Sherwood City looked different from the sky. Usually, it was a grid of lights and possibilities. Now, as I walked toward the front gates of Sherwood High, it just looked like a place where I had to pretend to be a normal sixteen-year-old girl who didn't just save an underwater civilization.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCJrLYExMz
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EjIq26bHI
My father had dropped me off, his eyes lingering on me a little longer than usual. "Try to just be a student today, Vic," he’d said. "No portals. No energy blades. Just... history and math."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkWpeZqj5t
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqxeALqc4p
I adjusted my backpack, the heavy silver Watch hidden under the sleeve of my oversized hoodie. I walked into the crowded hallway, the smell of floor wax and locker dust hitting me like a physical force.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJns5ng6Ce
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ssa2RVwkh
"Hey! Watch it!" I muttered as someone bumped into me.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWPFvwmZYu
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6k6ttMiDX
"Maybe if you weren't standing in the middle of the hallway like a statue, you wouldn't get hit, Vega."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxz9PxeSJMx
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSNBilCJjG
I froze. I knew that sharp, icy tone. I turned around to see Elizabeth West. She wasn't wearing her tactical Nightshadow gear. She was wearing a perfectly pressed school blazer, her hair in a tight ponytail, carrying a stack of advanced calculus books.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNVtyHFBzi
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh41BC71o9y
"Elizabeth?" I hissed, pulling her into an alcove by the gym. "What are you doing here? You're a... you're a student?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡms0W7XDap8
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUK5EVJoll
"My father insists on a 'well-rounded' education," she said, her eyes scanning the hallway with the same intensity she used to scout for Wraiths. "And don't call me Elizabeth here. It’s Liz. And we don't know each other. Understood?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWsA3ubgoo
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7EnC3fdrO
The Cafeteria Revelation99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnrwsOIXtf
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKYnZMIdCG
By lunchtime, my head was spinning. But the surprises weren't over.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMOn6zx3KP
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDAsoXF5qB
I sat down at a corner table with a tray of questionable mystery meat when a tall, muscular guy with a varsity jacket sat down across from me. He was laughing with a group of swimmers.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALucho0MdH
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSipNgZ7DJ
"I’m telling you guys, the current in the pool was weird today," he said, winking. He looked at me and froze. "Victoria?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkID5UwthM
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgxQhUeqKV
It was Leon. Without his Atlantean armor, he just looked like the star of the swim team. His iridescent skin was less noticeable under the harsh fluorescent lights of the gym, looking more like a "healthy glow."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TgkNOXS7c
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5asd5zFPZ
"Leon?" I whispered. "You go here too?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaqJMGgQfO
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxc6A5GaPh
"Since freshman year," he laughed, leaning in. "Where do you think West finds his 'interns'? He scouts the local schools for kids who... stand out. I thought you went to that private academy across town!"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtLk6lQKUa
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYECPQsjk7U
"Yo, are we having a V-Team meeting without me? That’s cold, guys. Real cold."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1G5FkOdNj
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdpBcJgDiu
A boy with messy blonde hair slid into the seat next to me, his sneakers squeaking on the linoleum. He was wearing headphones around his neck, and tiny blue sparks were literally jumping from his earbuds to his ears.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1676RqsMOZ
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7rBtIxwhG
Avan.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0S7xGAD5V
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRDVk8HN8j
"Avan! Turn that off!" I grabbed his hand, feeling a tiny jolt. "People will see!"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1U1ruWlY4L
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GUKnvHhwC
"Relax, Vic," Avan grinned, stealing a tater tot from my plate. "Everyone just thinks I’m 'statically prone.' Besides, nobody at Sherwood High pays attention to anything but their own phones."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTbtaqFITh
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡednIlQJPsC
The Reality Check99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3liYhErlC
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrJUdJyPyH
We sat there for a moment—the Last Daughter, the Atlantean Prince, the Lightning Bolt, and the Assassin—surrounded by kids complaining about the WiFi and upcoming prom dates.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexqaD9LKr2
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwTk3DqAVz
"It’s weird, isn't it?" I asked, looking at my friends. "Last night we were fighting a Kraken. Now we have a Chemistry test in ten minutes."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2L0ZJcwCk3
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWt5kIeELTv
"It’s the most important mission we have," Elizabeth said, her voice softening just a fraction. "If we can't protect this—the boring stuff, the normal stuff—then what are we even fighting for?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKBdMqqkKu
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLS2hlaCUM
My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from my dad: Found a lead on that 'Subject Zero' thing you mentioned. Be home for dinner. Love you.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyPeYwyzcf
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukVb4NtFfU
I looked at the Watch under my sleeve. It was quiet, but I knew the peace wouldn't last. Doctor Science was still out there. Subject Zero was coming. And Dementra was watching.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvobNkrQL0
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLN5f0BtRYl
"To the boring stuff," Avan said, raising his juice box.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFWUBSddeM
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnZRyt9p6T
"To the boring stuff," we all echoed.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOQl5FSqkI
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1ALCE3HPu
1234 copyright protection95ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTalzXDv8l 尼99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPp8PuNgWB