unconscious skinny man.

"Awww, he's all tuckered out," Streetwise gloats. He cuffs Tarare and the rest of the villains with power dampeners and hands them over to the local Boston police. He then radios in Aegis and Glance, only to hear static.

"That's not good," he whispers. He excuses himself from the police and begins to make a makeshift catapult using his ropes and the buildings around him.

"Hang in there, you guys. Daddy's on his way back!" WOOSH! Streetwise goes flying back to the facility. Will he make it back in time to save Aegis, Dreadnought, and everyone there? Find out next time on Paladin's Academy!