Gray clouds began to roll in the next day, bringing heavier snow with them. Ellia stood outside Central State High School, wearing her black beanie, purple hoodie and white, thermal pants. The weather had changed from cold to freezing, causing her to rub her arms for warmth. Fourth period had just ended, causing the front yard to be flooded with students. A snowball struck the back of Ellia's head; she didn't need to turn around to know who threw it. Komo stood with her hands behind her back and nudged Gren with her elbow. "Gren did it." "No I didn't!"

Fearing a misled counter attack, Gren put up his arms to defend himself. Despite the pixie's frustration, she decided not to fight back. "Have you two seen Delle?" "No," said Komo with a shrug, "Why?" "She disappeared after lunch, and I don't know-" "Hey guys." The teens turned to the sound of Delle's voice, finding her in odd clothing. Despite the freezing snowstorm, the witch wore a crop top with long sleeves and yoga pants. Both black in color, which was odd for the usually pink obsessed girl.

Ellia and Gren blushed, the warmth actually feeling good on their faces. "Uh, Delle, are you feeling ok?" asked the pixie. Delle answered with a spin, her long, red hair dancing in the wind. "I feel amazing," she said in a notably lower tone. Gren continued to look wide eyed as he added, "But it's zero degrees outside. Aren't you cold?" "Nope. You guys wanna go to Ramone's? Or are we just gonna talk about the weather?" Without a second thought, Komo raised her hand. "I'm in!"

As Gren and Komo walked towards Kurt's parked Reign, Ellia grabbed Delle's warm arm and said. "You're acting strange. Smug, confident, and you're wearing black! Are you sure that fever isn't affecting your brain?" Delle shook her head and replied, "Ever since I beat Vik's gang all on my own, I've been feeling so much better about myself. I'm not useless..." Purple fire suddenly danced in her open palm. Light and shadows casted onto her face as she held it close. "...I'm powerful."

The fire vanished as quickly as it arrived, and Ellia shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's good. I'm just...worried about you. Your hands look awful." The witch examined the black veins running up her forearms, and her voice returned to its higher, softer tone. "I know they look bad, but with this...I can protect you." The two shared a short hug, but Ellia still felt concerned. However, her thoughts on the matter were disrupted by a vibration from her watch. Both girls look at their wrists and find a message: [BILLBOARD COLLAPSING ON EAST 45TH STREET!] "Ramone's is canceled guys," shouts the pixie, causing Komo to groan. "Aw, come on!"

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HONK! In a flurry of snow, cars attempt to drive away from the teetering billboard. Icy roads had caused one driver to swerve out of control and block traffic. Horns blow in anger and desperation, as the metal beams above groan. SNAP! The final straw is broken, and the giant billboard descends towards the trapped people. However, hope is found with the sight of a hero. Bron leaps above the vehicles and summons blue fire around his boots. "Blazing Boot!" With a mighty kick, the Symbiolic forces the billboard to fall forward, narely missing the occupied cars.

Bron lands amongst the citizens, instantly drawing a crowd of fangirls. "Oh, Bron!" You're so hot Bron!" "Marry me Bron!" The smirking man lifts up his hands to equip a pair of shades. "Ladies, please. I'm just doing my job." "EEEKKK!!" The sudden scream causes Bron to turn and spot the incoming giant. Stag pushes cars and trucks aside, then tackles into the flaming hero. The shades fly off his face with a spin. Both tumble over each other, with Bron ending up underneath. Using both legs, he kicks the armored beetle off of him and rises to a fighting stance.

ZAP! A bolt of lightning strikes the unsuspecting hero in the back, causing him to seize up and fall to one knee. Before he can find the source in the thick snowstorm, Kronia appears and swings her axe down. Bron just barely avoids, but stone pillars pierce out of the ground, launching him in the air. The acrobatic Pamda meets him up high and smacks him with her, "BAM!! BOO!!"

A trail of blue fire follows Bron as he crashes down to Earth; first hitting a card, then bouncing onto the pavement. Rising once more, blood drips from his mouth, and he observes his surroundings. Six figures stand concealed in the snow, trapping him inside the circle. "Six against one, huh? That's fine..." Flames around the human fireball rise with intense passion. "I'M JUST GETTING WARMED UP!!"

CHAPTER 4: Familiar Face

A beat-up, blue Reign speeds down the highway. Gren and Komo sit in the backseat, itching to get to the action. "Are we close yet?" both ask, causing Kurt to facepalm and shout, "Ask me one more time, and I'll make you walk!" The car takes an aggressive turn into the exit ramp and performs a rolling stop at the red light. Now heading into the thick snowstorm, Kurt puts on his wipers, but only the passenger side works. Frustrated with his Reign's condition, the mentor shouts, "Kids, cover your ears!" Both Gren and Komo follow orders but still manage to hear him shout various profanities.

Suddenly a violent tremor shakes the vehicle and all inside. "What was that!?" shouts Gren. "It's Bron!" Kurt's instant reply confuses the teens, and Komo asks, "You can tell that's Bron just from feeling the ground shake?" "When the guy blows up fifteen times a year, you get used to it!" Finally the blue Reign arrives at the street pile up of cars, and Ellia lands with Delle shortly after. Visibility was heavily limited by the blizzard, so Kurt led the apprentices across the icy road with caution. "Stay together. If Bron overheated, it means he was fighting something." "Or somethings," Komo adds.

Just ahead of them, Bron lies on the street, coated in ash. The trios of Jang's Hand and the Zion Outlaws surround him, with Stag raising his javelin to strike. "That was some impressive strength, but Jang's Hand is not so easily defeated." The armored beetle readies his killing blow, but gets struck in the back of the head by a spiked ball. "Hnrh!" Stag's javelin pierces the pavement just beside Bron's head, giving him a close shave to his hair. Kronia's eye follows the flail's chain all the way back to Kurt, who shouts, "BACK OFF OF BRON!!"

Kurt's spiked ball swings out again, blocked by Kronia's stone shield. In retaliation she swings her battle axe down, causing several stone pillars to shoot out from the ground. Sewer drains burst out from below and pour freezing water onto the streets. Kurt uses this to his advantage and commands to his Symbol, "Tidal Wall!" A giant wave rises in front of the attackers, temporarily giving Kurt time to think. "When the wave goes down, Gren, run in and grab Bron! Girls, protect them both!" "What about you?" asked Gren in concern, but there wasn't time for an answer.

Stag rushes through the water like nothing and tackles Kurt into a wrecked car. "GO!!" The apprentices move into the chaos, Gren in the lead. Pamda plants her bamboo on the road and leaps high to strike, but Komo blocks it with her shield and smacks her away. Dusty spins his sandguns and fires, and Gren hops over each shot. Purple flames shoot past the cowboy, causing him to focus on the witch. With sharp hands pointed forward, Delle smirks and summons her new power. 

At last the ninja boy reaches the injured Bron. The fire mentor lies on the cold pavement between two cars, holding his left knee in pain. "It's ok, Bron! We're gonna get you out of-" Suddenly an immense pressure forces Gren to the ground. Unable to push himself up from the slippery road, he turns his head left and finds Doll Face skating with her glowing, pink staff.

From the heavy snow cloud, clanking footsteps make their way to the boy. Kronia stands high above him with her axe in both hands. "That's Gren," says Vik, standing beside her, "He was Percy's apprentice, and he'll be a state Symbiolic soon." The gladiator looks down at Gren and asks, "Tell me, boy, is this true?" "Leave him...out of this!" yells Bron, also forced down by gravity. The apprentice then answers for himself. "I'm gonna be...the best Symbiolic in Zion..." With the force split between him and his mentor, Gren manages to push himself up slightly. "...I'm not...letting you win!"

The boy's scream catches the attention of Komo, still fending off Pamda and Dusty with Delle and Ellia. "GREN!!" A dark blue color glows around her shield and from her furious eyes. "Dragon Scale!" With great might, the shield maiden tosses her barrier with a spin, summoning the transparent dragon with its wings out wide. Kronia, Stag, and Doll Face all watch in disbelief, unable to move. "That shield...It's impossible." The dragon spins its wings into the gladiator, launching her far down the road. "Kronia!" Doll Face releases her gravity and skates to check on her leader.

Kurt's spiked ball swings overhead. With a clang, it bounces off of Stag's helmet, and he rushes forward with his javelin. Just in time, the mentor steps out of harm's way, causing the fallen billboard to take the impact and lean further down. A cowering bystander looks up in horror, as the heavy metal descends on her. However, her life is spared when Stag catches it, giving her time to run away. The rescue puts Kurt on pause, unable to comprehend why his enemy would do it. This question is quickly forgotten though, as Stag punches him away and runs back towards his allies.

Now free to stand, Gren readies his water shuriken to face off against Vik. "You nearly killed hundreds of people yesterday! Delle almost died!" "I didn't think- I wasn't trying to-" "LIAR!!" The flowing water surrounding Gren's shuriken freezes into sharp blades, something he had never done before. With immense speed, the ninja slashes at his taller rival. Victor has no chance to strike back, only defend with his gauntlet. Never had Gren fought with this much anger and furocity, a style of combat that resembled Percy's.

A violent clash of the teens' weapons forces Victor back. He slips to his rear on the road, where he holds up his gauntlet as a weak defense. Gren's shuriken strikes it again, this time forcing all of his strength against his enemy. As Victor fights the boy's attack, the sharp end of the ice blade creeps dangerously close to his face. Now his eyes show genuine fear, while Gren's continue to display anger. The boy shows no signs of stopping, until Komo runs in and pushes him off. "Gren! What's wrong with you!? You can't kill him!"

As Gren realizes what he had done, Victor runs to the refuge of Dusty, Pamda, and Jang's Hand. Kurt joins the apprentices and stoops down to check on Bron. "You ok, bro?" "Nope...knee's twisted...pretty bad." "We'll get you out of here. Ellia! Bron needs healing!" Meanwhile, the attackers are frozen in place. "Kronia, that's Jang's shield," says Stag in wonder. Doll Face sounds likewise, "What do we do?" The gladiator remains speechless, however, a bigger problem arises.

 Kurt stands in front of apprentices, but Delle steps beyond them all. Purple flames consume her sickly hands, and a wicked grin stretches across her face. An intense burst of fire launches out, twice as large as yesterday's. Stag jumps in front of his allies and declares, "Exo-Barrier!" The armored beetle claps his hands and spreads his arms out wide to summon a wall of orange hexagonal light.

An unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, causing a ground shaking impact. Heat from the blaze melts the blizzard, allowing everyone to see more clearly for a moment. Stag's metal boots slide across the wet pavement, and his barrier begins to crack. "Hold it Stag!" demands Kronia, shocked at her ally's struggle. "It's...too...powerful!" All the while, the witch smirks. Finally the fiery attack ends, with Delle dropping her sickly arms to her side. Smoke clears, and the snowstorm returns to fill the void. The mentors and apprentices search, but can't find their enemies, only her.

The witch's sleeves had been burned off to her shoulders, revealing black veins spreading the same distance. Slowly she turned and began to walk towards her friends. Every step she took melted ice on the road, and steam rose from her body where snow landed. "Too bad," she said in an arrogant tone, "We'll get 'em next time." The witch looked at Gren specifically and smirked. "Not so useless now, am I?"