The Sherwood High Homecoming game was the biggest event of the year. The air was thick with the smell of popcorn, the roar of the crowd, and the rhythmic thumping of the marching band.
"I still don't understand why we're here," Elizabeth muttered, her eyes scanning the bleachers from behind her school spirit scarf. "Standing in a crowd of five thousand people is a tactical nightmare."
"It's called 'Socializing,' Liz," Avan grinned, wearing a foam finger that was currently glowing with a tiny, rhythmic blue spark. "Look at Leon! He's living his best life."
Down on the field, Leon was being honored with the rest of the swim team. He waved to the crowd, looking every bit the popular athlete. For a moment, we were just kids.
Then, the stadium lights flickered.
It wasn't a power surge. It was a drain. I felt the Watch on my wrist grow ice-cold. "ERROR: EXTERNAL ENERGY SIPHON DETECTED," the HUD whispered in my ear.
The Metal Menace
The ground in the center of the football field erupted. A massive, sleek machine—triple the size of a human—burst from the turf. It was polished chrome with red glowing vents, looking like a high-end sports car turned into a killing machine.
"Victoria Vega," the robot’s voice boomed, synthesized and cold. "Identity confirmed. Initiating Extraction Protocol."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I hissed, ducking behind a popcorn stand. "Doctor Science sent a hit-bot to my school?"
The Secret Scramble
The stadium turned into pure chaos. Thousands of students screamed and bolted for the exits.
"V-Team, we can't transform here!" I shouted into my comms. "Too many witnesses! We have to lead it away!"
"I'm on it," Avan said. He didn't turn into a lightning bolt, but he moved with unnatural speed, "accidentally" tripping a row of trash cans to create a barrier. "Hey, Sparky! Over here!"
The robot fired a non-lethal repulsor blast that sent Avan flying into the bleachers.
"Leon! Use the sprinklers!" I commanded.
Leon, still on the field, pretended to trip over a bench. As his hand hit the grass, he tapped into the stadium's irrigation system. Burst. Every sprinkler on the field exploded at once, creating a massive curtain of water that blinded the robot's sensors.
Under the cover of the mist, Elizabeth didn't pull out her bow. She used her environment. She climbed the stadium rafters like a shadow, dropping heavy speakers and stage lights onto the robot’s head to disorient it.
The Cloaked Counter-Attack
"It's not enough!" Elizabeth's voice crackled. "The mist is clearing! Victoria, you have to end this!"
I ran under the bleachers, the dark shadows hiding me from the crowd. "Watch, half-cloak. Just the gauntlets."
Instead of the full purple armor, I manifested only the Green Energy Gauntlets and a small visor. I used the violet thrusters at 10% power to stay low to the ground. I slid through the mud and slammed a green energy fist into the robot's knee joint.
CRACK.
The robot buckled. I didn't stop. I imagined a Green Energy Lasso, wrapping it around the machine's neck and pulling it toward the school's transformer box.
"Avan! Give it everything!"
Avan reached out and touched the metal fence. He didn't shoot lightning; he just acted as a bridge. The entire stadium’s power surged through the fence and into the robot. The machine's red vents turned white-hot before it finally melted into a heap of useless chrome.
The Aftermath: The "Gas Leak"
By the time the police arrived—including my father—the robot was a pile of slag and the V-Team was back in the crowd, looking "scared" and "confused."
"Everyone back!" my father yelled, ushering students away. "It was an underground gas main explosion that hit a piece of old construction equipment! Move back!"
He looked at me as I walked past, my hoodie sleeve pulled down tight. He saw the smudge of grease on my cheek. He didn't say anything, but he gave a single, slow nod. He was helping us keep the secret.
"That was too close," Leon whispered as we met up by the school gates. "Doctor Science knows exactly where we are now. The 'Normal Life' isn't just a mask anymore. It's a target."
I looked at the charred remains of the field. "He didn't send that robot to kill me. He sent it to see if I’d transform in front of everyone. He’s trying to strip away our cover."
"Well, he failed," Elizabeth said, her eyes narrowing. "But he’s going to try something bigger. If he can't pull us out of the school, he'll bring the war to the school."
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