Isen/Season 2 pt 1

## Plot

### Fallout

The wound Isen sustained on his arm was treated easily enough in the school infirmary. Unfortunately, Remi and Blyke needed to be hospitalized for a week in order to recover from *their* injuries. At the first opportunity, Isen and Arlo stopped by Wellston hospital to see how they were doing. Needless to say, they were both feeling terrible, but Blyke had it the worst. He could no longer sleep in the same quarters as John, leaving him homeless. Isen went over and poked his bedridden friend in the face, telling him he was welcome to sleep in his closet as long as he needed to. Blyke smacked Isen's hand away and told him off for being so annoying. Isen remained quiet as he watched Arlo and Remi debate over the John situation. With plans to visit again the following day, Isen bid his injured friends good-bye and left with Arlo.
After his new roommate officially finished moving in, Isen jokingly directed him to his new bed in the closet. Blyke's uncharacteristic passiveness towards Isen's shenanigans was cause for alarm. Isen tried to console Blyke by saying that being overpowered by John wasn't something he had to suffer alone. This "silver lining" turned out to be one of he things weighing heavily on the defeated Jack's mind. Blyke admitted he was more frustrated with the fact that, during his last encounter with John, he saw no trace of remorse on him. Isen tried to argue that such was life for those who pissed off stronger people, and suggested that Blyke might just be salty about being on the losing end of a fight for once. Blyke denied this presumption, pointing out that he's lost fights at school plenty of times, even to Isen himself. His issue was that John needed to be kept in check by somebody before he began to take things too far. Isen declared to have no interest in being that somebody, and insisted they drop the subject and get some sleep.

Isen had learned of the recent trend of Jokers. Isen filled in Remi and Blyke on these incidents when they returned to school. He added that he didn't tell them earlier because he wanted them to focus on recovering. (Blyke remained annoyed, however). Remi remarked that this outcome seemed to be the opposite of what John intended, but Isen pointed out that it was unlikely that John actually thought things through.

Later on in the Press Room, Isen was proofreading an article Royce had turned in. Isen was so irked by Royce's loose grasp of heterographs that he called him over and told him to redo the whole thing. Just as Royce set off, another reporter came forth with big news. He announced to the whole room that there were Fake Jokers roaming the school. After bragging about how he allegedly had unmasked one of these frauds, the loudmouth insisted they write an article about it. Though everybody on the press team agreed, Isen refused to allow it. While the big mouth argued that it would help keep students from getting attacked, Isen understood that the opposite was more likely to happen. He didn't say this outright though, opting instead to declare that no Joker articles would ever be published in the paper for the sake of preventing backlash. Seeing as how poor the quality of the paper had been since Isen took over and started rejecting the best stories, this decision proved to be quite unpopular.

Isen knew full well how much his team hated him for always suppressing the juiciest news, and he resented them in turn for being totally clueless as to how the student body worked. After school, he decided to vent about his miserable existence to Blyke while they were eating at a fast food joint. Blyke asked if it wasn't the job of the press to report everything. Isen decided to enlighten his friend about the nuances of controlling the flow of information to prevent the escalation of a situation. He told Blyke about how the whole press team wanted to put out articles about Fake Jokers thanks to one guy blabbing about their existence. Isen's big fuss attracted attention from the other diners, to Blyke's discomfort. They are briefly interrupted by a newscast on an EMBER killing. Isen decided to educate his clueless friend with firsthand knowledge about how the press operates. Isen bet that the news knew way more than what they were sharing. It was clear to him that there were deliberately omitting certain pieces of information, and instead repeated the same "facts" over and over. "EMBER is a murderous group." "They're targeting superheroes." It was apparent to Isen that the media was being used specifically to discourage vigilantism. Blyke wondered why vigilantes still existed with all these warnings going out. While Isen didn't know for sure, he guessed it was the allure of media attention and the profit that could be made from the people they "help" that motivated people. He couldn't think of any other reason as to why anybody would risk their lives against high-powered mob bosses. Isen also pointed out that it was exhausting enough just thinking about how strong people had to get in order to keep up with the criminal element. He added that he would rather avoid dying as early as vigilantes tended to. While the superhero life failed to attract Isen, his summary of what they must go through had unintentionally inspired Blyke.

One of the Press team members decided that if the paper couldn't be used to spread the word of Fake Jokers, then the bulletin boards would have to do. When Isen found out about this he knew it was only a matter of time before Arlo came stomping into the room to end him. He sat in the Press Room fretting, while Remi tried to comfort him by promising she wouldn't let Arlo hurt him. Sure enough, Arlo burst in, and Isen ducked behind Remi for cover. Remi wasn't having much luck trying to get Arlo to calm down. He paid her no mind while he yelled at Isen for screwing up. Losing his cool, Isen claimed that he had never wanted this leadership job in the first place. Yet at Arlo's behest he tried his best at damage control and keeping a lid on the Joker impersonators. Everybody on the press team did as they pleased because they didn't take him seriously as a leader. Arlo told him that it was his job as leader to *make* people follow him, but Isen snapped that it was beyond his capabilities. Isen blurted out that Arlo should quit his problematic habit of expecting people to perfectly perform the complicated roles he forced onto them. This outburst stunned both Arlo and Remi, and Isen went numb when he realized what he just said out loud. Instead of inflicting injury, Arlo calmly said that he appointed Isen as head because he knew he had the talent for it. He then suggested that Isen should stop wasting time whining about being inadequate and start using his influence to fix this mess. Having spoken his peace, Arlo slammed one of the bulletin board articles onto Isen's desk and stormed out. Isen fell prostrate, amazed that he was still alive.

Time went on, and Isen helped out in stopping more Fake Joker attacks and gathering their masks. He and Blyke would meet up with Remi at her dorm to pool their collections together. Isen managed to stop a Joker one day, while Remi stopped three. Blyke joined them soon after to add four more masks to the week's pile. Isen was impressed that they could bring themselves to work so hard, but they all knew that this approach was getting them nowhere. Isen blamed himself for dropping the ball on keeping these impostors a secret, but Remi said that they were all responsible as prominent figures for losing their presence in school. Students were taking matters into their own hands because they saw the Royals and other leaders as obsolete relics. Remi said they needed to get back to basics, and talk to students one-on-one. Blyke said it would take more than the three of them to make any headway, and Remi agreed. She began to list off all of the top students who needed to get on board, but when she mentioned John, Isen scoffed loudly. He reminded her that John was the one who wanted this mess in the first place. Blyke agreed, and made it clear that he did not want to work together with that hypocrite. Remi paused and wondered why John recognized these problems while refusing to do anything other than exacerbate them. Isen figured that John *may* have cared about Wellston at some point, but it would be foolish to believe that was the case anymore. John was so far gone that he had begun to repeat history by sowing chaos like he did at New Bostin. Recalling that his own efforts to stay on John's good side amounted to nothing, Isen told his friends that the monster they had on their hands just wanted to watch them all burn.

### Responsibility

On top of all this Joker chaos, Isen had to put up with Blyke giving him sass over his preference for wearing socks to bed. Isen backed his sleep habits by claiming that socks helped to regulate heat, which let him sleep better than his (skeptical) roommate. Isen then shared a hypothetical scenario with Blyke about a stalwart office worker who gets murdered by his boss after failing to keep up with a sudden work overload. He then asked if the boss was unreasonable in expecting the worker to perform perfectly. Blyke immediately recognized this "hypothetical scenario" as Isen's last meeting with a disappointed Arlo. Dropping all pretense, Isen began complaining about his impossible task of trying to keep the Fake Jokers a secret. It seemed for a moment that Blyke was totally sympathetic to his plight, but then Isen got told to consider how Arlo must be feeling. It was like the beginning of his reign all over again, a statement Isen had trouble believing given Arlo's strength. Blyke elaborated that Arlo faced great challenges as a second-year king, and barely managed to keep things under control. When he graduated and moved on, the responsibility of keeping the school running smoothly would fall on them. As such, they needed to take their roles as leaders more seriously for the sake of Wellston High's future. Isen, miffed that his venting session became an after-school special, decided to turn in for the night. He fell into a deep slumber, and had a wonderful dream about how he was brave enough to talk back to Arlo. It was a vivid dream, and he wound up shouting in his sleep, alarming Blyke as he prepared to sneak out. Isen awoke to the surprising sight of Blyke still fast asleep. It took effort to get his roommate to wake up so they could get to class. Blyke decided he would skip, which Isen noted was so unlike him. When Blyke mentioned that he had trouble falling asleep last night, Isen wasted no time rubbing it in his face that it was because he didn't wear socks.

Isen was busy in the Press Room reviewing an article about Fake Joker retaliations. While it was off to a good start, he concluded that it tended to veer off topic and was full of grammatical errors. He instructed the writer to fix those issues and resubmit it. She thanked him and headed for the door, got a major surprise when she opened it to see Arlo and Seraphina standing there. Isen was not surprised so much as scared for his life at the sight of those two estranged colleagues hanging out together. He tried to get them to leave by saying they wre closed for the day. Ignoring him, Seraphina requested that he check to see if they were alone. Puzzled, Isen assured that it was unnecessary, since everybody left already. Arlo turned Seraphina's request into an order, which reminded Isen just how terrifying it was being in the same room as those two. Complying to their wish, Isen used his Hunter to scan the room for any individuals that the naked eye might miss. After he finished, he confirmed that only the three of them were in the room. His thoughts immediately turned to what sinister reasons they had for making him do that. Isen feared that they wanted to ensure that there were no witnesses when they killed him for his repeated failures.

Instead, Seraphina asked him what he knew about Terrence. Isen shared Terrence's basic information, as well as the fact that he enrolled at the start of the year. Arlo asked about the quality of Terrence's articles, which Isen said were pretty mundane. Arlo then informed Isen that Terrence wrote the article about the smoke bomb incident at Kovoro Mall. Isen was initially surprised to learn the identity of the anonymous author at last, only to smack himself for not realizing sooner that a connection between Terrence and the Invisible Assailant was staring at him the whole time. It then occurred to Isen that there had to be troubling implications surrounding this line of questioning, and asked the two why they wanted to know. Seraphina revealed that she was certain that Terrence was connected to her ability-loss. Recalling the mission that led them to Volcan, Isen asked why she would take very clear risks on a personal investigation instead of leaving matters to the Authorities. Seraphina stated that their investigation started months ago, with little to show for it. Certain that her case had been long dropped, Seraphina refused to wait any longer. Recalling that Remi underwent a similar experience with the murder of Rei, Isen wondered just what the Authorities were doing with their time. Back to the matter at hand, Arlo reasoned that if their hunch was correct, then Terrence or his employers had a fixation for high-tiers. Isen breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he wasn't a high-tier himself. Isen was ordered to turn over Terrence's class schedule to Arlo, and upon inquiry mentioned that the Press was their suspect's only extracurricular. Isen was tasked by Arlo with finding out as much else as possible about Terrence. The frustrated Isen mimicked Arlo's "LeT mE KnOw RigHt aWay" behind his back before noticing that a very quiet Seraphina had remained behind. Checking to see if she was alright, Isen got an additional request from her. Seraphina asked if he could also acquire information about a New Bostin girl named Claire.

Isen set about doing so that afternoon in his dorm. He found Claire's school records, and noted she was of average strength. Class photos of her showed that she was once close to John. Isen then pulled up her more recent history on social media. He found that the photogenic girl grew to be very cute, and almost missed the fact that there was another guy in both sets of pictures. Suddenly, Blyke walked in. Being the kind of guy who tries to keep his tasks under wraps, Isen quickly shut his laptop. This only made Blyke curious, and the homework excuse didn't fly from the guy who always copied off of him. Desperate to keep things private, Isen announced that he was hungry, and suggested they call Remi to go out for a bite to eat.

At the restaurant, Isen and Remi gawked at the sight of Blyke demolishing a tray full of cheeseburgers. Isen was compelled to tell him to slow down so that he could hear himself think again. Remi was curious about Blyke's growing appetite, which he chalked up to growing up. Isen didn't buy this, since the three of them grew at the same rate. The lunch became a business meeting, and the trio discussed the increase in Fake Joker attacks. Isen informed the others of the numerous articles about retaliations against these Jokers that the press team was submitting. Mid-tiers were especially getting fed up with these attacks. It would be hard keeping an all-out war from breaking out for much longer. Blyke and Remi went over the influential students they convinced to help them. When Remi mentioned how surprised she was to get Zeke on their side, both her friends gagged in disgust. Isen asked if she seriously went and spoke with that guy. Blyke warned against trusting Zeke, and Isen brought up what he did to Seraphina after she became vulnerable. Remi said that it didn't hurt to try, but relented after her friends angrily objected. For all their efforts, the problem only worsened. Isen listened as the others tried brainstorming a way to prevent more Jokers from emerging. He knew that if everybody found out who the original Joker really was, then nobody could impersonate him. But the problems with this plan he pointed out before still remained. What good was provoking John in this manner if nobody believed the truth?

That night, he was haunted by past lectures about being a more responsible leader. All that talk of doing the right thing made his brain itch, and his socks didn't make falling asleep any less of a struggle. But eventually, he did, and he snoozed in blissful ignorance of his roommate sneaking out again.

The next day, Isen was walking through the school halls when a failed Joker attack got his attention. The target, Gianna, called her attacker's bluff and began beating him mercilessly. Her friend could not calm her down, for the frustration of recent events drove her to the breaking point. She decided that if Joker could get away with hospitalizing Royals, then she could get the satisfaction of doing the same to this impostor, rankings be damned. Just as she began to do so, Isen stepped in. He told her that her hostility wasn't justified, which led to an argument. Gianna accused him and the others of favoritism towards the Fake Jokers by letting them go unpunished for their actions, a sentiment shared by onlookers. She went on to ask if their fear of Joker made them soft. Isen didn't answer out loud, but of course he was afraid of the guy whose power dwarfed his own. Then he got to thinking, all his efforts to keep him peaceful, only got him and others hurt. Now with the chaos they faced, he wondered why he bothered to ever try and keep John's secret. Gianna took his silence as surrender, and expressed immense disappointment in the Royals. To her their weakness was a blank check to follow Joker's example. Then, Isen shot her a question of his own. He asked if Joker went public, would she still be willing to follow him?

That night, as Isen sat in his bed, he began typing out the exposé. He didn't get past the title before he stopped to wonder if he was really making the best choice. He thought back to when John used his Joker alias to demolish the Royals in front of the whole school. After seeing this display of superior power and unrelenting violence, people began to look him as a role model. Fake Jokers gave way to frustrated retaliations from their targets. Isen realized that if he hadn't intervened, Gianna would have hospitalized her attacker. Even then, low-tiers continued to overestimate their limits and set out on this self-destructive course of impersonating Joker. Taking all that into consideration, Isen decided that not even angering John by exposing him was worse than letting this madness continue.

The next day, Isen's session with Seraphina and Arlo to discuss Terrence was set to reconvene. Since Seraphina arrived first, Isen decided that her request for info on Claire ought to be honored. After all, with John no doubt gunning for him in the near future, all loose ends ought to be tied. With Arlo's arrival shortly afterwards, their meeting could begin in earnest. Isen managed to acquire a great deal of Terrence's school records, from elementary to high. From what they indicated, it was impossible for Terrence to be the "invisble mall dude". Prolonged invisibility, sustained even after getting kicked by Seraphina, *and* passing their ability to others? Way beyond the capabilities of a mid-tier. But Arlo reminded the group that Terrence still managed to write an article about incident at the mall in record time. And he's been stalking high-tiers around school, a goal shared by the Ability Gauge Vendor. At a loss for an explanation, Isen could only shrug. So it fell to Seraphina to propose some theories. 1. Terrence was just a fan of high-tiers who got lucky with his article. 2. The records Isen procured were forgeries, and Terrence was much stronger than he seemed to be. Arlo sarcastically mentioned that it wouldn't be the first time something like this happened at school. Isen was compelled to bring up a third possibility: amplification drugs. Arlo was caught off-guard by both this statement and the fact that Seraphina seemed to know what Isen was talking about. She explained that she heard it from Remi, who claimed to read about it online. But Seraphina tried looking it up herself, and found nothing. She asked Isen where info on these drugs really came from. Isen tried to bluff his way out of this jam by falling back on his superior information-finding skills. But Arlo ruined it by asking if this information came from their little "X-Rei" escapade. Isen barely had time to register shock at Arlo's knowledge of their vigilante scheme as Seraphina was filled in. Seraphina wondered if the "Volcano" woman was a member of EMBER. Isen explained that it was almost a certainty, with her strength, speed and Fire Claws. He added that before their encounter with Volcan, their two targets had used these drugs to boost themselves by another tier. Not only was Volcan distributing these amplifiers, but she was likely using them as well during their battle with her. Isen recalled just how difficult it was for him and Blyke to pull Remi out of there. To answer Seraphina's next question, Volcan was most definitely operating alone, and Isen pointed out that his survival was proof of that. Seraphina then asked if they ran into her after that. Isen answered that he quit the vigilante life after that harrowing night. Seraphina inquired if Remi found out more, but Arlo answered that he made Remi quit. He didn't want to lose any more people to EMBER, so he was forcing everybody to wait for the Authorities to take care of things. This led to a debate between him and Seraphina on how reliable the Authorities *really* are, which Isen found incredibly awkward.

The next day, Isen published his exposé on the front page of the Wellston Weekly, and soon every student in school was wondering if John really was the true Joker.

### Safe House

Over the course of the next two days, Isen mostly holed up in the Press Room, waiting for John's retribution. Remi and Blyke opened the door and found Isen trying to hide behind a desk that did not conceal him at all. When they asked why he was so afraid, he told them what he had done. Isen requested that they burn his laptop when he was gone. Blyke tried to comfort him by saying they would protect him from John, which Isen said was hilariously naive. Remi commended him for bravely putting the truth out there, and recalled a significant decrease in Joker attacks he may have been responsible for. Glad that his decision wasn't totally in vain, Isen asked why they came to see him. They told him about "Safe House" club they were planning to establish, and asked him to put an ad in the newspaper for it. Isen agreed to do as they asked, but wondered if he would live long enough to do so.

Another meeting regarding Terrence was set to take place in the Press Room one fateful day. While waiting for Arlo to join them, Seraphina filled Isen in on Claire's firsthand account of the events of New Bostin. The blank year in John's records were the result of the Authorities detaining him in response to his final act as King. Isen thought it made perfect sense that such desperate measures were called for. When asked by Seraphina to look into how powerful delinquents were dealt with, Isen advised her not to hold her breath for results on such dangerous research.

Arlo's subsequent arrival startled Isen, given that being officially ousted might have left him in a bad mood. Arlo insisted that it didn't bother him, which was strange to Isen and Seraphina. On the subject of Terrence, Isen began by stating they were all in the dark. Seraphina interrupted him when she noticed Arlo had drifted off. The ex-king admitted that bitter experience left him reluctant in participating in another secret background check. Seraphina got him back on track by telling him that unlike his boneheaded plot against John, there was something more important than rankings at stake. She went on to remind him that she *needed* to find out just what the knife-wielding kidnappers wanted with her. These events came as news to Isen, who was understandably disturbed. But that was just the beginning. Apparently, these crooks managed to *stalement* the combined forces of Wellston's three most powerful students and foremost healer. The mention of the dampener used to pull this off only led to further questions. The attackers did not seem to be amplified during the incident. Isen ruled out a drug shortage as a possible explanation, pointing out that paying customers were never hurting for a fix. When Seraphina wondered if her kidnappers were unaffiliated with Volcan, given their different methods and goals, Isen proposed a theory of amplified low-tiers. Arlo shut him down, given how little sense it made given the overabundance of mid-tiers available to do the job. Smarting from the bluntness of the response, Isen stated that the logical conclusion was that Terrence was a high-ranker who had no need for amps. In turn, this meant his documents were falsified.

Just as things were getting interesting, John and Cecile burst into the room. Isen dove behind his desk at the sight of them, while Seraphina congratulated John on his new title. The new King wasn't having it, and ordered the three of them out.

He rejected the invitation to join their investigation as well, so the three of them agreed to comply with his demand. Isen nervously headed for the door right behind Seraphina. Suddenly, he was pulled aside by John as he walked past, and was told that he was to be thrown off the press team and replaced with Cecile. Isen pushed his luck by proclaiming John was doing him a favor by undoing Arlo's promotion. John growled that he had yet to make Isen pay for publishing the exposé. Isen began sputtering that he had no choice, but he quickly gave up on trying to convince John to spare him. Luckily for Isen, Arlo stepped in and freed him by forcing John to loosen his grip. Isen stood on the sidelines when Cecile was exposed as the one who leaked Seraphina's ability loss, and when John subsequently lost his temper in disbelief. Thanks to Seraphina talking Arlo into just walking away, the trio were able to leave relatively unscathed.

Isen was grateful to be out of that situation, but then realized that he neglected to put out the latest issue of the newspaper. When asked why this was a big deal, he explained that there was going to be an advertisement for the "Safe House" club Remi and Blyke were founding. Remarking that the club offered no appeal to him before, he decided that he had nothing better to do with his newfound free time than to join it. He offered to show the way to his curious colleagues.

The trio found Blyke and Remi busy with preparations in Room 224. Remi excitedly filled them in on the progress of preparations before asking how things were going with the advertisement. Isen was forced to break the disappointing news about his forced dismissal. He and Blyke then went over the details over the incident, specifically John's shoddy treatmnent of Seraphina. Talk of the 180 her friendship took offended Seraphina, who angrily pointed out that they were in a gossip-free zone. Isen apologized for Blyke's rude manners.

At Arlo's behest, Remi gave a speech about how she hoped to use Safe House to endorse peace that would counter the violence John seemed to inspire. Since Seraphina voiced her support for Remi's vision, Isen saw fit to chime in. Even without the press at his disposal, he had plenty of expertise that could put Safe House in the public eye. He asked to look at Remi's flier, the sight of which made him grimace. He likened the presentation to a boring essay that nobody would bat an eye at. But instead of openly criticizing his crush's work, Isen announced he'd do the whole thing over. Soon enough, he had a big stack of revised fliers ready. He shamelessly promoted his skills designing attention-grabbing ads. And Arlo's attention was drawn to his name being prominently featured. Isen quipped that he saw fit to take such a daring liberty, seeing as how Arlo no longer had any "King stuff" to distract him. Seraphina was amused at the jab. Arlo, less so. Momentarily terrified, Isen channeled his energy into rallying the others to put up the fliers all over the school. He handed each of them a stack and led the charge. Nobody was hyped enough to actually follow him, but that didn't discourage him from badgering lollygaggers Remi and Arlo to get a move on.

### Evolution

When the weekend came, Isen went out to lunch with Remi while Blyke slept in again. When they returned to the dorm with food for him, he was still snoozing away. Isen decided his roommate was overdue for a wake-up call. After another of their friendly spats, Remi handed over Blyke's food. She then called attention to a big scar on Blyke's face. Isen got a big laugh from Blyke's story about injuring himself en route to the bathroom. With all three of them awake, they could now discuss the matter of the opening day of Safe House.

### Tyrants

When the day finally arrived for the big opening of Safe House, Isen saw an unwelcome headline in the Wellston Weekly: **"JOHN HAS DECLARED ALL SAFE HOUSE MEMBERS ENEMIES OF THE SCHOOL."** He showed the news to Remi and Blyke, adding with disgust that John would have had to force Cecile to publish such dreck against her will. But the big turnout for the opening proved that the public's interest in club outweighed their fear of John's decree. This attitude puzzled Isen, to Blyke's annoyance. Isen stood behnd Remi as she gave a speech outlining the overview of club operations. When Zeke arrived in order to take names for John, Isen watched as Remi zapped him and sternly asserted that guarding club members was something the suprvisors would take *very* seriously.

After the ceremony concluded, Isen, Remi, and Blyke decided to eat at their usual joint. Isen raised a toast to the success of the day. Blyke brought down the mood by advocating even more responsibility than ever before to combat John's influence. Remi just hoped that their hard work would pay off with the stuents realizing that peace was the best course of action. The restaurant's TV disrupted the festivities with a news report about two new vigilantes that have been sighted in Grasshill. One was unidentified, while the other went by the alias "Nobody." Isen thought this was a pathetic codename, which Blyke seconded. But their derision turned to horrified shock when a recording of Nobody in action was run. The Newcaster and interviewee described Nobody's physical appearance and ability, which was also prominent in the footage. Isen could only utter "Dude" in response to his friend's return to the life they were supposed to put behind them. When it was over, Remi dashed off, with Blyke in pursuit. Isen remained behind, still struggling to register what just happened. Thanks to his friends' departure, he was stuck with the bill for their meal. It took a while for him to catch up to them. The first thing he did was nag them for making him suffer for *their* dine and dash. The second thing he did was check in with Remi and see if she was still upset. After seeing she was fine, Isen then verbally tore into Blyke for going out at night where dangers worse than Volcan might do him in. Blyke and Remi insisted that their vigilante life was well and truly behind them. Isen told them that it didn't matter thanks to Blyke's appearance on televison. There was enought info on that broadcast for EMBER to identify him. Blyke was sure that a small time superhero was safe, so long as he keep his head down. The worried Remi hoped this was true.

Isen continued researching the subject of how the Authorities handle delinquents on Seraphina's behalf. He learned about their "Readjustment Classes", a shady program with scarce details available. He met with Seraphina at school the next day and told her about it. He was surprised to hear that not only was she familiar with the existence of these classes, but that she was actually supposed to be enrolled in one herself. Seraphina elaborated on the circumstances that led her to that point, telling Isen that she had been caught reading "*Unordinary*". She was supposed to undergo an extensive reform to ensure that any ideals she may have gleaned from the banned book would be quashed before she could spread them to others. It was only due to the headmaster blocking the Authorities that she managed to avoid immediate repercussions. Isen remarked going to such lengths to keep her from inspiring vigilantes was overkill. Seraphina agreed, and shared what she speculated what the true purpose of readjustment was. It seemed that what Authorities feared most about Unordinary was the way it challenged its readers to question the status quo of the world. Considering the way she was dogged back then, Seraphina felt that high-tiers becoming rebellious would be especially troublesome. There was no way the Authorities would stand for such influential figures endorsing anything other than the established rules. Isen admitted that this logic fell in line with the increasingly sketchy details he kept digging up about their governing body.

He then asked if Seraphina knew just what "readjustment" entailed. Isen became privy to her best educated guess. The Authorities had assigned a man named Keon as her instructor. Seraphina added she was sure that John had the very same man in charge of his own readjustment. Curiosity overtaking him, Isen listened as Seraphina described how Keon's Memory Recall ability was likely utilized. The ability to force people to relive their worst experiences was a chilling thought for the ex-reporter, who had plenty to be ashamed about. Seraphina speculated that this was how Keon managed to traumatize John. Isen then wondered what experiences could possibly turned John into such a wreck. Seraphina naturally had the answer: it must have been the final confrontation between John and Claire's rebels. Stunned, Isen learned of the risk Claire took in order to get John to see what his quest for absolute power had transformed into. But John only saw her effort to stop his tyranny as a stab in the back. Seraphina paused to shudder at the thought of having to relive the moment she was betrayed, over and over again.

Getting back on track, Seraphina recalled that she tried *very* hard to remain neutral towards John since their falling out, getting through the ordeal of his second reign by trying to figure out what was driving him. She determined that his behavior stemmed from having his hopes for a new beginning in Wellston dashed, and a deep mistrust of everybody (especially himself) taking a firm hold. His terrible past stunted his development in the present. To Isen, the most unbelievable thing from this discussion was the fact that Seraphina was willing to go down this rabbit hole for the sake of somebody like John.

The following day, Remi visited the boys' dorm just in time for Blyke to break down over how mixed-up things ended up being. X-Rei wanted to be famous, Nobody hoped to remain discrete, but neither one got what they wanted. Isen offered no comfort. Instead, he chided Blyke for shaming his peers with his sorry performance in Grasshill. When Isen stressed how much ammunition the incident gave the media for vigilante mudslinging, an indignant Blyke told him that the news made it look worse than it ended up being. Ponytail's arrival turned the tide, and the criminals were ultimately defeated. Isen admitted that the broadcast seemed pretty intent on smearing the two do-gooders. Blyke then announced that he just remembered something else. He went to the closet and pulled out two vials, informing the group that they contained the amplifier drug. After hearing that one dose boosted your level by half for two hours, Isen mused that he could take on Arlo with the vial he held between his fingertips. Struck with inspiration, he then proposed that the drug might allow them to take down John, who might be unable to surpass the boost. Remi was against this course of action, and surprisingly, Blyke even more so. Snatching the vials away, Blyke told them it was too dangerous for them to subject themselve's to the drug's side effects. Isen claimed that he wasn't being serious, and told Blyke to lighten up.

Isen and Seraphina were walking together when they bumped into two guys coming out of the infirmary. They told them of how they got on John's bad side, but Blyke saved them. Knowing there was only one result to such an encounter, Isen and Seraphina set out and found Blyke knocked out and in really bad shape. They brought him to the infirmary and informed Remi, who took over Blyke's shift over at Safe House. The two of them then waited at Blyke's side until he woke up. As soon as he got his bearings, Blyke told Seraphina that he hated John for everything that he had done. Isen told his friend that there was no point in getting angry. It was an opinion he really should have kept to himself. Blyke furiously confronted him over his willingness to turn a blind eye to such unwarranted brutality, asking whether John had free reign to abuse his power simply because he had more of it than anyone. Isen was at a loss for words, but Seraphina was able to field the question. She stated that John was the sum of society's faults, which they must learn from in order to make drastic improvements. She resigned to the unlikelihood of John himself making any impact for the better.

The next morning, Isen was irritated that Blyke was taking his sweet time getting ready for school. He barged into the bedroom and asked what the holdup was. Blyke asked for two more minutes, which the impatient Isen decided to spend walking down the stairs.

Later that day, Isen was enjoying a beverage while leisurely strolling down the hallway. His eyes were drawn to a very upsetting sight outside the window. Blyke and John were in conflict yet again. Worse still, right above them was a giant hole in the building where Safe House was located. He immediately made his way there, and found the room full of club members injured by Zeke, who had Seraphina in his grasp. Isen threw his drink at Zeke's head before knocking the metaphorical ass on his physical one. Isen told Zeke off for coming back after getting kicked out once before. Not wanting to leave Safe House a second time, Zeke shot up and tried attacking Isen. The attempt failed, and the unharmed Isen shoved him back threatened to tear the "Godslayer" a new one if he ever disturbed other students in this manner. Angered and humiliated, Zeke bolted. Isen surveyed the condition of the students, and instructed them to bring Talia and Alden to the infirmary. He then peered out of the gap in the wall, and was horrified at the sight waiting for him. Once again, John had beaten Blyke to a bloody pulp, and didn't seem keen on letting it end there. Thankfully, John was forcibly stopped when Headmaster Vaughn made it to the scene, and Keene carried Blyke off for treatment. Elaine was called over to treat the wounded, and he crisis was behind them. But Seraphina barely had time to recover before making a life-threatening request to Elaine and Isen. In a private classroom, she informed them that she got invited to a Lovun Cafe in order to make a deal. She also explained that it was likely sent to her by the people who tried to abduct her, so she would appreciate some backup from friends. Remembering the brush of death he had with Volcan, Isen flat-out refused the chance to square off against criminals again. He hadn't forgotten the story of how those kidnappers nearly killed tougher groups and managed to get away. It made perfect sense that an elite-tier like himself risking his life wouldn't result in a better outcome. He and Elaine begged her to reconsider, but Seraphina was adamant about confronting the crooks responsible for her condition.

### Square One

Curious about Cecile's current situation, Isen felt that he should ask her about her new role under John. So after the weekend, he braved a trip back to his former club, taking the unusual newspaper published on Safe House's first day. He greeted several of his ex-colleagues as they left for the day before saying hello to the boss. Cecile recalled that he was banned from ever returning, and figured that he must have an important reason to disobey a direct order from John. He began to ask her why she would put that ridiculous Safe House warning in print when a sorry sight distracted him. It was a draft for another anti-Safe House article, with the same threat to all members. Before he could express his disbelief, the sudden sound of somebody walking in made Isen jump out of his skin. He ducked under Cecile's desk and insisted that he just came by to look for his forgotten pen. The confused girl who entered was dismissed by Cecile. Isen breathed a sigh of relief as Cecile told him that John had stopped by earlier and wouldn't return soon. He was given leeway to speak his peace, and he took it.

He asked Cecile to explain herself on why the press was being used to slander the club's reputation. She insisted that it wasn't personal, which he already figured. The problem had more to do with the fact that the words weren't even hers. Cecile told him to drop the issue, but he soldiered on, determined to get an explanation. He said that the Cecile he knew never let anybody push her around like this. She answered that he couldn't fathom how ruthless John was, a point Isen invalidated by citing the three beatdowns he'd suffered already. Isen also remembered that the whole reason she wanted Arlo out of her way was because he denied her total freedom of the press. But under John, she was worse off than before, reduced to a mere mouthpiece for his bile. Cecile commanded Isen to shut his mouth, but he boldly asked her to prove him wrong. He bet that she was unaware of what John's endgame even was. Isen asked if Cecile still thought it worthwhile to follow somebody so lost. To his disappointment, she invoked hierarchy rules to dodge the question. Isen gave up, but he had one last thing to say. As poor as his leadership of the press was, her stooping to becoming a propaganda machine was the sorriest situation he had ever laid eyes on. Isen realized that he came off more offensive than he usually dared to be around high-tiers, and apologized before showing himself out.

Isen was uninvolved most major incidents that went down the following day. John's next big act got him suspended, a turn of events that no doubt brought Isen *immense* comfort. Blyke got the same punishment as well, and the two friends spoke about it four weeks after it began. Isen chuckled at Blyke being grounded on *top* of being suspended, and all because the dummy brought illegal drugs onto school grounds. Joking aside, he told his buddy to take comfort in the thought that it was almost over. But Isen's mirth turned to horror when he saw who had happened to return to school that very day. It was John, and the sight compelled Isen to hide and tell Blyke about it.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 156
2. ↑ Chapter 157
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 160
4. ↑ Chapter 163
5. ↑ Chapter 164
6. ↑ Chapter 166
7. ↑ Chapter 168
8. ↑ Chapter 170
9. ↑ Chapter 175
10. ↑ Chapter 176
11. ↑ Chapter 177
12. ↑ Chapter 178
13. ↑ Chapter 186
14. ↑ Chapter 189
15. ↑ Chapter 190
16. ↑ Chapter 191
17. ↑ Chapter 199
18. ↑ Chapter 201
19. ↑ Chapter 202
20. ↑ Chapter 204
21. ↑ Chapter 206
22. ↑ Chapter 207
23. ↑ Chapter 208
24. ↑ Chapter 211
25. ↑ Chapter 212
26. ↑ Chapter 220
27. ↑ Chapter 234