[T A S K] : what does Huey plan to do to Alessia.
The Cube sat at the edge of campus, a massive transparent structure resembling a gladiator arena made out of glass and force-fields.
Red could be seen atop the observation decks, students were already flooding the arena.
Willy pushed through the crowd, Wheeler scouting ahead. "Let's sit at the third tier. We can see everything from there."
They claimed their spot just as the announcements started.
"Rank advancement challenge," the automated voice echoed through the Cube.
"Challenger: Mira Veltman, Presbyter 2. Defender: Ji Zhao, Presbyter 3. Standard rules apply. First to yield or incapacitation determines victor."
The crowd pressed against the barriers.
Mira stood at one end of the arena floor, purple-gray braids tied back now, and cassock replaced by combat gear.
The silver rings in her eyes seemed to glow brighter under the arena lights.
Jimmy stood opposite, still in his cassock, hands in his pockets.
"She came fully prepped," Willy muttered. "And he's not even taking his robe off"
The bell rang.
Mira moved first.
The temperature plummeted several degrees, Frost spreadinh across the arena in expanding circles.
She thrust both hands forward and a wall of frozen spikes erupted toward Jimmy.
He sidestepped, Like he was avoiding a puddle.
The spikes shattered against the far wall.
Ice formed beneath her feet, giving her perfect traction as she closed the distance.
Her fighting style was fluid, each strike flowing into the next. A frozen blade materialized in her hand and she swung for his throat.
Jimmy caught it, bare-handed.
Then he shattered the blade with a squeeze.
Mira jumped back, creating distance. The arena was a winter landscape now, everything coated in ice. She raised both hands and dozens of frozen projectiles formed in the air around her.
They launched simultaneously.
Jimmy finally moved his hands from his pockets.
Blood welled from his fingertips, Not a lot Just drops. But those drops expanded, twisting through the air.
Each one intercepted a projectile, freezing them mid-flight before shattering them into harmless dust.
"Oh shit," said Willy.
"He's not even trying." Replied Huey
The blood drops returned to Jimmy, orbiting him like satellites.
"You want me to use my weapon?"
Mira didn't reply.
"Alright."
More blood flowed from his hands, this time in a steady stream. It solidified in his grip, forming a scythe taller than he was. The blade curved and wicked.
The crowd roared
"Now we're talking," Willy breathed. "Huey, you seeing this?"
Huey was watching Jimmy's stance. The way he held the scythe and the absolute confidence in his movement.
"Yh and I'm loving every moment of it."
Jimmy swung the scythe in a lazy arc.
A crescent of blood energy shot across the arena.
Mira threw up several ice barriers.
The attack cut through them all like paper, kept going, and slammed into the barrier protecting the crowd. The force-field absorbed the impact, but the observation deck shook.
Mira was on the move again, using the distraction to close distance again. Ice formed around her fists, and she shot a barrage that would've put most fighters on the defensive.
Jimmy blocked with the scythe's handle.
Finally making his move, he swept her legs, spun the scythe, and planted the flat of the blade against her chest.
Just hard enough to make his point.
Mira froze.
Huey's eyes widened and in that moment he thought Ji Zhao to most likely be on par with him.
"You're good," Jimmy said. "Better than most, but you're fighting like you've got something to prove rather than actually trying to win. That's gonna get you killed in a real battle."
He pulled the scythe back. The blood dissolved, flowing back into his hands. The wounds sealed instantly.
"Come back when you've figured out what you're actually fighting for."
The bell rang.
"Victor: Ji Zhao."
The crowd erupted into cheers and chatter.
Mira stood there for a moment, fists clenched, ice still coating the arena floor. Then she walked out without a word.
"That was..." Willy trailed off. "I don't even know what that was."
Huey was already heading for the exit. "She lasted longer than most. I would have played dead the moment he stared at me with those eyes of his."
"You think she's okay?"
"No. But that's not our problem."
They filed out with the rest of the crowd, students already dissecting every move of the fight.
Willy was still talking about Jimmy's blood manipulation, and how he'd heard despite the Zhao house not being a Major House, they could trace their bloodline back to one of the Prime Twelve.
Huey half-listened. His mind was planning what he needed to do before getting back to the dorm.
"Anyway," Willy said as they reached the colonnade fork, "I'm heading to the library. Gotta finish an essay. I'll be frank, you were sort of distant today, you know like the old you. You good?"
"Yeah. See you."
"well, if you say so."
Willy laughed and headed left, Wheeler giving one last judgmental chitter before disappearing.
"The old me, huh" Huey thought to himself.
Huey went right, pulling out his phone to check the time.
No new messages from the unknown number.
Good. Maybe she'd given up.
He pocketed the phone and kept walking.
Alessia Cardoso watched from behind a column several meters away.
The brown-skinned girl adjusted her glasses. Her long black hair was tied back in a practical ponytail, and she'd changed from her black and white law legion cassock into something less conspicuous.
Plain jeans and a hoodie.
She'd been following him for twenty minutes now.
At first she'd thought he was heading for the dorms. But then he'd taken a detour through the east gardens, then doubled back toward the old academic buildings, then stopped at the water fountain for way too long.
He conversed with several people along the way. She had always thought him to be one to keep very few friends.
Either he was the world's most confusing college student, or he knew she was following him.
Alessia bet on the latter.
But she couldn't stop now, not when she was this close. That video of the Blue Reaper was her ticket to finally answering so many questions.
All she needed was proof that Huey Cross and the vigilante were the same person.
She watched him stop at an unmarked door near the old maintenance building.
He looked left, then right.
And knocked.
The door opened just enough for him to slip inside.
Alessia's heart raced. This was it, this had to be where he kept his vigilante gear, or met with contacts, or did whatever mysterious Blue Reaper shit he did when he wasn't pretending to be a normal student.
She waited thirty seconds. Then crossed the open ground, keeping low.
The door wasn't locked, so she eased it open.
Stairs led down into darkness. She could hear voices below and..... Music.
Alessia descended carefully, each step measured.
The basement opened into a space that had definitely been repurposed.
Old maintenance equipment had been pushed to the walls, and the center cleared.
Tables set up. Students gathered around them, money changing hands, dice rolling and cards flipping.
It was a gambling den.
An illegal underground gambling den. For students.
Alessia's instincts kicked in immediately, She pulled up her phone and started recording everything. The faces, the money, the games.
She maneuvered between crates and old furniture, getting better angles.
That's when someone grabbed her arm.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
The guy was huge, easily six-four. His cassock marked him as Acolyte rank 1.
Other students were looking now.
"That's not—I was just— let go of me" Alessia tried to pull free.
"Hey, You're that law legion freshman," another student said. "The one who's always sticking her nose in shit that doesn't concern her."
"Alessia Cardoso," someone else added.
"Huh, when did I get so popular." Alessia thought to herself.
"been trying to out half the campus."
The big guy grinned. "Well, guess what. You just found yourself in way over your head, little law lady. Give me the phone."
"No."
"That wasn't a request."
Alessia's mind raced. She could scream. But who would help? Everyone here was breaking the rules. She was the outsider.
"Hey."
Everyone turned.
Huey stood near one of the poker tables, hands in his pockets. His blue eyes caught the dim lighting, making them look almost luminescent.
"Let her go."
The big guy laughed. "And why should we."
"Because she followed me here. That makes her my problem." Huey walked over, calm and unhurried.
" Don't worry, I'll make sure she get's what's coming to her." The look in his eyes were predatory.
Something in his tone made the big guy comply. He shoved Alessia toward Huey and handed over the phone.
Huey scrolled through the footage and deleted them.
"It's done, and I'll make sure she doesn't talk."
Huey handed it back. "Come on. We're leaving."
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the stairs before anyone could protest.
They emerged into the late evening air. The sun was setting behind the central dome, painting everything in shades of orange and gold.
Campus was mostly empty now, students already in the dining halls or their dorms.
"Thank you," Alessia said, pulling free of his grip. "I didn't—that was stupid, I shouldn't have—"
"You're right. You shouldn't have."
Huey kept walking. Alessia followed.
They ended up near one of the older classroom buildings.
"Look, I'm sorry for following you," Alessia said. "But I need to know—"
Huey turned and walked toward her.
Alessia backed up on instinct, her shoulders hit the wall.
Huey planted his hand against the stone beside her head, leaning in. He was taller than her, and the angle forced her to look up to meet his eyes.
Those eyes.
They were glowing with a blue light that definitely wasn't natural.
"You won't speak of what you saw yesterday night to anyone" His voice was calm.
"That is unless you want the same thing to happen to you."
Alessia's entire body went cold, her hands were shaking and her breath caught in her throat. She could feel it.
This wasn't the same guy who had saved her just now.
This was something else, something that stopped her legs from moving no matter how hard she tried.
"I—" Her voice cracked. "Please don't—"
Huey's eyes brightened slightly, the blue glow intensifying.
"Hahaha." Huey burst out laughing.
"Should have seen the look on your face, anyways try to stay out of trouble. I won't always be there to save you." He said this while walking away from her.
"Tell anyone you want. It's not like you've got any evidence to back it up." He said this while spotting a sly grin and waving his hand.
Alessia finally got a hold of herself and checked her phone and truth be told, all the pictures of the blue reaper she took yesterday were infact—
"Gone, they are all gone."
Her eyes widened and that's when it came back to her, those pit stops he made, the people he spoke to. She could remember seeing them at the gambling den.
It was all a set up.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh." She screamed in disbelif, falling to the floor.
Night had settled and Huey was now working his shift at Vie's pie, casually listening to toppler broadcasts through a secure comm he had stolen from Hailee, and that's when a radio for help came in.
" Rift misidentified, I repeat rift level misidentified. initially tagged level 2 rift is infact a level 3. several Luce Nera Topplers are currently fighting against the variants, and trying to protect civilians but don't seem to be holding up. Higher ranked Topplers are said to be on their way but will take several minutes before arriving. Requesting immediate backup from any nearby Topplers."
"Jazz, how far away is the rift from here??" Huey inquired, his eyes already glowing.
A few blocks do—
Before jazz could finish his sentence, Huey had hung his apron and sped out of the store.