After about a minute or two of loitering, the Paragons finally settled down for the meeting to begin.

"Alright, Alex." Zoe broke the silence. "We're finally in our seats, so could you tell us what the meeting is about?"

"And why we had to come all the way from our nations to have it?" Lyra added.

Alex looked at them with an unsure expression. "Are you trying to tell me, that none of you read the file we sent."

"Oh, come on." Ivan tilted his beer and swallowed. "Reading is a rather boring exercise don't you think."

"Like you still have the ability to read, you fat fuck." Nightwalker rubbed his hand as he bore a hole through Ivan.

"You know Ian, you could at least try to hide your contempt." Levi leaned closer to the table. "Not from me because I see everything but maybe from the rest of us."

"You wanna talk about conte—"

"ENOUGH!" Alex screamed at the top of his lungs. "I already knew you all were a little childish but this—" his finger gestured across all of them. "—this is like three year old squabble shit."

The room fell dead silent. Save for Ivan's sipping, Lyra's lingering eyes on Levi like she wanted to devour him, Nightwalker spandex gloves as they twitched and Zoe drumming her finger on the table.

Alex sighed through his nose. Realization slapped him on why most of the other agents refused to work with the Paragons. At this point, he'd decided to just finish the meeting.

"Kheum." He cleared his throat. "There was an attack on Aetherion Academy grounds by an unknown organization who is yet to step forward and claim responsibility.

It was right after the kids returned from the Adept Trial, a trial that was significantly longer than the rest for reasons unknown.

Which means they had Intel that the kids were going to be back that day, that they'd be gathered in one location and that the teachers wouldn't be available."

"You're suggesting it's an inside job." Levi assumed.

"Most likely. Either one of the teachers or maybe even, God forbid, a student is working with said organization."

Lyra raised a hand like a sixth grader asking for permission to go to the bathroom.

"Oh my God." Alex rubbed the sides of his head like the conversation physically hurt him.

Levi smirked as he pointed at her. "Yes, Lyra?"

She pouted her lips and widened her eyes to that of an innocent child. "If this all happened in his—" she pointed at Nightwalker. "—nation. Then why does this involve all of us?"

Nightwalker didn't react. He didn't reply anymore, they were baiting him to do something at this point— they all were.

"Because of three very valid reasons. One. They seemed like the average ragtag band of misfits but they were highly trained in coordination and escape.

Two. Even though they used guns, they either had someone with an affinity that could stop the channel of Aether or they had a device that could—"

"Which means they could definitely afford Aether Enhanced weapons." Zoe finally got serious. "That would mean they used bullets to prove a point."

Alex nodded in agreement. "Three. There might be five other awakened academies in the nation but Aetherion has always been the biggest and carries the most... information."

"Was there a leak?" Levi pushed his glasses back onto the ridge of his nose.

"No." Alex slid his hands into his pockets. "Heard the network is pretty tight. And we can't forget about what's underneath the school."

"You mean the Aetherwell?" Lyra asked.

"No. Few meters above the well—" he slid his hands out, sinking back into the chair. "—where a certain special someone is imprisoned?"

A shiver shot up their spines. "She's still there?!" Zoe asked, genuinely confused. "Why?"

Alex intertwined his fingers and laid them atop the table. "We couldn't exactly move her. And as long as she doesn't feel any direct lust near her, she's a corpse."

"A corpse who doesn't truly die."

Levi added.

"Rrrrhhhzzzz!"

Ivan's body plumped completely laid back onto the chair so much it was only about a mosquito's weight from snapping.

They turned as they saw the Paragon— snoring. Sunglasses still on, mouth open and hands swinging lifelessly at his side yet he would never drop the beer.

"Back onto serious matters." Alex ignored him. "We still have the mercenary which we captured during the attack."

"Then why are we still having this conversation?" Zoe interrupted. "We torture him and we get the truth."

"Except he won't tell us anything. Ever since the attack he's been playing mute and every time he gets alone, he tries to kill himself."

Lyra flinched back. Eyes still fixed on Levi. "Is this a cult thing?"

Alec shrugged. "We honestly have no idea yet. So, until we can manage to squeeze some information out of him, we need you all to work your connections and find something."

They all nodded in understanding. Well, all except Nightwalker, who had just been sitting there grinding his teeth so hard you could hear it a mile away.

"Is that understood, Nightwalker?" Alex meet Nightwalker's eyes and held it in a stare.

Nightwalker chuckled, a genuine one. He placed a fist over his mouth. "You think you're in charge now, do you?"

Alex took a step in his direction. "You know I read your file."

"Oh?" He raised a brow in mock interest. "What did it say?"

"Well I don't remember everything but let's see if I remembered the really catchy ones.

Narcissistic. Megalomaniac. Unhinged. Autosexual— had to look that one up and it means you have a fetish for yourself. And my personal favourite? Man child."

Nightwalker's signature face twitch of irritation began to glow. He was slowly cracking and he could feel it.

But Alex didn't stop.

"But I don't care." He tugged on his blazer just before stepping in front of him. "I'm here to make sure those mercenaries are caught at all costs. So until then, we're best friends."

They remained there for a minute. Not a word shared but a stare that could unfold galaxies.

"Are we free to go now?" Zoe cut in. "I've already lost interest."

Alex turned on his heels and walked back to his original position. "Yeah. Meeting's over."

They stood. About to head out before Levi said, "wait... so who's the new principal of the school?"

"For now?" Alex leaned back, unbuttoned his blazer for freedom. "Until we deal with current issues, I am."

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