I closed my eyes, focusing on the drain pulsing through me. Noel’s Essentia felt different than the others - colder, sharper, with unexpected depths. I pulled on that energy, letting it fill my limbs as I opened my eyes.

The world seemed to slow down. My perception heightened, details jumping into focus that I hadn’t noticed before. The slight glint of sunlight off metal in a third-floor window. The pattern of shadows across the battlefield. The minuscule shifts in air current that might indicate an energy weapon charging.

I didn’t know what this was. Some side effect of draining Noel? A new ability manifesting? Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to waste it.

I sprinted toward the flag, moving in an unpredictable zigzag pattern. A blast of energy scorched the ground where I’d been a second earlier. Vince had taken the bait.

Another shot, another near miss. I was getting closer to the flag with each dodge. Vince’s firing rate was impressive but predictable - three seconds between shots while his weapon recharged.

I counted in my head. Three. Two. One.

The next shot came right on schedule, and I was already moving in the opposite direction. The energy blast hit a concrete barrier instead, sending fragments flying.

Two more bounds and I reached the flag. I grabbed it and immediately dropped into a roll as another shot passed overhead. Now I just needed to get back to our starting position.

Noel’s astral form suddenly appeared in front of me, pointing urgently toward the sky. I looked up just in time to see something falling - a small device tumbling through the air.

"Grenade!" I shouted, throwing myself sideways.

The device hit the ground and exploded not with fire but with a burst of blinding light and high-frequency sound. A stun grenade. My vision went white and my ears rang painfully.

Through the disorientation, I felt something hit me from behind - Vince, tackling me to the ground. The flag flew from my grasp, landing several feet away.

"Got you now, showoff," Vince growled, trying to pin my arms.

My vision was returning in patches, my enhanced perception fighting through the stun effect faster than normal. I could make out Vince’s blurry form above me, and beyond him, Noel’s astral self hovering anxiously.

I flexed my Rubber Body, stretching my arms to twice their normal length and breaking Vince’s hold. His eyes widened in shock as my elastic limbs wrapped around his torso, lifting him bodily off me.

"What the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Just adaptable." I set him down none too gently and rolled to my feet. "Stay down if you know what’s good for you."

Vince didn’t listen. He came at me again, this time with some kind of electrical device in his palm. I sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and twisted. The device clattered to the ground.

"Last warning," I said.

"Fuck you, D’Angelo." He swung at me with his free hand.

I caught his fist easily, feeling the drain activate without my conscious control. My hand glowed faintly where it touched his skin, and Vince’s eyes widened in shock.

"What... what are you doing to me?" His voice came out slurred, his knees buckling.

I released him immediately, but it was too late. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

Noel’s astral form was staring at me, her translucent eyes wide with what looked like horror. She’d seen everything - the drain activating, Vince collapsing. More evidence for whatever file she was building on me.

I grabbed the flag and ran, not looking back. Usagi was still guarding Noel’s physical form behind the concrete barrier, her gauntlets raised defensively.

"What happened?" she asked. "I heard shouting."

"Vince is down. We’ve got the flag. Let’s finish this."

I ran past her toward our starting position, flag clutched tightly. The horn blared, signaling the end of the match.

"Team Two wins!" Reeves announced.

Students cheered from the sidelines, but I couldn’t focus on the victory. My mind was racing with questions. What had happened with Vince? I’d never knocked someone unconscious with the drain before. And that heightened perception when I pulled on Noel’s Essentia - what was that about?

Noel’s astral form returned to her body, and she sat up with a sharp gasp. Her eyes immediately found mine, burning with accusation.

"What did you do to Vince?" she demanded quietly.

"Nothing intentional." I kept my voice low. "The drain activated on its own."

"You knocked him out with a touch!"

"I didn’t mean to."

"That’s worse!" She stood, brushing dust from her uniform. "You can’t control it?"

"Usually I can. This was... different."

Medical staff were attending to Vince, who was already stirring back to consciousness. That was something at least. I hadn’t permanently damaged him.

Usagi looked between us, confusion clear on her face. "What are you two talking about? What drain?"

"Nothing," Noel and I said in unison.

"Team Two, report for debriefing," Reeves called.

Noel stormed ahead without waiting for us. Usagi gave me a worried look.

"Is she okay?"

"She’ll be fine. Just upset about some tactical decisions."

"And Vince? What happened to him?"

I forced a smile. "Overexertion. Happens in high-stress matches."

Usagi didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press further. We followed Noel to the debriefing area where Reeves was waiting with a tablet, reviewing match footage.

"Interesting performance, Team Two," Reeves said, her ruby eyes lingering on me. "Particularly you, Mr. D’Angelo. That was quite a display of... adaptation."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Though I’m curious about what happened with Mr. Chen." She tapped her tablet, bringing up footage of my hand glowing where it touched Vince’s skin. "Care to explain this?"

"Energy absorption," I said smoothly. "Part of my adaptive response. Still learning to control the output."

"I see." Reeves made a note. "And the other abilities you displayed? The elasticity? The enhanced perception?"

"All registered under my adaptive-type classification."

"Hmm." She didn’t sound convinced. "Well, regardless of the methods, your team secured victory. You’ll face Team One in the finals tomorrow at 2 PM."

Noel’s shoulders stiffened. "Professor, I’d like to request a team reassignment before tomorrow’s match."

Reeves raised an eyebrow. "On what grounds, Ms. Stark?"

"Incompatible tactical approaches."

"You seemed to work together quite effectively today."

"That was before..." Noel glanced at me, then back at Reeves. "Before certain information came to light."

"I’m afraid team assignments are fixed for the duration of the trials," Reeves replied. "Whatever personal issues exist between you and Mr. D’Angelo will need to be resolved before tomorrow’s match."

Noel’s mouth thinned into a tight line. "Yes, Professor."

"Dismissed." Reeves turned away, but not before giving me a look that clearly said we would be discussing this further.

Noel stormed off toward the locker rooms without another word. Usagi hesitated, then followed after her, shooting me an apologetic look over her shoulder.

I stayed behind, waiting until everyone else had left.

"Professor," I called.

Reeves turned back. "Mr. D’Angelo."

"About your research proposal..."

"Yes?" Her eyes gleamed with interest.

"I’m in. When do we start?"

A smile curved her lips. "Tomorrow evening. My private lab. Seven o’clock."

"I’ll be there."

As I walked away, my phone buzzed with an incoming call. I checked the screen and froze.

Vivian Angelo.

My sister. The one who’d called over the weekend about the convenience store footage. The one who’d told me to contact her after classes today.

I’d completely forgotten.

I answered the call, bracing myself. "Vivian."

"Ro Ro." Her voice was honey-sweet with an edge of steel underneath. "You were supposed to call me hours ago."

"Got caught up in the semifinals."

"Did you win?"

"We did."

"Good boy." The praise made my skin crawl. "Now about our arrangement..."

"What arrangement?"

"Don’t play dumb, little brother. I covered for you with Father. Told him your abilities were perfectly normal adaptive-type manifestations. Even got the lawyers to smooth things over with the NEA." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Thanks for that."

"I didn’t do it for free." Her voice hardened. "I want to see what you can really do. All of it. Not just the public exhibition version."

I closed my eyes, feeling a headache building behind them. "Vivian, now isn’t a good time-"

"Tomorrow. After your finals match. My car will pick you up."

"I have plans."

"Cancel them." It wasn’t a request. "Or perhaps I should tell Father that your registration might need closer examination? The NEA has fascinating methods for testing unusual ability signatures."

Blackmail. Perfect.

"Fine," I said. "Tomorrow after the finals."

"Wonderful!" Her tone brightened instantly. "Wear something nice, Ro Ro. We have so much catching up to do."

She hung up before I could respond.

I leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. The semifinals win should have felt like a triumph. Instead, I was juggling more complications than ever: Noel’s discovery of my drain ability, Reeves’s "research" proposal, Vivian’s blackmail, and still no real progress with Aurora.

My phone buzzed again with a text from Mera.

Mera: hurry up, we’re waiting

Mera: cheon made dinner

Mera: and I have dessert

I smiled despite everything. At least I had something to look forward to tonight.

Rome: on my way

Rome: had to knock a guy out by accident

Mera: lol what

Rome: tell you when I get there

Rome: save me some food

Mera: can’t promise anything about the food

Mera: but there will definitely be dessert