The sun was beginning to set as Nico walked out of school with Jenna by his side and Danny trailing just a step behind. The awkward tension between him and Jenna had lessened since their first encounter, and Danny’s sharp wit kept the conversation light. Danny had become a close friend over the past week—his smarts were unmatched, and with his power to boost his IQ for a limited time, he had quickly earned his spot as one of the brightest minds in their class.

"Did you hear about the upcoming rankings evaluation?" Danny asked, adjusting his glasses. "I heard the Sacred Commandments are going to be present this time."

Jenna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, great. Another chance for them to show off.”

Nico stayed quiet, his mind still half-occupied by the warning from the director's office and Kyle's taunt earlier in class. He had been flying under the radar for the past few weeks, but his recent fight at the valley and the talk around school had put unwanted attention on him. Jenna and Danny didn’t know about his nights at the underground valley, and he wanted to keep it that way.

As they turned down a quiet street on their way home, Nico felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Something was off. His eyes darted around, scanning the shadowed alleys and corners. The neighborhood wasn’t particularly dangerous, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.

Danny seemed to notice too. “You feel that?”

Nico nodded subtly, his body tensing. Jenna stopped mid-sentence, her expression changing as she caught on to the sudden tension.

That’s when they heard the footsteps behind them. Slow, deliberate. Then more. Three, four… maybe five sets of feet.

“Hey,” a voice called from behind, thick with arrogance. “Where you headed, fat boy?”

Nico’s stomach twisted. He turned to see a group of five guys approaching, all of them smirking with an air of confidence. They weren’t your typical troublemakers—each of them radiated power, the kind you could feel before even seeing them in action.

Nico’s heart raced. He sized them up quickly. These weren’t random thugs. Each one of them carried themselves like experienced fighters, and the energy emanating from them told Nico they were all power bearers.

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One of them stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. “We’ve been hearing some interesting things about you, Nico. Word on the street is you’ve been fighting in the valley.”

Nico’s eyes narrowed. How did they know? He hadn’t even told Jenna or Danny about that.

Jenna’s eyes widened. “Nico… is that true?”

He didn’t answer. There was no time to explain. The leader of the group, a guy with spiked red hair and a scar down his cheek, grinned. “Names don’t matter. All that matters is that we’re here to show you what happens when you step out of line.”

Nico shifted his stance, readying himself. "And what exactly did I do?"

The redhead’s smirk widened. “Doesn’t matter. All that matters is you're on someone's radar now. The only way out is through us.”

Nico clenched his fists, the familiar weight of tension settling in his gut. Jenna stepped back cautiously, and Danny was already calculating something in his head, his eyes darting between the attackers.

Danny spoke up, his tone calm. “Their powers are high-level. We can’t take them all at once. I’ll need to activate my IQ boost, but it won’t last long. You two need to—”

Before Danny could finish, the guy closest to them lunged, his body glowing with faint energy. His power was super speed, and in a flash, he closed the distance between them. Nico barely had time to react as the first punch flew toward him.

But Nico wasn’t the same as before. His training in the valley had honed his instincts, and even though he didn’t have the raw speed of his opponent, he managed to sidestep just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.

“Not bad,” the redhead taunted, his voice casual. “But let’s see you handle this.”

One of the other fighters moved, and suddenly the air shimmered with energy. His power was force manipulation, and Nico felt the air around him grow heavy, pushing against him as if an invisible hand was trying to crush him.

Jenna gasped, stepping back as the oppressive force pressed down on them. Danny’s eyes glowed faintly as he activated his power. “Nico, duck!”

Nico didn’t hesitate. He dropped to the ground just as a wave of invisible force swept above him, slamming into the wall behind where he had been standing.

Danny's voice was sharp. “Jenna, stick close. Nico, we need to move. We’re outnumbered, and they’ve got range and speed.”

Nico gritted his teeth. This wasn’t going to be easy. But he had one advantage. His power. If he could copy the right ability, he might be able to turn the tide.

The super-speed guy came at him again, a blur of motion. Nico’s mind raced—he needed to copy his speed, just for a few seconds. He focused, activating his ability just as the guy swung his fist.

For a moment, the world slowed down. Nico could feel the rush of energy coursing through him as he mirrored the attacker’s speed. He dodged, moving in a blur, and countered with a punch of his own, catching the guy off-guard.

But it wasn’t enough. The force manipulator was already preparing another wave of energy, and one of the other fighters—a hulking brute with enhanced strength—charged at them, his fists glowing with power.

“Danny, now would be a good time for that IQ boost,” Nico muttered, his muscles already straining from the burst of speed he’d copied.

Danny’s eyes flashed as his IQ spiked. “We need to split them up. Jenna, run to the left—force manipulator will focus on you. Nico, take the brute. I’ll handle the rest.”

Nico didn’t have time to question Danny’s strategy. He sprinted toward the brute, feeling his legs burn with the borrowed speed. The guy swung a massive fist, but Nico ducked low, rolling beneath the attack and landing a solid punch to the guy’s ribs.

The fight was far from over, and Nico knew that if he didn’t play this smart, they were going to be in serious trouble.