"Ahh!!! Th-The s-statues… the statues moved!"
The woman's voice echoed through the darkness, sending chills down the spines of both human and alien visitors alike. They all felt like they had entered a horror movie. An unexpected one at that.
The Midtown High students weren't faring any better. Their legs shook uncontrollably, some nearly giving out under the crushing fear.
Only Zayne, his team, and Natasha remained calm and composed.
Zayne and the others moved quickly, coordinating their classmates and guiding them together, calming them down as best they could. They settled everyone into a single area so they could be easily protected from whatever was about to come.
Natasha's thoughts churned as her head snapped toward the direction of the woman's scream. That was when she noticed something deeply wrong—something no human eye should ever witness.
An alien statue moved.
Its eyes glowed an eerie blue as thin cracks spread across its body with each passing second. A blue, viscous liquid began seeping out, dripping steadily from the fractures.
The substance squirmed the moment it hit the ground, writhing as if alive, before rushing toward the terrified woman. Before either Natasha or the woman could react, the liquid leapt upward and latched onto the woman's face.
"Ahhhh!"
The woman screamed in pure horror, clawing desperately as she tried to rip it off. After only a few seconds of struggle, her body went limp. The blue liquid rapidly spread, covering her entirely, molding itself into the shape of the statue it had emerged from—except now it was flesh, parts of it still dripping onto the floor.
All of it happened in seconds, far too fast for anyone to properly react.
"Roarrr~"
The white, faceless alien opened its mouth, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and roared toward the ceiling.
Even Natasha, with all her training and the countless strange horrors she had witnessed just this week alone, couldn't stop herself from shuddering. What stood before her was unlike anything she had ever faced. After years of dangerous missions, she had learned when to advance and when to retreat.
This time, she knew—if she didn't retreat, she would die.
"Damn it… Why am I so unlucky this week?" Natasha cursed inwardly as she moved into cover. "First, those dinosaur-looking cyborgs, and now this? I'm not paid enough for this shit."
Zayne, who had been scanning the surroundings, noticed what had just happened. He was momentarily startled by the speed of the process. It hadn't taken more than five seconds. There hadn't been enough time to react properly—especially since he was already focused on protecting his classmates.
And it wasn't just one statue.
Several had begun moving and attacking almost simultaneously.
The only reason Zayne wasn't panicking was simple—the woman and the others who had been infected weren't dead. They could still be saved. He had prevented it.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Zayne and his team transformed, carefully shielding the process. Teacher 'Natalie' was still present, after all. Even if she couldn't see clearly in the dark, one could never be too cautious when S.H.I.L.E.D. agents were involved.
Wasting no more time, they moved.
"Ahh!"
"Help!!"
"My child!!"
Screams rang out everywhere as people tried desperately to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Zayne's eyes turned cold under his helmet as he spotted one. He raised his arm and fired his omni-blaster, instantly pulverizing one of the moving aliens.
Ziing~
"Shriek~"
It let out a final cry before crumbling into dust. Strangely enough, the human—or alien—it had possessed collapsed to the ground unharmed, very much alive.
This was thanks to Zayne's skill: Innocence.
He had activated it the moment the strange liquid began possessing the civilians around them.
It ensured the enemy was destroyed, while the innocent—human or alien—was left completely unharmed.
This was also why he was confident there would be no losses today. He had learnt his lesson on the last missions.
The battle spread quickly.
With Zayne's Innocence skill active, there was no need to restrain themselves. No need to pull punches. No need to carefully calculate damage to avoid casualties. The skill ensured it—any innocent caught in the crossfire would be protected.
So they went all out.
The Dino Rangers were the first to move in force.
Their new gear activated seamlessly, their new omni-weapons syncing with their suits. Sabers, blasters, and energy-based weapons materialized in flashes of primal light. Every strike carried overwhelming force, tearing through the white, faceless aliens as if they were nothing more than hollow shells.
The red ranger (Conner) cleaved through two at once, his Thunder Max saber slicing cleanly as both creatures disintegrated into ash mid-motion. Ethan and Kira unleashed a concentrated blast from their omni-blaster, the beam ripping straight through an advancing cluster and detonating them from the inside out.
Trent used his powers to construct several weapons to fight against many.
The creatures roared and shrieked, but their numbers meant nothing against coordinated power.
The Spider-Heroes moved differently.
They didn't brute-force their way through the enemy. They danced.
Enhanced by their agility and amplified by extensive training, they became blurs of motion in the darkness. Webbing shot out in rapid succession—binding, pulling, slamming enemies into one another before crushing them with precise, overwhelming blows.
Gwen leapt from statue to statue, rebounding off walls, twisting midair before driving a glowing kick straight through an alien's torso. Peter used web-lines to sling multiple enemies together, detonating them in a single explosive impact.
It was efficient and relentless.
To anyone hiding in the darkness, it was incomprehensible.
Flashes of red, blue, green, and gold cut through the black like lightning. Heavy thuds echoed through the hall, followed by alien shrieks abruptly cut short. Shockwaves rippled through the ground, rattling the floor beneath trembling civilians.
No one could see what was happening.
They could only hear it.
Natasha stayed hidden, her back pressed against a cold surface, heart pounding despite her discipline. She caught glimpses—brief streaks of color, silhouettes moving impossibly fast, shadows colliding with violent force.
This wasn't a simple skirmish.
It sounded like a one-sided massacre.
And whoever these people were… Natasha was pretty sure she was not their match.
The midtown students huddled together, hands clutched tightly, eyes wide. Some prayed. Others held onto one another in silence. None of them dared move.
They didn't know who was winning.
They didn't even know who was fighting.
Minutes passed.
Then—slowly—the sounds of combat began to fade.
The shrieks stopped first.
Then the heavy impacts.
Finally, the air grew still.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Those hiding in the darkness held their breath, dread creeping in. Was it over? Or had something worse taken its place?
Then—
The lights flickered.
Twice
And suddenly, the hall was illuminated.
People squinted as their eyes adjusted, fear and confusion etched across every face. What they saw made them freeze.
Standing throughout the area were armored figures—Rangers and Spider-Heroes alike. Their stances were steady, composed, unshaken. Beneath their feet lay nothing but scorched floors and piles of burnt ash, the remains of the strange, white aliens that had attacked moments ago.
Not a single one still moved.
At the center stood Zayne.
He turned to face the crowd, his presence commanding instant attention. Even without raising his voice, it carried weight.
"Get to safety now."
That was all it took.
Panic turned into motion.
Humans and aliens alike surged toward the exits, abandoning all hesitation. No one questioned him. No one argued. Survival instinct took over as the crowd rushed out of the hall.
The midtown students followed closely, teachers guiding them as best they could. Natasha moved with them, her eyes flicking back toward the armored figures even as she ran.
This was her chance to investigate and progress with her mission.
But this was neither the time nor the place.
Worse—staying might get her killed.
With a sharp exhale, she pushed those thoughts aside and ran.
Zayne watched them go, his visor tracking every movement. When the last of the conscious civilians had cleared the area, he lifted his hand.
In an instant, the unconscious victims vanished in soft flashes of light—teleported safely outside the building, far from danger.
He lowered his arm and nodded once, satisfied.
Then he turned.
At the center of the hall stood four statues.
Unlike the others, they had not moved. They remained perfectly still, towering and ominous, their presence heavy enough to warp the air around them. Cracks faintly glowed beneath their surfaces, pulsing as if something was writhing beneath them.
Zayne stared at them, his posture steady but alert. The team noticed this and followed his actions.
He murmured, more to himself than anyone else—
"It's about to get worse."