Marquise was quite likely the most famous (former) villain in the world. Admittedly, that was partially owed to the fact that Herakles had convinced her to switch sides—it had become known as a great success story, conspiracy theories aside, and was constantly held up to try and convince villains that it wasn’t too late for them to turn to the right side of the law.

  “Look!” the PR people cried. “If a supervillain who took over an entire state can reform her evil ways, so can you!”

  Marquise’s redemption was a rather famous series of events, but taking over a state in the first place had earned her plenty of infamy on its own. It had been one of those “everyone knows what’s happening here, but doesn’t know what to do about it” situations. For seven years, she’d allegedly owned every level of Texan society; whether it be organised crime, local politicians, or state legislature, everyone had answered to her. She’d even spent two years as a senator, flagrantly strutting through Washington as if daring her enemies to do something about it. She’d been one of the first examples of the archetypal mastermind supervillain in the real world, and the real world had not known how to handle her.

  The question of how she’d done it was still a hot topic, and she’d never shown any inclination to explain herself. People weren’t even sure what her powers were, though most assumed it was some kind of cognitive enhancement. Her rank remained unknown eight years after she’d joined up with the heroes and become Vice Principal at AA. Even how Herakles had swayed her was shrouded in mystery.

  All this meant that speculation abounded. Rumours constantly surrounded her, from the terrifying to the outlandish, with conspiracy theories constantly running rampant. From those convinced she was still a villain to others adamant she’d been an undercover hero all along and everything in between. Some people even thought she was an alien.

  Hell, it wasn’t even clear what she was truly responsible for. It was common knowledge that she’d been the leader of the Syndicate before turning on her own people and taking them down, but nothing could be pinned on her directly. As far as the law was concerned, she was innocent, or at least not guilty, even while the Syndicate was guilty of every crime under the sun.

  And I mean every crime. The Syndicate had run everything in Texas and had its filthy fingers dipped in plenty of illegal activity beyond.

  The only thing people could agree upon regarding Marquise was that she was terrifyingly competent. One did not take over a major state and then thumb one’s nose at the federal government for seven years without either being very good at something or holding some kind of advantage.

  At one time, she’d been considered one of the scariest people alive.

  So it was a bit alarming to watch my sister stride up to the former crime lord and current vice principal of Aegis Academy and square up to her, close enough their noses were almost touching, and snarl:

  “You know exactly why I’m here, you bitch.”

  My heart dropped, wide eyes snapping to the vice principal to gauge her reaction.

  Marquise looked about as perturbed by an A-rank superhero getting in her face as I would upon noticing my hair had been ruffled in a breeze. Her hands stayed crossed behind her back. Her expression didn’t even twitch. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Miss Shaw.”

  The worst part was, she towered over Maisie. Marquise wasn’t just a tall woman, but a tall human being in general. Easily surpassing six feet by several inches, people often described her as ghoulish for her slender frame, and her white suit didn’t help matters on that front, accentuating the paleness of her face.

  When people talked like that, it was to make fun of her. I didn’t find it amusing now. Her appearance was, in my opinion, awfully intimidating. In a way I hadn’t felt when she’d been so close by during the physical tests back during the entrance exams.

  Maisie, on the other hand, was five-five at best. The starfield shining on her costume was an impressive sight; she looked the picture of a righteous hero confronting a villain. But the effect was negated by the way she had to tilt her head backwards a fraction to glare up into Marquise’s flinty silver eyes. It was hard to intimidate someone when the top of your head came to just below their nose.

  It didn’t help that the main reception to the admin building was devoid of any staff aside from Marquise herself; the room was a large one, high-ceilinged and spanning the entire width of the admin building. All the walls were covered in posters of various AA alumni in heroic poses and colourful costumes, with little placards detailing their achievements at the school and after graduation, and the vaulted ceiling depicted an elaborate mural of the Ancient Greek gods.

  The room was expected to play host to dozens of people looking to talk with the administrative staff of the school sequestered away in the offices beyond the four sets of double doors at the back of the room. There were dozens of cushioned chairs for visitors to wait in, all empty. There were no staff behind the long reception desk, all ten computer screens sitting inert. Looking behind me I could see that a handful of security guards in their black uniforms were turning people away.

  Marquise had known we were coming, and prepared for it.

  “Oh yeah?” Maisie growled, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “So you didn’t deliberately fuck with my little brother’s entrance exam to spite me?”

  I’d been frozen in indecision by the still-open doors to the admin building, but my gaze snapped to Marquise at that, and I took a step further into the room, the doors whooshing closed behind me, cutting off the noise from outside. Maisie hadn’t mentioned anything about me being targeted specifically. Why would Marquise want to spite her?

  I moved to stand by Maisie’s side, backing her up. Whatever else was going on here, I could say one thing for certain: I was firmly against whatever methods Marquise had been teaching at Aegis that ended up attracting people like Sooyoung and Taeyong.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  The Vice Principal just raised an eyebrow, looking like the personification of an unimpressed teacher.

  “Don’t play dumb,” Maisie said. “You can act poised and refined all you want, but remember: I know exactly how vindictive you are.”

  “Oh, how I’ve missed your accusations, Miss Shaw. It’s been too quiet without you.”

  “You’re dodging the question.”

  Marquise glanced at me, and a shiver went down my spine. There was something about her eyes. That silver sheen. Was it a power sign? There was no signal emanating from her, though… “I did not interfere in your brother’s exam in any capacity,” she said, turning her gaze back to Maisie.

  Maisie was quiet for a moment. Then she growled, “But you have been interfering with the exams in general. Don’t even try to deny it. You broke your promise.”

  “I don’t believe I made any promises regarding the exams,” Marquise said.

  “I’m pretty sure that was implied in ‘leave the school the fuck alone’?”

  “I don’t believe I agreed to anything like that, either. It would be rather difficult to leave Aegis Academy alone when I am currently employed as its vice principal.”

  Maisie snorted derisively. “Come on. You can do better than this. Has no one been keeping you on your toes for the last few years or something?”

  “What is it you think I’ve done, precisely?” Marquise asked.

  “Exactly what I said you would, back then! Made things worse. Aegis Academy is supposed to be a school where kids learn how to be superheroes the right way, not some ruthless, every man for himself battle royale! Your shitty methods inevitably attract shitty people, and my little brother almost died because of it!”

  Maisie’s voice had steadily been rising throughout, until she was bellowing the last words, and her power signal rose to match her volume. She was panting when she was done, her fists clenched tight at her sides and the stars on her costume swirling.

  “All tests are closely monitored,” Marquise said, still unruffled by the angry superhero screaming in her face. “There was never any true danger of harm for your brother, from what I’ve read in the reports.”

  “There shouldn’t have been anything close to danger,” Maisie snapped. “We had a deal. You were supposed to rein in the shitty students, but instead they’ve gotten way, way worse. If you’re not keeping your part, why should I keep mine?”

  “The test your brother was involved in was an unfortunate anomaly. I assure you I am not encouraging anyone to behave in the way certain examinees did in that incident, and the perpetrators have been dealt with.”

  Maisie tensed. “Dealt with how?”

  Marquise rolled her eyes. It was the most emotion she’d shown so far. “I had them thrown in a bottomless pit to be tortured for all eternity by evil demons.”

  “Don’t pretend you have a sense of humour,” Maisie snapped.

  “They were arrested, of course,” Marquise said. “Their actions in their practical test were not covered by the waiver all prospective students sign.”

  “What would have been covered by the waiver? Would they have gotten away with just beating up some other examinees a bit? Or, hm, what if, I don’t know, they dropped a building on someone?”

  “Directing one’s powers against another examinee with hostile intent without cause is considered to be assault, just as it would outside the test.”

  “Interesting. Very interesting.” Maisie tapped a finger to her chin in mock thought, then snapped, “So why didn't the teachers put a stop to it until it looked like one of the criminals might die?!”

  “Whatever the rumours may claim, I’m afraid I cannot, in fact, read people’s minds.”

  Maisie was quiet for a long moment, staring Marquise down. When she spoke again, it was in a whisper, barely audible even from where I was standing a couple of metres away. “Do you want me to tell people what I know?”

  Marquise said nothing. Her expression was utterly blank.

  “I don’t see how it would be anything more than mildly inconvenient to you,” Maisie continued softly after a moment, “but you clearly wanted it kept secret. Has that changed? Are you trying to bait me into revealing it as part of a convoluted plan to screw me over or something?”

  For a long moment, Marquise was unmoving. She stared down at Maisie with empty, emotionless silver eyes. Maisie’s power signal was screeching like a wild animal desperate to get its claws into an enemy, but there wasn’t even a hint of power from Marquise.

  “I believe our fundamental problem is that we have different interpretations of what it means to be a hero,” she said eventually.

  “Yeah, we already figured that out a long time ago,” Maisie snarled, volume rising once more. “What’s your point?”

  Marquise tilted her head to one side like a curious owl observing a rowdy mouse. “Tell me: what do you think a true hero is, Miss Shaw?”

  “We’ve literally had this exact same conversation before.”

  “Refresh my memory,” Marquise said. She glanced at me again, more pointedly this time. “Or perhaps you can think of it as for your brother’s benefit?”

  Maisie jumped, spinning around to gape at me. She stared at me for a long moment with wide eyes, then let out a low groan under her breath. “Right. You’re here, Emmett.” She grimaced, turning back to Marquise. “A hero is someone who helps people selflessly, acting for the greater good and inspiring other people to do the same. Your reply will be to nitpick about the actual definition of a hero, bringing up classical myths and shit like that, maybe a little story about the ancient Herakles and his twelve labours, comparing him to our modern superhero.”

  “The greater good, you say?”

  Maisie sighed, tilting her head back to glare up at the ceiling. “Here we go. Should’ve seen that one coming.”

  “Why don’t the two of you join me in my office?” Marquise offered abruptly, stepping to one side and gesturing behind her. “Perhaps a less public setting will beget a more honest conversation.”

  Maisie blinked, turning a baffled stare on Marquise. “Not worried I’ll break your stuff?”

  “Not in the slightest, Miss Shaw,” Marquise replied. “I have utmost faith you’ve learned restraint in the last four years.”

  After a moment, Maisie looked at me and tilted her head questioningly.

  I took a deep breath. “I want to hear what she has to say for herself.”

  And maybe I’d have a few things to say to her, too.