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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSaDww337q
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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."96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVR0B3RqRP
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFsEmL2150
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"Hey! Watch it!" I muttered as someone bumped into me.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QCQb2zxsQ
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"Maybe if you weren't standing in the middle of the hallway like a statue, you wouldn't get hit, Vega."96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRc7nopL3Pl
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWk75wvUX44
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"Elizabeth?" I hissed, pulling her into an alcove by the gym. "What are you doing here? You're a... you're a student?"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhYb0okI6Q
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"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?"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1yGDGHyZw
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The Cafeteria Revelation96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8ZGYKIMuq
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By lunchtime, my head was spinning. But the surprises weren't over.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTfC5VFxx4
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDUNTdpGaI
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"I’m telling you guys, the current in the pool was weird today," he said, winking. He looked at me and froze. "Victoria?"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkotn18cxe4
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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."96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcmkjd0bhg
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"Leon?" I whispered. "You go here too?"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9LOpHpkzG
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"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!"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThbgblbJzI
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"Yo, are we having a V-Team meeting without me? That’s cold, guys. Real cold."96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXLUpMLFMm
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eULeMR71E
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Avan.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpRXu2Cclc
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"Avan! Turn that off!" I grabbed his hand, feeling a tiny jolt. "People will see!"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeMMe8nQwq
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"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."96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYWJ8FJDJN
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The Reality Check96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUSWXL1g2A
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSsfm2m9JJ
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"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."96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFBZSeNVVl
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"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?"96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNlWpgyAKY
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1TJfNQtjD
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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.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fpFMaFTe4
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"To the boring stuff," Avan said, raising his juice box.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvI135ZiiRh
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"To the boring stuff," we all echoed.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXXvZlXCvi
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1234 copyright protection92ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVz2Hc7Ru2 尼96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgKdzodPq2