After the attack on Avalon's facility, the Paladins administration has administered a two-week break for the students and the staff. It was a quiet day when Class Sword returned. Everyone heard about the villain's attack, but they can't seem to believe it—an actual villain raid.

In the years since Overlord's defeat, organized villainy dropped to an all-time low. Most heroes of the current era only faced random crimes and the occasional Void-Born rampage. But with a sudden spring in united villain action, a quiet fear spreads among them. Could this be the spark to light the flames of tyranny? Could this be a signal to all villains, past and present, that the heroes have gotten weak, that the clock may strike Twelve once more?

For the past few days, the medical bay has been swamped with inquisitive students. Each wants to see the damage the villains have done and ask the victims about their battles. This incident caused the clinic to be barred from visitors. Only teachers and authorized visitors, such as family, can enter. Currently, Streetwise watches over both Glance, Aegis, Sure-Shot, and Double-Trouble.

He slumps on one of the bedside chairs, briefly yawning and stretching his arms. His mask rests on his legs as his tired eyes relentlessly watch the IV monitors, checking if anything is out of the ordinary. He scratches his head, not sure about what he's looking for, until he slowly lowers his head, finally getting some rest...

KABOOM!

A massive shockwave shakes the ground. Hundreds of glass shards hit Streetwise's body, pushing him against the wall. He reaches for his mask using his light ropes, but they don't appear. He looks to his hand, only to find it covered in blood. He desperately tries to rub it off, but the stain remains.

He changes his plan and rushes to the clinic beds, only to find them empty. Well, not entirely empty, as he sees a pool of blood dripping from the frame. His heart sinks, but as a Superhero, he knows he can save the others.

Explosions ring outside the school grounds. Chris continues running, passing by multiple deceased students all around. As he exits the halls, all he sees is Paladin's Acadamy in ruins. Flames engulf the broken buildings. Bodies of hundreds, if not thousands, of students and teachers lie motionless on the ground. Up in the sky, a crimson-eclipsed moon glimmers in the night. Chris falls to his knees. His entire body draped in the blood of his allies.

In the middle of it all, a hulking behemoth towers before him. His royal purple cape bellowed in the wind. His silver and black armor was adorned with golden chains and scarlet liquid. His silver mask only highlighted his golden eyes and sinister grin. On his feet rests Sparkplug and Ms. Winter, their lifeless eyes staring into his soul.

Before him stood the mad king of villains, the archon of calamity, the harbinger of destruction, the OVERLORD of the new world. Chris could only listen in horror as he screamed,

"Tremble in fear, for I AM HERE!"

Streetwise jolts awake in the middle of the night. The monitors continue beeping and displaying the vitals of each patient. The silent hum of the air con calms him down just a little bit. He grabs his chest and notices his heart beating way too fast, so he steadies his sharp breathing.

"You good?" A kind-sounding woman asks. Her long pink hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, and her soft blue eyes carefully observed the patients. This is Remedy, the chief nurse of Paladin's Academy.

"Oh, hey Rem," Streetwise nods, "yeah, I'm good. Why?"

"Because it is twelve degrees, and you're sweating a sauna."

"This?" Streetwise wipes his sweat away, "it's nothing. Probably just a little hotter here by the window."

"Mhmm," Remedy says, "You know I've seen this before, right?"

Streetwise quickly uses his light rope to grab his mask and wear it.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on or bottle it up as usual?"

"Bottle it up as usual," he replies.

"Eight years and still a prick. Impressive," she slowly claps.

"Don't beat yourself up over it," he shrugs.

She sits down next to him and puts her hand on his shoulder. Streetwise lowers his head.

"I've only seen you scared twice. The first time was with Krýos, but the second time..."

"It's just a nightmare," he says shakily, "nothing more."

"I agree," Remedy smiles, "nothing more than a stress-induced delusion. So please, as the school's Doctor, go get some real rest. At least eight hours of bed rest. I've got things here."

Streetwise nods and stands up. As he is leaving, Remedy checks her watch. A small Zenithium counter appears. She checks the readings and finds that Streetwise has been in contact with pure Zentihium. She quickly checks on her patients and finds that both Sure-Shot and Double Trouble have been exposed as well. Not only have they been exposed, but they are being corrupted through contact alone. She notes her findings on her phone and continues her medical work in the clinic.

"Interesting," Remedy whispers.

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As the morning finally arrived, a gaggle of students gathered around one locked room. Ever since they returned to the Academy, the students of both Sword and Shield have been dying to know what happened to the fantastic foursome. Rumors of them facing off against a real-life Supervillain have spread throughout the entire campus. Even some of the second and third years have become interested.

However, just like the clinic, the first-year dorms have been sealed off. This means that only the first-year hero students who reside there can get the answers they desire. There just seems to be one problem: after Dreadnought's sudden boost in power, and upon his return, he has locked himself in his room for days on end. Not one soul knows why, not even his close friends, Snooze or Matter. For the past few days, Julia has been pushing Matter to just suck it up and go in. No matter how hard she tries, she can't seem to convince her. With Dreadnought out of the picture and Sure-Shot and Double Trouble recovering in the clinic, only one man can save them now.

Julia calls an emergency meeting in the lounge. Most of the class has dismissed her ramblings, yet a few people show up keenly interested or, more realistically, have been coerced into attending.

"Thank you for showing up, team. We have something important to discuss,"

She begins writing on a whiteboard she built, 'Where the hell is White Mask?!'

"Can I leave now?" Matter raises her hand and asks.

"But don't you want to know what happened to your little darling Dreadnaught?" Julia laughs. She quickly ducks when an eraser is thrown at her.

"You guys should just kiss," Meraxes comments, crossing her legs and leaning her head back.

"And why are you here?" Matter points.

"Because this happens to be interesting, and I'm currently bored."

"Enough bickering, Paladins!" Techn0-Kn1ght screams, "We must remain focused and vigilant. Now prepare to move out!"

She grabs Glimpse by her neck collar and drags her out, with Glimpse showing no resistance. Meraxes quietly giggles and follows suit while Matter rolls her eyes, begrudgingly following them.

Out in the green area, Julia begins looking for clues. With her nanobots, she constructs a comically large magnifying glass. Lots of students are loitering around because, frankly, they have nothing to do for the next few weeks.

"Nothing here, ladies; how are your investigations?"

"Could you knock it off?" Matter asks kindly, gritting her teeth.

"I-I haven't seen anything," Glimpse trembles.

"Huh?" Meraxes looks up from her phone.

"Not one lead," Julia shakes her head. She smokes a Victorian pipe and viscerally coughs. Glimpse rushes to her aid and pats her on the back.

"I'm fine, Watson; we just have to switch our tactics and our outfits!"

With a snap of her fingers, several thousand nanobots begin wrapping around them. For Julia, she constructs a classic Sherlock Holmes outfit, complete with a brown trench coat and a stupid hat. Glimpse obtains a posh powder blue suit with brown leather shoes. Matter acquires a skimpy white dress, highlighting all the curves of her body while exposing a good chunk of it. Meraxes receives a sleek, elegant black ball gown with long gloves and black tights.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Matter shouts, immediately covering herself up using her arms.

"What? We need Holmes, Watson, Watson's Wife, and Adler."

"I swear to God, Julia, I am going to kill you."

"Duly noted, and ignored. Onward to the next clue!"

The four girls move on to the cafeteria. Since it's around three in the afternoon, very few people have gathered here. Julia begins to formulate a plan.

"So clue-finding won't work. Let's try interviews!"

She approaches a random student and generates a camera for Glimpse and a mic for herself. She then asks,

"Excuse me, do you know a White Mask?"

"Who?"

"White Mask. The ACHBI."

"Uhhhhh, what does he look like?"

"Well, he's got blonde hair, a white mask, and I think it was a grey trenchcoat."

"What year is he in?"

"First year."

"Sorry, haven't seen anyone like that."

"Damn," Julia snaps her fingers. She moves on to another person in the cafeteria.

"Hi, have you seen a guy with a white mask around?"

"Techno-Knight? What are you doing?"

It seems the person Julia asked was none other than Sparkplug. She is currently eating a giant burger and with one bite, consumes it all. She takes out another burger from her side and places it on the table.

"Oh, didn't recognize ya. Hope we're not interrupting."

"Not at all! You guys wanna join?"

"Nah, we're looking for White Mask 'cause we want to ask him some questions about the attack."

"Ah, right," Sparkplug swallows another burger, "I think I saw him earlier by the elevators."

"Great Scott! A lead! Thanks, Sparkplug!"

Sparkplug waves them off as she wolfs down yet another burger. Julia drags the other three to the main building, where the elevators are. However, there is one problem. A long waiting line has formed right outside the main hall. It seems that during the break, people opted to visit for consultations instead.

"Rats," Julia scoffs. "Guess we'll have to do this the new fashion way."

She sends out a legion of small insect-like droids. They begin to scan the area, looking for anything that can lead them to White Mask.

"C-can we go?" Matter hides her face while pulling the dress down. Glimpse offers her jacket, allowing Matter to hide her exposed back and barely covered chest.

"Huh, that's odd," Julia scratches her chin, "I'm picking up strong residues of pure Zenithium from that elevator. Like the one from the reactor."

"Meaning, you found him?" Meraxes questions.

"Eureka!" Julia shouts, "just one problem, how do we get up?"

"Let me handle that," Meraxes smiles. From her hands, a small ball of fire emerges. She chucks it right towards one of the indoor plants, setting it ablaze.

"In three...two...one."

"FIRE! FIRE! ALL STUDENTS EXIT THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY!"

Two metal guards arrive on the scene. One of them begins evacuating the students while the other prepares an extinguisher. Using her Insectibots, Julia infects the guard, evacuating, making it ignore the four of them and continuing to lock off the area. With the coast now clear, Julia drags them to the elevator and closes the door.

It takes a while for them to get up, but eventually, they make it to the rooftop of the building. Julia collects all her nanobots back, restoring everyone back to their costumes, as she prepares a microphone and a camera.

"Alright, Paladin's listen up. This is first-time hero interviewer Julia Miyamoto on the scene with a juicy exclusive. Today, we are going to interview one of the students present during the Avalon Villain attack. Stay tuned!"

A small whimper can be heard at the rooftop's edge, accompanied by the rustling of clothes. The wind picks up an intoxicating scent, throwing them off guard.

"I-is that?" Glimpse looks around.

The whimper turns into a moan as the rustling sound gets faster and faster until...

"Ah~"

A tired gasp exits White Mask's mouth. He lies down on the gravel floor and catches his breath.

"Fuck," he sighs. His body trembling from his solo performance. He looks to the clouds and smiles, fully satisfied with himself.

*click*

White Mask immediately pulls his pants up and looks behind him. Only to find Julia with a smug smile, holding a camera, Glimpse blushing and covering her eyes, Meraxes looking horrified, and Matter with a disgusted gaze.

"Erm, what the sigma?"