"That . . . did not go well," Charlie said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen. They had been travelling aboard Hartley's jet for nearly thirty minutes, soaring underneath the velvety-purple, star-scattered sky.

"Tell me about it," Maddison said.

"In our defense, we didn't anticipate two of the League's best randomly showing up in the middle of our expedition," Anthony said reasonably.

"In hindsight, we probably should have," said Javon, shrugging. "We did know they'd been hanging around here recently."

"How did they even know we were there, though?" Reya asked. "Was it a scheduled check-in, or did something tip them off?"

"No idea. But it was close — way too close. In fact, I'm still not clear on how we even managed to get away at all." Javon looked around, as if hoping someone would explain to him, but everyone else looked similarly bemused.

"I'd like to know too," Maddison said, frowning. "One moment, I was seeing all these awful things, due to Proxima Venus's powers. And the next . . . nothing." She looked at Alec, an eyebrow cocked. "But you weren't affected, were you? What happened?"

"Um . . . well . . . she kinda, sort of, tried to recruit me," Alec said awkwardly.

"What?" Maddison gasped, looking utterly taken aback. "Recruit you? To the League?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact." Alec shrugged. "She was about to attack me, but then she stopped when she realized I was an Elemental too. Said we'd always been underestimated, and that if I turned myself over to the League, she could try to get me out of punishment and make me her sidekick or something. That way she could 'help me reach my full potential.'"

"Wow. Can't believe she tried to induct you of all people in the middle of a fight," Anthony said in a wondering tone. "Was she brain-damaged?"

Alec glared at him. Anthony chuckled and said, "I'm kidding! Just trying to lighten the mood. But you weren't seriously considering the offer. Were you?" he added, more skeptically.

Alec did not answer at once. After a moment, he said, "I was, actually. For a little while. She definitely wasn't lying — she really did give me a crash course on my powers. Told me how to do things I didn't even know I could do."

"Like what?" Javon asked, looking at him intently.

"Manipulate gravity. Channel energy from the Earth itself. Make stone puppets to do my bidding. The like." He shrugged again. "It came so easily to me. And she said it's just the tip of the iceberg of what I could actually do — what we can do, as Elementals."

"Well, I'm glad someone got something out of this whole mess, apart from a sore beating," Charlie said bitterly, rubbing his neck.

"Well, you learned what you wanted to know, anyway," Hartley said from the front. He had remained more or less silent the entire time they had been flying, after taking off wordlessly, though clearly shocked, as they spilled into the cargo bay, breathless yet shouting desperately for him to take flight.

"I guess . . ." Alec said. "We found out who's leading these so-called alliances, and what exactly was removed from the Temple. But we still have no clue why they revived Atropos."

"They're looking for something," said Maddison, her brow knitted. "That much is obvious. But clearly it's not something that can be easily found. Or maybe it can't be easily wielded," she added thoughtfully. "Maybe they had to wake her because it's too dangerous for them to handle themselves, so they opted for someone immortal to do it instead."

"Still, that leaves the question of what it could be," Katrina said.

"'Midèn kai ápeiro,'" Charlie quoted. "What the heck could that mean?"

"This, I think," said Maddison, and she turned her laptop, which she had been working on for almost as long as they'd been flying, around to face them. They drew closer, peering at the screen. "I've been searching for any information on it this whole time. There are very, very few articles, and some of them are entirely useless. But this one looks promising."

The screen was dominated by two images: two large cubes, one of which was glowing a soft, icy blue colour, and the other shimmering in what appeared to be every colour known to man.

Above these pictures was the caption: "Zero and Infinity."

"Hmm . . . yeah, this isn't nearly as informative as you may have thought it would be," Anthony pointed out.

Maddison rolled her eyes. "They're called the Zero and Infinity Cores," she said. "Each one of them is supposedly a compact fragment of an immense surge of energy from ancient times."

"What kind of energy?" Katrina asked.

"Cosmic energy." Maddison's tone was grave. "According to this article, the Cores are linked to a more obscure Creation story, in which a kind of 'Big Bang' event occurred to create the universe. However, after the creation of life, these two Cores were all that was left of the singularity that birthed the universe. And according to this, both Cores are able to manipulate the very fabric of reality."

"Now it all fits," Javon said. "What supervillain wouldn't want to get their grimy hands on the literal power to reshape reality?"

"But there's no proof that either of these things exist. Right?" Alec said, with a pointed look at Maddison.

"I wouldn't be so sure." She scrolled down further, then wheeled the laptop around once more. Another image was on the screen now, this time of an odd, heart-shaped stone, which glowed in as many colours as the Infinity Core. "Look familiar?"

"No way," Charlie breathed.

"Isn't that —" began Ethan.

"The same stone Iron Titan held out to Atropos when she was threatening to kill them? Yes," Maddison said.

"Well, what is it?" Alec asked.

"A compass. The Infinity Compass, to be precise. Both Cores have one, a supernatural device that, when activated, can lead the wielders to the Cores." Several cries of shock and alarm rang out around the cargo bay. "Relax, it's not that simple," she added loudly. "They can't activate the Compass right now. Presently, they're both dormant. Each Compass has to be activated with three different keys. But from what we saw, I think it's safe to assume that the Black Covenant doesn't have all of them yet."

"What about the Hero League? Do they know about these Cores?" Alec directed his question towards Hartley. However, the latter did not respond for several long seconds, in which many curious, skeptical looks were exchanged behind his back.

"Hartley?" Alec repeated.

Again there was a small pause. Then: "It's possible.

"'It's possible'? Wouldn't you know something like that?" Anthony asked.

"I would, if I were a member of the League." Hartley's tone was colder than Alec had ever heard it, but it was the statement that surprised him most. Hartley wasn't a member of the Hero League? Alec had always assumed so, due to the work he always seemed to do for them. However, right now did not seem like the time to pursue such a subject.

"Well, if they do know about Atropos, it's likely they'd know about the Cores as well," Reya said.

"Or maybe they don't. Right now, they probably don't even know who freed her," Anthony protested.

"But we do," Javon said.

The words hung heavy in the air. Even without any further elaboration, Alec could tell exactly where he was going.

"We can't tell them," Maddison said firmly, taking the decision to do so from Alec.

"We have to."

"Why do you think we had to put these on before we came out of the Temple?" Maddison waved her vixen mask furiously. "We can't possibly let them know that we were involved, or we'd be in serious trouble with the League, in addition to being expelled from Helix!"

"And what trouble do you think we'll be in if the Villains get their hands on a reality-shaping magical object because the Heroes didn't know that that was what they were looking for?" Javon said just as heatedly.

"Enough!" Hartley said, as Maddison opened her mouth to retort. "I can do some digging around. Find out what they know. Like I said, I have a few favours owed to me out there."

"And what'll you do if you find out that they don't know?"

"Well that depends," Hartley said, and he sounded strangely amused. "Now, it's been a hectic day. All of you get some rest. We've still got a long journey ahead of us."

Hours later, Alec woke, leaning against the wall of the ship. He had fallen asleep next to Katrina and Ethan. The others were sprawled across the floor around him, their chests rising and falling gently — all except Anthony, who was snoring like a grizzly bear with a cold, and Maddison, who was, unsurprisingly, still awake. She was still seated in the same position she had been in earlier, the light of the computer screen washing over her face.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Alec asked, though he thought he already knew the answer.

"It's a three day weekend. There'll be plenty of time for sleep after we find out exactly what we need to know."

Alec exhaled, pulling his legs in closer to his chest and resting his chin on his knees. "Find anything more on the Cores?"

"No. Like I said, the legends are really obscure."

Alec nodded vaguely. He glanced through the window on the other side of the room at the dark sky outside, with a smattering of stars and a line of puffy grey clouds drifting serenely across the surface. He checked his phone and realized that it was merely a few minutes past three o'clock. With an involuntary groan, he stood up, trying his best not to trod on any of his still-resting friends, and made his way to the front of the ship.

"How far away are we?" he asked Hartley.

"Actually, we're almost there," Hartley said.

Alec leaned forward and squinted through the foggy glass at the settlement below, illuminated by the pale light of the full moon.

"I thought about taking us back to your house, since I figured it'd be easier than to have your other friends Portaling all around the country. But then I realized being woken up in the middle of the night by a high-tech battle ship probably wouldn't sit well with your neighbours. So I'm taking us back to the liftoff zone."

"Good choice," said Alec.

The ship slowed, gliding slowly downwards until it touched down with surprising gentleness upon the vast field of soft grass they had departed from earlier.

"We can stay here for the night, and tomorrow, if you and your friends still need to continue your investigation. Think of it as a temporary base of operations," Hartley said, with a small grin. He paused, took a look at Alec's expression, and, without a change in his own, asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Alec sighed. "I don't even know where to start. First I find out that I'm not entirely human three months ago when a Villain randomly showed up in the middle of the street and tried to kill me and my best friend. Then a group of people from a school I didn't even know existed showed up hours later to tell me that I had to enroll there the next day, and leave my whole life behind. And I almost got over it too, you know. After a while, I started to get used to life at Helix.

"But now, that same Villain broke out of jail and is probably looking for me. And an ancient Greek goddess is partnering with some of the worst Villains of the modern age to find a powerful mystical artifact that they can use to literally rewrite the world to their will." Alec took a deep breath as he concluded his rant. "I'm way too young to be dealing with problems like this."

Hartley remained silent for a moment, expression unchanged. Then he glanced around at the sleeping kids and said, "Come with me." Without giving Alec time to even question where he was going, he eased himself out of his seat and made his way swiftly outside.

Cold, fresh air enveloped them as they stepped onto the grass; the sound of buzzing insects and chirping birds immediately filled the air. It was oddly tranquil.

The cargo bay door slid shut, and Hartley plopped himself onto the grass exactly where he stood. He motioned for Alec to do the same. When he had done so, Hartley said, "From what I've been told, you don't know that much about your grandfather."

Alec's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened. He had not expected this to be the direction of the conversation at all. But he managed to say, "N-no, not about his Hero life, anyway."

Hartley sighed. "Harold Farwell. I wasn't at school when he was. But I heard about him — everyone did, I think. You think you've got it bad, you don't know the half of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to diminish your experiences. I know everything you've been through has been hard. But your grandpa . . .

"Remember when I told you that you should be glad you weren't at Helix in the early days?"

"Vaguely," Alec said.

"Well, I never said why. Back then, Helix was less of an actual institute dedicated to healthy superhuman development, and more of an . . . um . . . how should I say. . . ? A military operation. In those times, superhumans faced heavy discrimination. The obvious stuff, of course: fear and hatred for who we were and what we could do. We were prosecuted everywhere we went. So Helix was built as one of a few kind of safe spaces for us.

"We learned how to control our powers there. But we also had other duties."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think you were put into squads when the term started?" Hartley asked. Alec pondered the question. He had wondered the same thing earlier on in the year, and had eventually arrived at the conclusion that it was simply because they were also to be assigned various leaders to help them further their training, like Wildfire, and it would be easier to do in groups due to the limited numbers. But clearly there was far more to it than he had realized. "See, the squads in those times were actually sent out to execute different missions in the real world."

"The school that was supposed to protect them routinely sent them back into the world that hated them?" Alec asked dispassionately.

Hartley shrugged. "Bills needed to be paid," he said simply. "Helix wasn't what it is today. It wasn't endorsed by the government. For the most part, they didn't even know it existed. Or it had to pretend it didn't, until they were necessary. The kids were sent out on various missions, and in completing them, the school received payments that took care of day-to-day expenses and helped to create some bridges around the globe, which was necessary, given that just about everyone else hated us.

"Anyway, we're getting off track. See, your grandfather's squad is practically legendary. They had to deal with some pretty weird stuff when they were at school."

"Like what?" Alec asked, intrigued.

"Mutated animals, for one," Hartley said. "Oh yeah — giant Kaijus with terrifying abilities. The gangs that were trading them all over the world. Superhuman-hunters. All sorts of awful things. But they took it in their stride. And in doing so, they not only helped to protect the world, they helped to better it for people like us. A few decades ago, you would have been locked up at the very least if you'd done what you did against Shadow Shifter a few months ago. But now, you're considered a Hero. Thank your Grandpop for that."

Alec paused, thinking. "So, the fact that I'm Harold's grandson, that's common knowledge, right?" he said at last.

"Among the Hero world, it should be. Why?"

"Nothing," Alec lied. "So, how did he resolve the whole mutant animal thing? Where were they coming from, why did they stop?"

"I have no clue," Hartley said, scratching his chin. "I don't think that was ever made public knowledge. Point is, if he could deal with all that freak stuff and not only survive, but thrive, then I think you can manage a few petty Villains with a magic rock and an outdated goddess. You are his grandson, after all."

He smiled, and Alec returned the gesture. Hartley got up, cuffed Alec on the shoulder, said, "I'll give you a minute, if you want to be alone," and strode back into the ship, leaving Alec alone with his thoughts. His grandfather had apparently been some amazing Hero, and yet, Alec knew nothing of this double life he had lived. He had dealt with challenges that Alec had rarely ever seen. And he'd succeeded. Back then, the Hero League either hadn't existed or wasn't as prominent as it was now.

But now it was a massive organization with branches around the entire world and the respect of all its people. Atropos could certainly try, but he doubted she'd succeed at whatever they had planned. All they needed to do now was help the League in any way they could from the sidelines.

The next morning, when the sun had fully risen, Alec rose along with the rest of his friends. It was a clear, bright day, and the gloomy atmosphere of yesterday seemed to have dissolved along with the last traces of night.

"I think I'm going to head home," Alec told them, while they snacked on the rations they had packed the day before. "My Dad's birthday's tomorrow, if I miss it, my Mom would kill me. Plus, we've already got what we needed to know from the Temple. If anything happens, you can call me."

"No problem," Anthony said. "To be honest, we actually have the same problem. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mom, but the only thing she does better than Heroics is smothering."

"The infamous Starlight Neos, a smotherer?" Alec asked, slightly disbelieving. Their mother was one of the top Heroes across the entire Hero League, with one of the most interesting backstories. Her powers had come, not from an innate biological mechanism, but from exposure to a meteorite fragment that had been imbued with celestial energy. With all that she herself could do, it now made perfect sense why Anthony and Katrina had the powers they had.

"Yep. Think we'll stay here for a while too," said Anthony.

"What about us?" Charlie asked.

Hartley considered, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses. Then he said, rather menacingly, "Fine. But this ship is stockpiled with state-of-the-art equipment from the League, so don't — touch — anything." Anthony gulped as the enormous man loomed over him. He nodded, then Hartley straightened up and turned to Maddison. "You're in charge."

Maddison looked rather pleased with herself.

The drive back home took several hours. By the time they arrived, Alec was stiff-limbed, exhausted, and irritable after the long, cooped-up car ride. Using the key he had brought with him, he unlocked the door, shouldered it open, and lumbered inside, his bags swinging over his shoulders. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

Mrs. Michaels came bustling out of the kitchen almost at once, smiling widely.

"You're back already? I thought you were going to stay at least until tomorrow morning?"

"Finished early," Alec told her, bending to kiss her on her cheek as he walked by.

"Well, your father will be pleased about that," she said, as she closed the door behind Hartley.

"Where is Dad anyway?"

"Oh, he got called into work earlier. Rohan Young's got the flu, had to take the day off." She rolled her eyes. "But, it does give us the chance to finish the preparations early." She gestured around at the large boxes of party equipment lining the room.

"You're throwing a party? But Dad hates parties."

"I know. That's why it'll be so much fun!" she said brightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.