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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOoyRRyhB7R
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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."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rS4YIcVze
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGcdKoVqX2
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"Hey! Watch it!" I muttered as someone bumped into me.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidzuaEb9oB
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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."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91tZ693c3i
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50aZXbhjGv
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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?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0M5tR5q4G
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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?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0ooX7wpTi
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The Cafeteria Revelation98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqWUH9N3w5
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By lunchtime, my head was spinning. But the surprises weren't over.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKk4VJK3JR
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaJyE78Ypl
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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?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeI1TCvetsW
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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."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuj346iCsI
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"Leon?" I whispered. "You go here too?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsjQvyActn
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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!"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosqm05YfaL
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"Yo, are we having a V-Team meeting without me? That’s cold, guys. Real cold."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJRpsfenAa
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOgmtC2rGh
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Avan.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjCYq4HmRR
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"Avan! Turn that off!" I grabbed his hand, feeling a tiny jolt. "People will see!"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeQORWRtcu
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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."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtvnL90EOk
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The Reality Check98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0XVbkOrhB
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzTRlImxSZ
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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."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kNe62YNw6
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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?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1BawltZc9
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6D0GUqoRs
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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.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Mf6DBq4S9
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"To the boring stuff," Avan said, raising his juice box.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXXq5ObzwQ
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"To the boring stuff," we all echoed.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO8uajaXZ3
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1234 copyright protection94ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMhnctK5c6 尼98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHrmHBeI6j