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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknLFG6m5Fe
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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."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BPGljSkHS
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJkHzY9yBP
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"Hey! Watch it!" I muttered as someone bumped into me.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPdUOxP8H6
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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."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTdl0xOGGn
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvy339OZPw
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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?"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeBq611yvV
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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?"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5xjQCOJoT
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The Cafeteria Revelation101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuo0jazbcXW
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By lunchtime, my head was spinning. But the surprises weren't over.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73NyEYbamu
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvmn1kxyan
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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?"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxyfLg7VLS
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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."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMZHzFGd30
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"Leon?" I whispered. "You go here too?"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwkOZZLmTF
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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!"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOax0YyxrbZ
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"Yo, are we having a V-Team meeting without me? That’s cold, guys. Real cold."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IpGPFSz4N
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG7QxbJxSl
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Avan.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9ximnnjCK
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"Avan! Turn that off!" I grabbed his hand, feeling a tiny jolt. "People will see!"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc16ag0ZE9P
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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."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr4xbA6SY6
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The Reality Check101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmfvyTKBSN
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIy1K47fA0
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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."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8wgtxywb1
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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?"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv34z9KWYi
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6qlHvHip4
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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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1L93i8U74
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"To the boring stuff," Avan said, raising his juice box.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDz5KvNhHM
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"To the boring stuff," we all echoed.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEisfxlohJe
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1234 copyright protection97ＰＥＮＡＮＡzC4OF2a0nQ 尼101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoTFBwHqSi