The School Ruins
Wayne didn't look back as the air around them began to crackle with high-tension energy. "I know you're probably not gonna do it, D, but you should kill them," he said, his voice cold and steady. "These guys could order a city-wide blackout with a phone call. No prison will keep them."
Damien didn't argue; he didn't have the time. Moving in a blur of radiant white, he charged directly at the architects of Cecelia's misery. Mrs. Cole lunged, her fist shrouded in a swirling vortex of parasitic darkness. Damien ducked as the displaced air whistled over his head, and drove a palm strike straight into Mr. Cole's solar plexus.
"Pressure Wave."
The accompanying burst of wind launched Mr. Cole like a kinetic missile. He tore through three reinforced walls, clearing eight city blocks in a split second before crashing into the fountain at the center of the town square. Damien leaped after him, a streak of gold against the dark sky.
"Dang it," Wayne muttered, looking at Mrs. Cole as she recovered with predatory grace. "Can some of the other strong guys fight the lady? I'm busy."
Alex rushed in to help, but Mrs. Cole didn't grant her a glance. With a casual, brutal backhand, the woman sent Alex flying. The girl collapsed while other students stood back, recording the violence on their phones. Wayne winced at the sight, but his priority was Cecelia. She was trembling, her breath shallow and jagged, trying to scream despite her voice having run out. He scooped her up and retreated into the last standing classroom block, hiding her from her mother's sight.
The Town Square
In the Town Square, Mr. Cole pulled himself out of a shattered storefront, coughing up powdered marble. He was stunned by Damien's raw output, but his corporate mind was already recalculating the variables. He packs a punch, Mr. Cole thought, his eyes narrowing. But no matter. As long as I can make contact, I'll drain him until he's a husk.
He pulled his aura inward, shifting from external projection to internal reinforcement, turning his body into a living vault. He leaped onto the road across from Damien. The square was packed. Thousands of people stood with their phones out, the blue light of their screens reflecting in the darkness.
"It's over!" Damien shouted, his voice echoing through the square. "You wanted to keep your evil a secret? I've brought you here for everyone to see who you really are!"
Mr. Cole struggled to find his composure, then straightened his ruined suit. He didn't look at Damien; he looked at the crowd.
"To everyone who can hear my voice!" Mr. Cole's voice was amplified by his energy, booming over the square. "I'll give a five-million Zig reward to whoever brings me this boy's head."
The atmosphere shifted. The crowd stopped being spectators; they became a sea of predators. The people hesitated, waiting for someone else to move first so they could cross that collective moral barrier.
Mr. Cole smirked. "Fine. How about ten million?"
The crowd broke. A wall of civilians, utterly blinded by the sum, lunged at Damien.
The Classroom Block
Back at the school, the teachers were divided. Damien's homeroom teacher and the instructor from Tyrone's class stood with the students, creating a defensive line against the corrupt staff. The chaos left an opening for Mrs. Cole to stalk Wayne and Cecelia.
Inside the ruined classroom, Cecelia felt a strange warmth. Wayne was funneling his own energy into her, carefully converting it to match her ninety-four percent Negative frequency.
"I don't... want to go back," Cecelia whispered.
"Don't worry," Wayne said, his eyes fixed on the door. "That's not gonna happen."
Mrs. Cole walked in, her heels clicking sharply on the debris. "Says who?"
"Dang it, you again?" Wayne sighed.
"Hand her over," Mrs. Cole commanded. "She's done enough damage to the company name today. Do you want us to live in the streets like thugs?"
Wayne ignored her, focusing entirely on Cecelia. "Hey. It seems you never learned any techniques, but luckily for you, you have a ton of negative energy. This should be second nature. You feel that coldness inside? That suffocating feeling?"
Cecelia began to tremble, her eyes turning a void-like black.
"No, don't let it leak out. Hold on to it," Wayne whispered. "Imagine all that coldness, all your problems, just burning away. That hell you feel inside? Give it to her." He touched the center of her palm. "Let it out."
"Inferno."
A massive column of black flame erupted from Cecelia's hand. It wasn't a flicker; it was a beam of pure entropy. Mrs. Cole was instantly turned to ash, the sheer force of the blast incinerating the entire back half of the building.
The Aftermath
In the Town Square, Damien slammed both palms onto the pavement. "Glacial Floor."
A massive wave of frost erupted, flash-freezing the city square. Hundreds of people were swept off their feet, their greed silenced by the sub-zero chill. Damien stood atop the ice, looking down at Mr. Cole, who was frozen in shock and completely powerless.
At the school, Wayne stared at the pile of grey ash that used to be a billionaire.
Suddenly, the city's power hummed back to life. Streetlights flickered on, exposing the raw carnage of the courtyard. In the distance, the wail of sirens grew louder. The authorities had finally been mobilized.
Both twins knew the same thing: the world was never going back to the way it was.