“Have a good day, you two!” Mom called out to me and my sister as she drove off. It was Friday, meaning I was mercifully close to the weekend, but I was tense nonetheless. Fridays were often when Henry exercised some of his more bombastic ideas, usually on weeks where he’d been tame for the first four days. I guess even he was vulnerable to procrastination. Two Fridays ago he’d transformed the entire school into a medieval fantasy setting, complete with castle walls and everything. Outside of seeing Emily dressed like a barmaid, that day was absolute hell to navigate. I had to spend the whole day talking like the most enthusiastic member of a renaissance fair to blend in.

“Hey Val, do you remember when the winter break starts?” I asked. Valerie didn’t reply.

“Val?”

Again, no response. I looked over and saw she had her earbuds in. I waved an exasperated hand in front of her face, prompting her to remove the buds with a trademark eyeroll. She was blasting her music so loud I could hear it through the tiny white buds in her hand.

“What?” she said sharply.

“I was asking you a question. Do you really need to be listening to death metal on a Friday morning?”

“I shouldn’t, but evidently people keep trying to annoy me,” she shot back before reinserting the buds. They were attached to a handheld music player rather than her phone, Valerie was one of those people hopping back on the physical media trend. I guess it made some sense, but the convenience of streaming music was too tempting for me to give it up.

Having failed to converse with my sister, I reached the front door of the building. Eyes shut tight, I said a a quiet prayer that whatever Henry had cooked up for today would be minimally disruptive and touched the handle of the door.

Then it exploded.

I was thrown backwards, rolling across the sidewalk as shards of metal and glass landed around me. The cacophonous screams of the other students further contributed to my disorientation as I stumbled to my feet. Thankfully it didn’t seem like I had any serious injuries.

Through the cloud of smoke and dust, I was able to make out a shadowy figure standing alone in the middle of the chaos. They were standing far too tall and confident to be a simple bystander. Then, they spoke.

“Tremble before my might, you fools! I, the Buxom Bomber, have come to lay waste to your pitiful school! Flee now if you value your pathetic lives!”

The speech was somehow more baffling than the explosion itself. Most baffling of all, however, was that I recognized the voice it came from. The dust cleared, allowing me a clear view of the figure that confirmed what I had heard.

My eyes practically leapt out of my skull when I saw my history teacher, Ms. Bailey, dressed in an absurdly revealing costume. She was wearing thigh-high black leather boots, a stylized black mask that concealed her eyes, and matching gloves that stretched up to her elbows. Across her torso was an X-shaped leather belt of sorts that crossed over each breast and wrapped back around her hips. Small, round objects that I presumed to be explosives lined each belt. Lastly, she was wearing what seemed to be a thong that just barely concealed her private parts. She looked like one of those scantily-clad comic book supervillains designed to turn on nerds, but somehow even more sexed-up. And what did she call herself? The Buxom Bomber?!

Apparently I was too caught up in my own thoughts to flee as she locked eyes on me, her mouth forming a twisted grin.

“Well, well, well, looks like someone’s feeling a little brave!” she mocked, pulling an explosive off her belt. “We’ll just have to fix that!”

My life flashed before my eyes as she hurled the object towards me. Was this how I was going to go out? I’d certainly be the first to be blown to smithereens by my history teacher while she acted out a comic book porn parody. That’d make for a hell of a story in the afterlife.

I flinched as the bomb exploded in front of me, only to somehow find myself unharmed. I looked up to see another figure had appeared between myself and Ms. Bailey. She was wearing a flashy purple corset and matching boots, accompanied by a white skirt and gloves. Like Ms. Bailey, she also had a mask covering her eyes, though hers looked less sinister. Also like Ms. Bailey, I recognized her with ease.

“Val?!” I blurted.

If my sister heard me, she didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, she pointed an accusing finger at Ms. Bailey.

“That’s enough out of you, Bomber! Evil has no place in this school while I’m its defender!” she declared in a theatric, very un-Valerie monologue.

A crowd of excited students had accumulated at the fringes of the foyer, shouting amongst themselves.

“Oh my god, it’s Ultraviolet!”

“Can she beat the Buxom Bomber?”

“Save us, Ultraviolet!

Before I could ponder the situation further, Valerie reached down and lifted a fallen vending machine as though it were weightless. I watched, jaw on the floor, as she hurled it at Ms. Bailey. The teacher lobbed a bomb at the incoming projectile, causing it to explode in midair. My sense of self-preservation kicked in, and I scurried to the side of the room in amongst the crowd. A haze of dust and debris had formed between Ms. Bailey and Valerie, creating a smokescreen that once again obscured the foyer-turned-battlefield.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Valerie rushed through the haze and caught Ms. Bailey by surprise, landing a powerful punch to her torso. Ms. Bailey doubled over, her tits slipping out from her outfit and hanging loose as she fell to the floor. Valerie got behind her, pinning her to the ground and using a stray electrical cord to bind her hands. The crowd erupted in cheers as students celebrated the capture of the villain.

“Excellent work as always, Ultraviolet!” a voice called out from the far side of the room. Ms. Robinson, dressed in her normal attire, greeted Valerie by her alter ego. “Thanks to you, this villain will be unable to further terrorize our school. I’ll be sure to detain her in the front office with the others.”

There were others!?

Valerie struck a heroic pose with her hands on her hips, beaming at the Assistant Principal. “All in a day’s work, ma’am!” she declared, eliciting further cheers from the adoring crowd.

Sooner than I thought possible given what we’d just seen, the action died down and the crowds dispersed. Alone in the foyer, I spotted Valerie’s music player laying on the ground. I picked it up and stored it in my pocket. I may as well return it once Val was free from whatever nonsense Henry was putting her through.

Speaking of Henry, I spotted him standing over the debris on the opposite side of the room. He was grinning ear-to-ear, no doubt satisfied with his handiwork. Based on his lack of interference, I assumed he would merely be spectating the scenarios he crafted today rather than being an active participant. Regardless, I didn’t want to risk drawing attention to myself. I quickly made my way off to my first class.

I was in biology, Emily seated beside me as Ms. Shae delivered her lesson on the endocrine system. Emily was a good person to ask about Henry’s manipulations, given she didn’t usually judge me for asking dumb questions. During a lull in the lecture, I leaned over.

“So… what’s the deal with the bomber lady this morning?” I whispered.

Emily shot me an incredulous look. “The Buxom Bomber? She’s been terrorizing us for ages. Thank god Ultraviolet finally caught her.”

“Right, of course,” I said in a hushed voice, “Good for Val.”

I felt a sharp, painful smack on my shoulder as soon as the words left my mouth. Emily was glaring at me, visibly angry. Her gaze elicited a sting of guilt before I even knew the reason.

“Keep your voice down!” Emily hissed, glancing at the nearby students before letting out a sigh of relief. “What were you thinking, casually dropping her secret identity?! People would come after you if they knew!”

Seriously?. Valerie’s costume hardly constituted a disguise, the only obscuring feature was the mask that covered her eyes. Literally every other one of her physical features was plainly visible to the naked eye. If people were unable to see her real identity, that was entirely down to Henry’s manipulations. Regardless of how ridiculous it was, however, I had to play by his rules.

“Right, of course, sorry,” I whispered. Emily scoffed, returning her attention to the lecture. I felt a sinking feeling in my gut, resenting the fact that I pissed her off based on an imaginary set of social norms invented by Henry, one that I had no way of understanding until I committed an unwitting transgression. Unfortunately for me, there was nothing I could do but adapt. I returned my attention to the lesson, trying my best to bury my frustration.

To my surprise, I was somewhat successful in focusing on my notes, keeping my attention firmly on the sheet in front of me. So successful, in fact, that I didn’t realize somebody had entered the classroom until a few scattered gasps spread around the room. I looked up to see Valerie, still donning her superhero costume, with her hands on her hips.

“Ultraviolet! Is there something you need from our class?” Ms. Shae asked, clearly stricken with admiration. Valerie didn’t answer, instead scanning the room until our eyes met. She locked her gaze on me, her face oddly expressionless as a stale silence crept over the room.

Then she threw a desk at me.

Before anyone could react, Valerie heaved Ms. Shae’s desk over her shoulder as if it were made of cardboard and hurled it in my direction. Time seemed to move in slow motion as I watched the mass of wood fly towards my head. In just that fraction of a second, I knew I had no hope of escaping its path or defending myself. I closed my eyes, the one action I had time to take as the desk careened towards me, a strange peace washing over my body. This was the second time today I’d been forced to accept an early death by throw object.

What followed was an even stranger feeling, almost as though a pair of arms had enveloped me before a whirlwind struck, blustering across my face. I opened my eyes, finding myself in the hallway just outside the classroom. Somehow I was completely unharmed, but how did I get here so quickly?

I looked up to see a figure standing before me. She had wide hips and toned legs, all clearly visible in the bright orange leotard she wore that hugged every inch of her body. Most striking were her boots, which reached up to her knees and looked both sleek and sturdy at the same time. Lastly, she had a high-tech tinted visor that covered her eyes, with insignias on the sides that looked like lightning bolts. The costume was outlandish, but like with Valerie it did little to hide the identity of its wearer.

“Emily?” I whispered, though not loud enough for her to hear. She shot me a beaming smile.

“Don’t worry, citizen, you’re safe now!” she declared triumphantly, aiming her fist in the air and striking a cheesy pose.

I simply sat on the ground and stared. A contradictory rush of emotions flooded through me. Relief that Emily had saved my life, anger that Henry had dragged her into his latest game, frustration that she had been made to adopt a whole new personality alongside her alter ego. Most of all, however, was the flush of arousal that struck upon seeing her in her new outfit. The skin-tight spandex was incredibly revealing of her figure in a way that accentuated her breasts and hips, leaving little to the imagination. My eyes continued to gravitate towards her thighs, the smooth skin of her legs exposed from her hips to her boots.

I was snapped out of my confused state by the sight of the door to the biology classroom exploding off its hinges, sending shards of wood sailing throughout the hallway. Valerie walked through the hole she had just made where the door used to be, her cold stare once again fixating on me.

“Ultraviolet! What’s the meaning of this?! You’re endangering civilians!” Emily shouted righteously.

“Stand aside, Reflex,” Valerie answered coldly before breaking into a sprint in my direction. Before she could reach me, however, Emily had moved quickly to intercept her attack. Very, very quickly. In fact, she had covered the distance between me and Valerie in the blink of an eye, pushing me out of the way and dodging Valerie’s punch at unnatural speed.

I continued to watch on in awe as Valerie and Emily fought, with Emily moving so rapidly that she was practically a blur. Valerie was quickly growing overwhelmed, but shrugged off Emily’s hits like they were nothing. I stared dumbstruck from the sidelines as my sister and my best friend used their supernatural abilities to duel one another, barely able to process the battle in front of me. How did my life turn into this?

Things took a dire turn when Valerie stretched her arm out to the side and caught Emily mid-sprint, lifting her off the ground by her neck. I instinctively rushed forward to help her, but Valerie caught me with a backswipe of her free hand and sent me flying into a nearby locker. They make it look easy in the movies, but let me assure you that getting launched into anything, let alone a metal door, is really, really painful. I gasped involuntarily from the impact crumpling into a heap on the floor as I struggled to breathe through the pain.

Through bleary eyes, I could just make out Valerie lining up a punch directly towards Emily’s head. I tried to rush in again, but my limbs gave out when I attempted to move. There was nothing I could do.

Then, miraculously, a beam of radiant blue energy struck Valerie’s fist, encasing it in a block of crystalline ice. I turned to the source of the beam to see another costumed figure, one wearing a large white coat with blue trimmings and a mask that seemed to be made of ice itself. Once again, however, the costume did virtually nothing to disguise the identity of the wearer.

Mai pointed an accusing finger at Valerie. “You’d better chill out, Ultraviolet, or do I have to help you cool off?” Even through my agony, I still found it in myself to groan at the awful puns. Valerie, equally unamused, snapped her arm outward, freeing her fist from the ice block it had been encased in. To my relief, she dropped Emily, focusing entirely on her new target.

Valerie rushed toward Mai, only to be halted by a wall of flames erupting from the ground in front of her. From behind Mai, Lan emerged in a skin-tight black-and red outfit that provided a clear outline of his defined, muscular chest. Mirroring Mai, his mask seemed to be composed of fire, a sight so unnatural I instinctively worried he was in serious danger until I remembered that this whole situation was Henry’s doing.

“No need to get heated, Ultraviolet, you’ll just burn yourself out!” Lan declared with a smirk. Again, I groaned. Apparently the awful puns were a genetic trait shared between the twins. Emily stood up, grinning at the arrival of her allies.

“Frostbite! Heatstroke!” she exclaimed, calling out to the twins by their alter egos. “I need to get this civilian to safety, can you handle Ultraviolet?”

Mai glared in my direction, looking at me as if I were nothing more than a distraction. “We’ll do what we can, but get back here soon!” Mai shouted as she dodged an incoming punch from Valerie. Before I could say anything, Emily had lifted me off the ground and carried me to the vacant nurse’s office in a matter of seconds. Setting me down gently on the vacant bed, I looked up and met her eyes.

“Thanks Em- I mean, Reflex,” I said, leaning back onto the bed.

“Of course De- I mean, citizen,” she responded warmly. In spite of the pain I felt a smile come to my face. Henry may be forcing her to play a role, but Emily still recognized me, even through her superhero alter-ego.

“I have to go and back up Frostbite and Heatstroke now. I don’t know why Ultraviolet’s turned to villainy, but she must be stopped!” Emily declared before sprinting out the door, leaving nothing but an orange blur and a gust of wind.

I laid down on the bed, trying not to aggravate the injuries I’d sustained from Valerie’s attack. Come to think of it, why had she attacked me? Her fight with Ms. Bailey at the beginning of the day made it seem like she was a hero. I felt around in my pocket, finding her music player still intact. Staring into the ceiling, I felt myself drifting off as the questions continued to loom in my mind.

I awoke some time later to a knock on the door. For a fleeting moment I thought the whole superhero incident had been a dream, but the sharp pain I felt while trying to sit up gave me a clear answer that every part of it had been real. Light flooded the room as the door opened, revealing Emily at the entrance. Normal Emily, not her alter ego, “Reflex.”

“Derek! I heard you got attacked by Ultraviolet, are you okay?!” she asked with over-the-top concern. Emily had many amazing qualities, but acting was not one of them.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied, forcing myself onto my feet.

Emily gave me a smile that betrayed an obvious sense of relief. “That’s great! Do you want to join me for a study sesh in the library? Apparently history’s cancelled since nobody knows where Ms. Bailey is.”

It was oddly hilarious to think that nobody could figure out the incredibly obvious secret identity of the Buxom Bomber and just assumed that the innocent Ms. Bailey had gone missing at the same time, but I would happily take the spare period to hang out with Emily.

“Sure, let’s go,” I confirmed.

We chatted as usual as we made our way to the library, stepping over discarded rubble from the countless fights that had erupted over the course of the day. I was surprised the school was still standing given just how many walls had been blown out. Thankfully, the library seemed untouched by the chaos thus far. I guess even supervillains had some respect for the quiet space.

Emily and I picked out a table and took a seat, chatting as normally as we could given the circumstances, when an obvious question occurred to me.

“Hey Em, what ended up happening with Ultraviolet? Why did she attack me?”

Emily looked caught off guard for a moment before regaining her composure.

“Well, I wouldn’t know myself, but I heard that Reflex and her allies managed to capture her and hand her over to Ms. Robinson. We- Sorry, they don’t know why she turned against the heroes,” she explained, providing another shining example of her sloppy acting. I ignored her slips of the tongue and carried on the conversation as normal. It didn’t seem like she knew anything about Valerie that I didn’t.

“Hey Em!” I heard a high-pitched voice approaching the table say. To my chagrin, I looked up to find Mai and Lan approaching us, no longer dressed in their ice and fire costumes.

“Oh hey guys! We were just studying, wanna join?” Emily offered.

“Of course!” Mai exclaimed, beating Lan to the punch and pulling up a seat directly next to Emily. Lan, annoyed, sat next to me. I sighed, resigning myself to another failed attempt to talk to my friend while getting sidelined by the twins. Mai glared at me, but then went back to trying to woo Emily.

“So Em, are you feeling ready for the recital?” she asked while batting her eyelashes.

“The recital? It’s not until the end of the semester, why would I be ready?” Emily responded.

“Oh! Well if you’re not, you can come over and practice with me! My parents will be away this weekend so we can get plenty of practice done!”

“Sorry, Mai, I’ve got plans this weekend! Maybe next month when the recital’s a bit closer.”

“Oh come on! You never want to hang out outside of school!” Mai grumbled, frustrated at her repeated denials. Emily, for her part, seemed genuinely upset.

“That’s not true! I just have other stuff I need to do, I can’t drop everything on a dime, you know?”

“Really? Cause it seems like you do drop everything for some people,” Mai said, her tone noticeably snarky.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emily asked, clearly unsettled by Mai’s tone.

“Really? You need me to spell it out?” Mai asked rhetorically, “How many times have you left yearbook committee meetings early to go hang out with your other friends?”

“I don’t do it that often, do I?” Emily asked, first glancing at Mai and then at Lan. Lan’s eyes darted away quickly, a silent admission of his true feelings on the matter.

Mai continued. “Even today, you- I mean, Reflex, ditched us- I mean, Frostbite and Heatstroke, to go save him!” she accused, glaring right at me.

“He was in danger! I- I mean, Reflex, had to get him away from Ultraviolet!” Emily argued. I was watching the ensuing argument closely, but the accidental identity reveals were getting to be distracting. Still, what did she mean Emily was ditching them to hang out with me? They were the ones constantly pulling her away!

“Emily, we have no classes together and we don’t live nearby. I want to spend time with you, I really do! But every time we hang out you insist on bringing him along. It’s frustrating!” Mai confessed. I was stunned. I knew she didn’t like me, but I never thought she’d say it out in the open like this. Emily, for her part, looked similarly caught off guard.

“So what if I like having Derek around? He’s my friend. You’re the one who’s constantly hostile to him! Do you really think I haven’t noticed you pushing him out of every single conversation? I want to hang out with you too, Mai, but it hurts me when you’re mean to my friend!”

Mai stared back at Emily, her face a mix of frustration and heartbreak. She slammed her textbook shut, slung it over her shoulder, and shot one more glare at me.

“Asshole!” she shouted, storming out of the library and leaving me, Emily, and Lan gobsmacked. I looked over at Emily, seeing tears welling up in her eyes.

“Em… Are you okay?” I asked. She didn’t look back at me, quietly wiping her eyes.

“I think I just wanna study right now, if that’s okay,” she whispered. It broke my heart to hear her sound so deflated. I wanted to say something, to hug her or hold her hand or anything to make her feel better, but I felt paralyzed. Anxieties over what the right thing to say or do was swirled in my head and stifled me into inaction. Even Lan, the ever-competitive sibling, seemed at a loss of what to say at his sister’s outburst.

So instead, I just returned my attention to my textbook. I read the words on the page, but I didn’t process anything. Would Mai just be openly hostile to me from now on? Should I be avoiding her? How would this affect Emily? She said she wanted to spend time with Mai as well, but what exactly did that mean? My thoughts were scattered and my body ached, I longed to just go home and forget this day ever happened.

Slowly, I heard a noise slowly occupying the relative silence of the library. It sounded like… singing. It was faint at first, but gradually the sound became more clear. It was a woman’s voice, and it was beautiful. Was somebody in the choir practicing a song? If so, it was a strange one. The song had no lyrics, just vocalizations that shifted and swayed into indistinct melodies that wafted through the air.

“Do you guys hear that?” I asked. Emily and Lan didn’t answer. I looked at Emily to find her staring off into space.

“Yes, it’s…” she murmured.

“Beautiful,” Lan finished her sentence. Their voices seemed lost and faint. Something was off.

“Em?” I asked, poking her shoulder. She didn’t react. I waved a hand in front of her face, but she continued staring into the middle distance. Lan’s reaction was the same. Their expressions only seemed to grow more vacant as the song increased in volume. I felt worry rising in my chest as the amorphous song crescendoed, now seeming to emerge from everywhere at once.

Then, abruptly, it stopped. I looked around the library. Emily, Lan, and every other student wore the same vacant expression, still entranced by the now silent song.

“To me,” I heard a melodic voice call out. All at once, every student in the library stood from their seats and marched toward the figure in the centre of the room. The source of the singing. It was a voice I now recognized.

Natalie, the short blonde from biology that Henry had once turned into a statue, was wearing what seemed like a long, scaly dress accentuated by striking dark makeup on her face. It looked like something a pop star would wear to a red carpet premiere, nothing like the campy getups their other superheroes had been wearing. Truthfully, it was stunning.

“Listen well, my subjects,” Natalie began, “I am known as The Siren. My goal is to bring the school under my thrall, to share with the masses the bliss of my song. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I heard the chorus of entranced students echo at once. It was chilling, Natalie seemed unnaturally confident in her new role. I quickly straightened up, doing my best to emulate the demeanor of the other students.

“Excellent. You all will help me achieve my goals. This is my wish, as your queen. Do you understand?” she asked, her voice almost sultry.

“Yes…” I murmured along with the crowd. I glanced over at Emily again. How could I get her away from Natalie and out from under her spell?

“Very good, my darlings,” Natalie uttered, “First, any among you who are heroes, step forward.”

To my horror, Emily walked through the crowd without reservation. The mass of students parted ways for her as she stepped gracefully towards Natalie’s voice. Lan followed, until both were standing in front of Natalie.

“Kneel,” she ordered. Emily and Lan fell to their knees as Natalie paced around the two, examining them while they stared off into the middle distance. Carefully, Natalie lifted Emily’s chin until their eyes met.

“Tell me your name,”

“Emily Butterfield.”

“And your alias?

“Reflex.”

A chill ran down my spine. Emily had so fiercely rebuked me when I mentioned Valerie’s name by accident, to so casually admit her own identity to Natalie was a statement to the extent of her influence. Natalie continued.

“And you?”

“Lan Duong,”

“Alias?”

“Heatstroke.”

“Reflex and Heatstroke, excellent. The two of you shall serve me well. Now tell me, do either of you know the identities of any other heroes?”

“My sister, Mai, is Frostbite,” Lan admitted in a soft, unbothered voice.

“I see, we’ll have to bring her into the fray…” Natalie mused.

“My friend’s sister, Valerie Crawford, is Ultraviolet,” Emily confessed in a similar tone. My heart sank.

Natalie chuckled. “Oh, I already know, my dear. Ultraviolet, you may enter.”

I watched as Valerie strutted into the library in her purple hero outfit, falling to her knees in front of Natalie alongside Emily and Lan.

“My army only grows… How marvelous to see…” Natalie remarked to her thralls, taking a seat in a nearby chair usually reserved for the librarian.

“Ultraviolet, my dear, would you mind attending to me? As I understand it, you failed to eliminate those who knew your secret identity as I ordered. As such, you must prove your allegiance to me now. Understand?” Natalie posited with a bemused smile.

“Yes, Mistress,” Valerie answered dreamily, crawling towards Natalie’s waiting hips. Before I could process what was happening, Valerie’s head had disappeared under Natalie’s dress. Was she seriously…

A gasp from Natalie confirmed my suspicions. I did everything in my power to suppress my discomfort as Natalie continued her monologue.

“Now then, let me brief you two on the next stages of my plan. I have already enthralled Ms. Robinson and several other members of the faculty, who are organizing a schoolwide assembly as we speak.”

Natalie paused, craning her head back in pleasure as my entranced sister ate her out. Emily and Lan watched on, silent and stoic in the midst of their own trances.

“I considered simply singing into the loudspeaker, but it’s far too grainy to carry my voice on its own. Not to worry, however, my plan shall nonetheless to come to fruition. Oh!” Natalie gasped, tightening her hips around Valerie’s head as her ecstasy intensified.

“Every hero, villain, and student alike will answer to me and me alone! It will be utopia, on MY terms!” Natalie bellowed, the intensity of the speech rising with her building orgasm.

“Worship me, my servants! Show me your devotion!” Natalie crescendoed, pushing Valerie’s head down as she reached climax while the room bowed their heads in submission to her. I hurried to follow suit, but it seemed to be just a moment too late. Natalie locked eyes with me, immediately recognizing the lucidity in my expression.

“Halt. We have an interloper,” Natalie declared, her voice eerily calm. She seemed utterly confident in herself, enough so that I was seen not as a threat, but as a curiosity. She began to sing once more, the amorphous notes weaving through the air and bringing everyone else into an even deeper daze. I followed suit, miming their entrancement as best I could. Natalie stood, guiding Valerie’s head out from under her dress and strutting slowly in my direction. The enthralled crowd parted for her as she approached me, her gaze clinical and curious.

Finally, we were face to face. I did everything I could, trying my best to unfocus my eyes and let my arms fall limp like the rest of the students in the library. Natalie placed her hand on my cheek, inspecting my face as though I were a piece of art in a museum. A long, pregnant pause followed as she stared into my eyes with terrifying intensity. Then, calmly, she stepped back and turned around.

“Servants, this one is immune to my spell. Dispose of him.”

The words hit me like a rock upside the head, a feeling I was familiar with as of this morning. I bolted for the exit, shoving past the crowd of mindless students. If I could just make it out, then I might be able to save Emily. If I could find somebody, anybody, who wasn’t under Natalie’s control already then we might be able to fight back. Based on what Natalie had said to Emily and Lan, there was at least one person I knew for sure hadn’t been turned yet…

Bursting out the door, I was just barely able to avoid an attack from Valerie. I was in the hall, all I had to do was run! Pushing through the pain of my earlier injuries, I sprinted as fast as I could toward the crowded foyer. If I could just reach it…

A forceful hand on my wrist put a stop to that hopeful line of thinking. I turned around to see Emily, now donning her orange hero outfit but still very much wearing the expression of one of Natalie’s servants.

“Em, please…” I implored, but it was no use. Maintaining her grip on my wrist, she sprinted at superhuman speed back into the library, dragging me by my arm. Before I could react, Valerie appeared behind me and held my arms behind my back in an ironclad grip. With her enhanced strength, I had no chance of resisting her grapple. I was once again trapped in front of Natalie, this time with no hope of escape.

“Tell me, before I have you disposed of, what is so special about you that makes you immune to my song?” Natalie questioned, Lan standing at her side.

“I-I…” I stammered, trying to conjure an answer that would get me out of this situation. “I… Don’t know. I have no idea what makes me special.”

Natalie examined me once more, her eyes tracing my entire body as if looking for something unique about my appearance. Quickly, however, she realized there was nothing to see.

“Very well. Ultraviolet, throw him in there,” she dictated, pointing to a small, open closet.

Valerie obliged, quite literally tossing me into the confined space alongside old laptops and outdated dictionaries. Wincing, I looked towards the open door to see it blocked by a tall, imposing figure. Lan, now donning his own costume as Heatstroke, obscured my only exit.

“It’s a real shame, Derek, I was always fond of you,” Natalie called out from behind him, “But the world I seek to create demands absolute loyalty, the kind you’re incapable of exhibiting. Farewell.”

With that, Natalie walked away with the enthralled Emily and Valerie at her side. Deep down I knew this scenario would end, that Henry would get bored and set everything back to normal. I had to imagine he could heal someone’s injuries or even bring them back from the dead if need be. As my muscles cramped and I held my bruised arms up defensively in front of me, I pondered the irony of being immune to such a miraculous power.

As Lan readied his fist, I closed my eyes, images of Emily jumping involuntarily to the forefront of my mind.

Then the room erupted in flames.