October 15th, 2020.

School buses pulled into the football field’s access road. Gyaru stepped off first. She wore the Cheerleader uniform, a yellow skirt, and a tan top with black trim. The cool autumn air felt good after the summer heat. Half of the third-floor girls came off the bus to follow her. They bounced with pom-poms to the third and fourth buses. The football players from both teams got off as the girls cheered. The boys walked off with determined focus in single file to the locker rooms. Then, with a word from Gyaru, the Cheerleaders ran out to the field. They formed a line to cheer for the fans.

Go-Go and the Flagline got off the second bus; they wore tan skirts with black tops trimmed in yellow. Colby oversaw the equipment for both teams. The Cheerleaders and Flagline performed a set around the field. They then followed Gyaru into the women's locker room. Maple broke away from the Cheerleaders with a microphone to talk up the crowd.

The band readied their instruments on the sideline. Flat buttoned up the uniform jacket. A classic black double-breasted jacket and black pants with yellow piping. The families and students had filled a quarter of the stadium.

Mom and Dad are here. I'll have to get pictures later, Flat thought.

Alana and Kelly unpacked with her. Kelly had a pair of marching cymbals. Alana had a snare drum. Kelly looked off down the field into the dark end zone.

"Kelly, you alright?" Flat said.

"Oh. I'm fine, I have brain fog today," Kelly said.

"Show must go on Kel," Flat said.

Kelly held the Cymbals wrong; she had looped the straps over her hands. Flat decided to deal with that at the next practice.

Opening her instrument case. The high polished steel of the Glockenspiel reflected the stadium lights. Flat ran her hand over the tone plates.

"We ride again," Flat said.

The Cheerleaders and Flagline settled into the locker room. Mecklenburg Girls Academy would have to work both sides of the game. Great Lakes United had held back their Cheerleaders, Flagline and Band. The rumor that Maple heard was a riot between the three groups. It was Great Lakes.

The Cheerleaders made last-minute adjustments to their uniforms. Maple had left Colby the sowing kit to make repairs. Gyaru with more pressing issues rummaged through the office desk. Go-Go waited by the door.

"Where did we leave the bathroom key?" Gyaru said. The key was here the last time. A thin white mist filled the room.

"Go-Go?" Gyaru said.

A baby doll in a black goth loli dress sat on the desk, its face painted with a Day-of-the-Dead mask.

"Tsk, Go-Go, this ain't funny," Gyaru said.

There was a sudden pressure in Gyaru's back with a sharp pinch between her breasts. A spear had pushed through; her eyes focused on the leaf blade out of her chest. She felt the burn of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. Gyaru dropped into the mist, unable to move. Pain wracked her body, and her bladder released.

Go-Go turned around as the white mist faded. The noise from the crowd and the girls in the locker room had stopped. She was in the Grand Atrium of the school. What happened didn't matter. She zipped to the third floor, switched to running shoes, and texted Coy and Rudy from the dorm office cell phone. Go-Go vaulted the railing to the ground floor. She ran through the school's main hallway to hit the school doors at a run. The camera speeding tickets that arrived later would clock her at over five hundred miles an hour.

Misty waited on top of the press box. A thin veil of mist ensured her privacy. If the werewolf or the dog girl hunted for her, she wanted to know the direction of the wind. The real problem was the vampire. She didn't see him anywhere and opened portals to watch critical areas. Small interdimensional windows where light passed through one way. She watched behind her, the locker rooms and Coy. She needed to concentrate with so many windows open, being continuous teleportation.

Despite the loose ends the show must go on. Misty teleported Encephalon from the lair to the boys' locker room. She watched him walk out of the shower, and the football players of Great Lakes United paused. The waves of mind control hit them as Encephalon walked around the group.

"Everyone put on pants. No running around without pants. Not on this job," Encephalon said. She teleported in a box of zip ties.

"Tie up the Cheerleaders and Flagline. Go." Encephalon said.

The Great Lakes team ran out Misty teleported Encephalon to the other locker room. He mind-controlled the Mecklenburg Academy Boys. The Great Lakes team stormed into the women's locker rooms. They tied up the Cheerleaders and flag-line cadets.

Maple and the families had watched in confusion as the Great Lakes Players had run past. The band continued to get ready. Finally, both teams poured out of the locker rooms. They forced the band members to the ground and zip-tied the girls' wrists and ankles.

Parents and teachers knew something had happened. People in the stands, started to move. Misty watched on the off chance a parent with Superpowers had shown up. Coy and the teachers behaved predictably. They tried to get the students to safety. She summoned a cloud of mist to roll off the roof into the stands. The students, parents and teachers ran out of the stadium. As panic spread, they bunched up the stairs or tried to get on the field. Misty teleported them to the parking lot before anyone was trampled. Half the band ran off the field, and for fun, she teleported them back to the opposite side.

Misty watched as Puddles sat on the floor next to Crested. They waited for the last boy to leave.

"Let's get out of here," Puddles said as her arms and legs melted to slip out of the ties.

"Creeps me out every time," Crested said. Puddles limbs pulled back together.

"It's not pretty, but it works. Where are the multi-tools?" Puddles said standing up.

"Yellow gear bag," Crested said. Puddles moved from girl to girl to cut them loose. The door opened. Go-Go zipped to Puddles. The speedster grabbed the tool, zipped from girl to girl and handed Puddles back the tool.

"Honey get everyone out," Go-Go said.

Go-Go zipped into the office to find Gyaru with the spear through her chest. The smell of urine filled the room. She twitched with pain, her mouth open in a silent scream.

"Honey, I'm sorry," Go-Go said.

She pulled the spear out. Gyaru gasped for breath and got to her knees. She transformed while standing.

Misty watched it all through a portal. She wanted to teleport both girls back to school. But she had already done that trick. Cartel agents were watching.

Let's give them a show, Misty thought.

Crested and Puddles led girls out of the locker room. A moment later, the doors slammed open. The werewolf walked out, followed by a blur. The mesmerized boys focused on the running Cheerleaders. The blur bounced from one football player to another, in a zig-zag. They fell as the blur passed. At the end of the field, the blur stopped. Go-Go twirled a baton in each hand to search for her next target. A blast of thunder came from the sideline to toss Go-Go and the boys to the ground.

Puddles and Crested got their girls and a lot of the band into the parking lot. Crested saw Coy with students from the stands. He organized the Mecklenburg Boys to protect the other students. Puddles ducked around a tree to make a call.

"Rudy, they're attacking the stadium," Puddles said.

"Coy told me. Who's attacking?" Rudy said.

"I don't know. Gyaru and Go-Go are doing what they can," Puddles said.

"We have attacks along the Eastern Coast. Do what you..." Rudy said. Puddles felt the blast of thunder that rolled out of the stadium. The screen on her phone cracked.

"Run when I tell you," Flat said. The Band that hadn't run off were flex cuffed and sat around her. When it started Flat went along with it. The cuffs were standard not baseline rated cuffs. She could get out any time. The football players had a blank look on their faces. Once she saw Crested and Puddles come out of the locker room she knew it was the right time. Flat stood and snapped off the flex cuffs.

"Now! Run to the parking lot. Find Crested," Flat said. She broke the zip ties from girl to girl.

Kelly had been cuffed and lay on the ground working up to a panic attack. Her eyes were wide and she breathed very quickly. Flat snapped the cuffs off and moved on to the next girl. Alana now free moved to help Kelly. Flat started to walk back over to them. Kelly absentmindedly picked up the cymbals from the ground. She brought her hands together. The brass clanged. The air warped with pure force. A clap of thunder knocked Flat back. Alana flipped over from the blast and fell to the ground. Her nose and ears ran with blood. Flat's ears rang, and anyone on the field dropped in the blast. Kelly stood in the middle of it all, untouched.

Flat got to Kelly before she could use the Cymbals again.

"What happened?" Kelly said. Flat only saw Kelly's lips move.

Flat broke the straps to let the cymbals drop to the turf, then picked up Alana over her shoulder. With Flat's other hand, she pulled Kelly to the parking lot.

Coy and Crested waited with a ring of the boys from North. Kelly staggered, pulled along behind. Alana was handed off the the medical team.

"What the hell happened?" Coy said.

"I'm sorry," Kelly said.

"Don't let Kelly touch anything brass," Flat said. Her ears had stopped ringing.

"I don't…what I did," Kelly said.

"We'll deal with it later,” Coy said. Flat walked back to the field. “Felicity where are you going?"

She looked back, "My parents are out there. Gyaru and Go-Go," Flat said.

"Go," Crested said.

Flat walked out on the field. A thin mist covered the ground. Go-Go and Gyaru had rounded up the football players. None of them were Heroes. The thunderclap had knocked the fight out of everyone. The three girls walked to the center of the field to meet in the middle. Then Flat saw a cloaked man in the stands. Mist swirled around him.

"Gyaru, There!" Flat said, pointing to Encephalon.

Gyaru turned with a growl and made a bounding run to the stands. Go-Go zipped stragglers off the field and out to the parking lot. At the sideline, Gyaru jumped jaws wide. Encephalon blinked away in a puff of mist as Gyaru slammed her face and claws into the stadium chairs. Flat took a step that way then heard the laughter echoed from the scoreboard. Three men stood on the catwalk. Flat instead ran to the stairs.

Puddles followed Crested. Coy had wanted to know what was going on inside the stadium. He sent the two girls to get a look. Both knew Coy well enough that he would have the Boys storm the field once the area was clear. They glanced around the corner at the fence line. Crested laid low to watch the field. A cloud of mist turned into a spinning wall in the middle of the football field. A man walked out, back-lit by the end zone lights. Crested could not recognize the man through the beard. Puddles lay next to her.

"Billhook," Puddles said.

"Who?" Crested said.

"A Baseline. He hands out beatings to the homeless by the river," Puddles said.

Crested turned to a rustle of fabric as the Dark Cape leaped off the streetlight. He glided onto the field. Vincent landed in a crouch and stood with his arms wide to challenge the man. They closed the gap at a run. A red glow flickered on Vincent's hand.

That's magic, Crested thought.

The man moved fast; a wild hook caught the vampire in the neck. Crested heard the snap as he flipped over. Vincent didn't get up.

The air cracked as the sound barrier broke. With a spin kick, Go-Go's running shoe slammed the side of Billhook’s head. The mist blew away. He never moved from the hit. A hand grabbed the speedster's ankle. The other hand punched her inner thigh above the knee. Go-Go fell as her leg went numb.

Billhook loomed, the fist came back. Go-Go tried to zip away. Time ran slow, she kicked to roll to the side, but the numb leg lay on the ground. Three knuckles slammed into her teeth. The hit snapped Go-Go’s head back to knock the ribbon loose from her hair.

Gyaru jumped to Billhook's back and pulled her claws into his neck. His hands grabbed her elbows to flip the werewolf overhead into the ground. He dropped on her chest with his knee to pound her face. Each blow sent ripples through the sod until his blood dripped on Gyaru. Billhook punched Gyaru's throat. Then stepped back a few feet, hands to his neck. The blood poured.

"What's he doing?" Puddle said.

He pulled a pack of something from his pocket and poured it into his hand to rub it into the torn skin.

"Blood clot powder. Gyaru put a bleed on him," Crested said.

"I can take him. I could use the secret attack," Puddles said.

"No. Only if he comes out to the parking lot," Crested said.

"But…" Puddle said.

"Becca, your the last one between him and the boys. He'll kill them," Crested said.