Libby sat behind the curved cherry wood news desk and watched the cameraman's digits disappear one at a time. She gulped, laced her fingers, and stared straight into the camera as the boy's hand disappeared. A red light above the lens blinked to life, and Libby began the most important broadcast of her career.

"Hello, everyone. As this horrific day winds to a close, we have received word that President Vortex is preparing to make a major announcement. So let's get some more information from our top field correspondent, Courtney Tyler."

Libby's eyes drifted to the nearby monitor. Onscreen, a boxed image of Courtney in the school auditorium appeared over Libby's shoulder.

After a brief delay, Courtney nodded. "Hello, Libby. As you can see behind me, the auditorium is being set up for an address from our president." Onstage, Bennett and Yen carried out a mahogany podium. The lectern was emblazoned with the school's logo - a shield whose sigil was an owl mid-flight, clutching a dagger in its talons. Yen and Bennett placed the podium center stage. As they walked out of view, Yen flashed a smile and waved at the camera.

Courtney explained, "While we do not yet know the full details of President Vortex's speech, an inside source has revealed it is not about the Black Atom. Instead, she will discuss the upcoming Spring Fling."

Libby scrunched her brow in confusion. "That is surprising. We students are clamoring for a stop to these attacks, not an update on the dance."

Courtney nodded. "I agree. Our source also suggests that this will not be a popular declaration."

Libby asked, "Do you have any other details?"

"Unfortunately, no. But luckily we won't have to wait long. The speech is set to begin in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks, Courtney. We'll be back with you soon." Libby watched her friend disappear from the monitor and faced the camera.

"President Vortex has seemed infallible the past few months. The idea of her giving a controversial speech may seem odd, but this does fit with a statement from her secret service which was just released." Libby shuffled the papers in her grasp and looked down at them. "This normally apolitical institution appears to be taking a strong proactive stance against the president's upcoming display. The statement reads as follows."

Libby glanced back at the monitor, where a textbox filled half the screen. She turned her eyes to the papers in her hands and read the words aloud.

"We members of the Retroville Middle School Secret Service take our oath to the presidential office, not the boy or girl who occupies it. As such, we have always defended our leader regardless of our personal opinions on how they serve. And yet, we are still human. So it is that we expect a modicum of empathy and civility. After learning of what President Vortex plans to do, we no longer recognize any of those qualities in her. We cannot stand by such a leader, and thus are left with no recourse except to resign our posts."

Libby set her papers aside as the onscreen words disappeared. "It appears that this most haunting and bizarre of days will have a baffling end. But rest assured that our entire team will be here to help you parse this out. We'll be back in fifteen minutes when the speech begins. Until then, this is Libby Folfax of the R.M.S. Report, signing off."

Light waited until the camera's red light turned off. As soon as it disappeared, she leapt from her chair and stormed into her office. She snatched a walkie-talkie from the charging rack and activated the transceiver. "How was that?"

Inside Ms. Wolf's classroom, Jimmy stared at the TV screen now filled with color bars. He managed a smile as Libby's voice crackled through his walkie. Jimmy immediately answered, "Perfect job."

Libby's staticky voice said, "Seems like everything's falling into place. Is Cindy ready?"

Jimmy turned away from the television and studied his girlfriend. A half-empty decanter of cranberry juice rested near her drained rocks glass. She furiously scribbled on a sheet of paper, then crossed out everything she had just written.

Jimmy turned away and whispered, "She will be. Just remember that no matter how crazy things get in the auditorium, Courtney has to be ready for the second speech. I don't want the kids in this school to turn on Cindy for a second more than necessary."

"I remember," Libby assured him. "Good luck, guys. Over and out."

Jimmy clipped the walkie to his waistband and approached Cindy. She was completely unaware of his presence; her eyes were solely focused on the parchment before her. Jimmy watched her struggle to write a few more words with her shaking pencil.

Jimmy quietly asked, "Are you okay?"

For a moment, Cindy's fingers stopped shaking. She blinked a few times before meeting Jimmy's gaze. "Am I okay?" she scoffed. "Let's see." She dropped her pencil, rose to her feet, and started pacing around the classroom.

"I have to find a way to make this insane speech seem like something I would actually say, despite me detesting every idea in it. Not to mention that even after I take it back, there will still be people that wonder if this is how I really feel. They'll hate me for that. Plus while I'm struggling to give an Oscar-worthy performance, I have to keep an eye out for an invisible assassin so I can detonate the bombs in my podium at just the right moment. And if I'm off by a second, I get a wedgie in front of the entire school. So no, Jimmy. I'm not doing that great."

Jimmy watched his girlfriend wrap her arms across her chest, then slowly unclipped his walkie-talkie. He held the device in front of her, turned it off, then removed its battery. Her eyes kept trailing him as he pulled a chair towards the back of Ms. Wolf's desk. He motioned at the teacher's empty seat and said, "You should sit down. You've had a long day."

Cindy's lips twitched; he barely made out her saying, "More than a day." She shook her head and said, "We don't have time for a break. The Black Atom-"

"Has been very rude," Jimmy cut in. "I don't think you should worry about being late. So please," he motioned at the chair.

Cindy sighed but walked towards him. After collapsing in the seat, she rubbed her hands together and rested her head atop them. Jimmy scooched closer to her and asked, "Do you know what's crazy?"

Cindy didn't move an inch. "Everything about today?"

"Even crazier," Jimmy said. "I've only known you for three years."

Jimmy kept silent as Cindy did the mental math. After a moment, she lifted her head. "That is nuts. It seems like so much longer."

"I know," Jimmy agreed. "I mean, I'm twelve years-old. There was so much of my life before I moved here and met you. And I can picture those times, but they all seem fuzzy. It's as though all those memories belong to someone else. Everything since I met you is so much clearer."

Jimmy leaned closer to Cindy. "I think that's because when we met, you became the nucleus of my life. Everything began to orbit you. At first, you drove me to work harder than I ever had, to accomplish more than I'd ever dreamed. All so I could delude myself into thinking that I was better than you. It took until after graduation, when I watched you give everything you had to save me over and over, to finally stop trying to tear free of your gravity. And now I understand…wherever you are is where I was always meant to be."

Jimmy squeezed Cindy's hand and admitted, "I think I'm rambling."

Cindy squeezed back and whispered, "I don't mind."

"My point is, in just three years I've watched you do so many incredible things. When we got captured on Yolkus and thought we were going to watch our parents die? You never gave up. You were the one who kept us kids together. On Intergalactic Showdown, you were the leader we needed to save the world. During all the foam wars, you pushed yourself past the breaking point so many times. All so you could protect us and we could build a better world."

Jimmy stared into her emerald eyes, and for the first time saw a flash of the fire he was trying to spark. "You've done so many wonderful, impossible things in the little time I've known you. So I'm sorry that I asked so much of you today. But I only did that because you are more capable than anyone I know."

Jimmy watched a grateful smile spread over Cindy's lips. Yet the same love that had birthed those words made him recognize what she was trying to hide. Her warm eyes were weighed down by bags. The grip of her hand wasn't as strong as it once was. Her smile was sincere but fragile. Jimmy realized that he had only seen his girlfriend this tired once before.

Cindy sat atop a playground, legs dangling over the edge. She finally faced the boy who had taken everything from her and asked a single word. Her voice was broken, which broke him.

"Why?"

Jimmy cringed at the memory. I destroyed her once. I can't do it again.

Jimmy's eyes flitted to the blank TV. He could picture Libby clear as day, anxiously pacing around her news studio, waiting for Cindy's speech. His gaze drifted to the walkie-talkie. He knew Bennett and the others were clutching their own transceivers, twiddling their thumbs until he told them Cindy was on her way.

Jimmy studied his girlfriend, who stared back with nothing but pure, unadulterated adoration. It was clear that Cindy would do anything for him, for her friends, for the students she had sworn to protect. She would give everything she had to those she cared about, until she was nothing but a shattered shell.

Jimmy nodded to himself; he knew there was only one thing he could say, "I know you can do this, Cindy. But if you're past your breaking point, if this is too much," he watched her head cock in confusion, "I'll call everything off."

Cindy pulled her hand away. "No…I said I would do this."

"And I know you would, even if it killed you. That's why I love you," Jimmy admitted. "But maybe it shouldn't always be on you to save this school. Maybe for once, we should let the adults handle things. Because right now the only thing more important to me than stopping the Black Atom is taking care of you. And no matter what you choose?"

Cindy's gaze dropped as Jimmy said what had always been true.

"I'm proud of you."

Cindy bowed her head, and Jimmy watched a cerulean river forge canyons down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes, then immediately wrapped her moist palm around Jimmy's hands. "I always knew that's what you would say."

Jimmy arched his brow. "You did?"

"You told me this once before," Cindy whispered. She sniffled and admitted, "In a dream…of sorts."

Jimmy let that hang in the air, then traced his thumb over her hand. "So what do you say? Should we call this off?"

Cindy closed her eyes and weighed his question for a long moment. At last, she met his gaze and flashed a devilish smile. "Hell no."

Jimmy pulled back in surprise. "Really?"

"You were wrong, Jimmy. I mean, you were on point for most of that speech. I am pretty awesome." They shared a playful grin as she went on, "But so are you. Yeah, I didn't give up on Yolkus and that let me snap you out of your funk. But it was you who found a way to stop Goobot. And on Intergalactic Showdown? While I was busy saving Earth, you were figuring out how to save countless worlds. We may be the nucleus of each other's lives. But when we combine those atoms and work together?"

Cindy flashed a frightening grin. "I would not want to be on the wrong end of that kind of power. So now I understand why I couldn't write this speech and I know how to stop the Black Atom." She slid her paper between the two of them and grabbed her pencil. "Ready to dream team this?"

Jimmy took a pen from his jacket pocket, clicked it open, and tapped it against Cindy's pencil. "Always."

Cindy Vortex stood backstage, speech clasped in her left hand. In her right rested what looked like a pencil. Cindy lightly ran her thumb over the plastic eraser, the hidden button that would activate the bombs inside her podium. Her gaze shifted to the long red curtain shielding her from the stage. Beyond that fabric waited the most important moment of her presidency. Cindy took a deep breath, steeled her will, and strode through it.

Hundreds of students fought for space on the main floor. They formed a writhing horde of fear and confusion. Cindy scanned their faces; it only took a moment to find Yen and Bennett guarding the main entrance. The other boys were harder to spot. Nick, Ethan, Jimmy, and Ike were separated, mixed amidst the middle of the crowd. They each offered nods of encouragement as she reached the podium and the masses finally stilled.

She found Courtney and her camera in one corner of the room. She stared into the lens, and imagined her likeness being beamed to the hundreds of students who couldn't fit in this space. The whole school was scared and begging for her to save them. It was sweet of Jimmy to offer to call this off, she thought while laying her paper on the lectern. But after Clarke surrendered, I vowed to change the world. And that means doing my duty even when it's hard. Cindy scanned the crowd one last time and flashed her friends the briefest of smiles. But knowing I'm not alone makes it so much easier.

Cindy sucked in a deep breath, held it to the count of six, and breathed out all of her fears. She set her papers down, then read their lies as though she believed them.

"Today has been a difficult day for all of us. Four of our students were viciously attacked; forced to endure an assault which I would not wish on my worst enemy. Everyone else has lived in fear that they might be next. And I, your president who considers it her solemn duty to protect you all, have had to watch it all. It has truly hurt me to try my hardest to keep you safe…and to fail.

"Our hall monitors have learned much about the Black Atom, yet we still do not know their identity. I have given these officers all the time I can. I will no longer stand idly by and let my people suffer. As a leader and president, I have never shied away from a hard decision. I convinced Ike to throw away a tainted prize in the First Foam War. I did the same in the second, when it was clear that accepting Principal Clarke's offer would cause undue harm. And now I shall again make a decision which will be unpopular, but which I know is right.

The hall monitors have concluded that The Black Atom is a member of the LGBTQ community, avenging those who wronged them."

The crowd erupted into shocked whispers. Cindy took this moment to steel herself for what must come next.

"While I sympathize with their plight, I cannot abide by their actions. And I truly consider this to be the actions of all of them. This community is small and tight-knit. I harbor no doubt that most, if not all, of its members know the Black Atom's identity. And yet they have stayed silent as their school falls apart around them.

"And so they must all be punished. I hereby proclaim that no same-sex couples or LGBTQ students may come to the Spring Fling nor any future dances."

The crowd grew louder. Cindy closed her eyes as the astonished murmurs swelled into visceral boos, cries of disgust, and occasional cheers that sickened Cindy. She grit her teeth and forced her eyelids open. "And to the Black Atom I say this. You are a coward and the cause of all of this. If you have even the slightest decency, reveal yourself now before I must take further action."

Cindy held her breath, gripped her detonator tight, and waited. This is it. The moment of truth. She either comes clean or attacks me. The crowd anxiously looked around, then stared at Cindy as the seconds ticked by. Cindy's hand began to shake as she waited longer and longer. Each whisper was a threat; each gentle breeze a call to action. Her thumb kept quivering over the detonator, yet she held steady until thirty seconds had gone by.

Eventually her face fell, her grip loosened, and she once more thought, I failed. Her thumb was sliding off the button when there was the slightest movement of air behind her. The hand was already shoving past her waistband when a shaky whisper, bristling with hatred, breached her ears.

"Traitor."

Cindy's underwear rose up as her thumb slammed down.

The wind became a roar.

The air was filled with fire.

Her vision went white.

One moment she was standing, the next she was on her hands and knees, floating amongst the clouds. Thick white dust was everywhere - the air, the ground, covering every inch of her body. She could see nothing else, hear not a sound save the distant ringing in her ears. As she stared at her spectral form, all she could think was, Did I die?

Then the ringing faded and was replaced with screams.

"That was a bomb!"

"Is this another foam war?"

"What do we do?"

"Was it the Black Atom?"

Cindy's shaking hands found purchase on the stage floor. She pushed herself up, got ready to crane her neck towards the fearful masses and her approaching friends, when she saw it.

All of the flour was settling still. All except the moving human-shaped patch five feet away from her.

"You," Cindy snarled. The flour hadn't stuck evenly. The figure before her was like snow caught in a whirlwind, a shifting patchwork of white. Yet she could make out the barest outline of a face swiveling towards her. It morphed into a hellish scowl as Cindy bared her teeth. Get to work.

Cindy pushed herself off the floor and launched herself at the dreamlike figure. She grasped with both hands at what Cindy imagined were her legs. Her left hand swiped through dusty air, her right clasped a tiny ankle. Cindy yanked with all her strength and the ghost flew towards her. Cindy raised her left arm, tried to grab hold of the approaching phantom, and came up with a fistful of powder. She stared at her empty palm in awe, then saw a white shoe print flying towards her skull.

She turned her head too late. A foot slammed into her temple at full force. Her head flew backwards, she bounced off the floor, and sickening moisture coated her face.

Cindy blinked the shock away and swiped at her skull. More blood? she wondered, but it didn't make sense. This liquid was cold. She studied her hands and saw nothing but milky water. As more drops rained down on her, the ghost clambered to its feet.

Cindy didn't understand how it could be raining indoors until she saw the metal prongs high above her. Water spewed from them in a torrential downpour, drowning Cindy's hopes. Sprinklers, she realized as each new drop of water carved another piece of the approaching Black Atom away. The flour was almost wholly gone. Nearly all the waterproof invisibility spray clung to its host; only a few spare flecks faltered and revealed the black outfit beneath. Part ghost, part demon, mostly invisible - the hellish creature knelt down before a dazed and horrified Cindy. The Black Atom pulled its arm back and prepared to strike.

The stage exploded in a half dozen blasts. Flashes of fire preceded waves of heat and plumes of white smoke. Cindy shielded her eyes just as her friends leapt atop the stage.

Ike charged forward and rushed the Black Atom. He swung a ferocious punch center of mass, but then that mass was just mist hanging in the air. Ike tried to skid to a stop but tumbled to the ground. He bounced hard off the floor, Ethan threw two more bombs at the evaporating figure, and Jimmy slid beside Cindy.

"Got you," he assured his girlfriend as Bennett and Yen joined the fight. Nick knelt beside Jimmy; they each hooked an arm under one of Cindy's shoulders and hoisted her up.

"What…" Cindy croaked as water poured down her face and into her lungs. She coughed and hacked a white stream onto the floor. "Is going on?" she wheezed.

The entire auditorium was bedlam. Behind her, kids were screaming about bombs, fire, flooding, and how everyone on stage was fighting a ghost. In front of her, her friends kept throwing more explosives, which only gave a couple of seconds' worth of vision. Each new strike melted away in an instant, and no one could track the Black Atom long enough to land a solid blow on her. Then, as the remnants of another bomb washed away, she disappeared.

"Where'd she go? Ike asked while gripping another explosive.

Everyone scanned the space, and Ethan pointed to his right. "There, backstage!"

Cindy tore herself free from Jimmy and Nick. She spat more water onto the floor, risked a quick look at the horde of kids stampeding towards the exit, and grit her teeth. Back to work.

"Bennett, Yen, help those kids. They're going to crush themselves trying to get out of here!"

Yen shouted, "Are you sure?"

"Do it!" Cindy roared. "Jimmy and Ethan, follow the Black Atom! She must be heading to the emergency exits in the gym!" The two boys raced off to the east, so Cindy spun towards Nick and Ike. "You two, we'll go left."

Nick nodded as Cindy led them down the hall. "Cut her off-"

Ike finished his thought. "In case she switches to the loading docks!"

"Exactly," Cindy wheezed while plowing into the backstage door's panic bar. She shoved it open, charged into the corridor beyond, and slid on the linoleum.

Ike grabbed her arm and yanked her steady while dashing past her. As Cindy pushed ahead to the front of the pack, they all glanced up at the dry ceiling. "No sprinklers," Ike grinned. That's a relief."

Blinding red lights flashed above them and an ear-splitting klaxon roared all around.

"Fire alarm," Nick moaned.

The trio rounded a corner and gasped in shock. A fresh horde of students burst out of every classroom, desperate to escape the chaos they had seen on the news. The students were frightened, feral, and not stopping their advance.

As the horde encroached on them, Cindy didn't falter. The crowd was too thick at the front to push through. They had one chance.

"Godwin!" Cindy screamed while dashing towards the wall on her right.

She leapt onto the cement, and used her right foot to kick off with all her strength. She soared through the air, over the thickest part of the crowd, tucked into a forward roll, and spun across the floor. She jumped to her feet, zigzagged between the thinner sea of students, and risked a look behind her.

Ike had mirrored her acrobatics and was a few feet behind her. She watched Nick attempt the same stunt, but his wet sneakers slipped off the wall. He fell, awkwardly placed all his weight on his left foot, and collapsed as that ankle twisted.

Nick roared in pain while crashing to the floor.

Cindy slid to a stop as her walkie-talkie crackled to life. Jimmy's frantic voice shouted, "Roof! She's headed for the roof!"

Cindy glanced down the hall towards the nearest stairwell. Then she looked back at Nick, who covered his face against a stampede that was already trampling him.

There they were in that armory, where for just a moment everything was beautiful.

"Why did you do so much for me?" she asked him.

"We did a lot for each other. We were partners," Nick said while glancing at the floor.

"We were, but you always did more. You could have died for nothing."

Nick met her gaze and whispered, "You're not nothing."

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Cindy screamed while spinning around and sprinting towards Nick. She shoved aside every student who got in her way, leapt over another fallen seventh-grader, and barreled into an eighth-grader with a boot on Nick's bloody face.

She bent over him. Bodies bounced off her as the crowd kept running past, but Cindy made herself unbreakable. As soon as there was a split second of calm, she grabbed his wrists. With a single pull, she hoisted the bruised and bleeding boy to his feet.

Nick hobbled on one foot and gripped his ribs. "You should have kept going," Nick wheezed.

"I'd follow you anywhere," Cindy reminded him. "That goes both ways." She kicked open the door to an empty classroom, leaned him against a wall, and helped him slide to the floor.

"Didn't know you'd take all that mushy stuff so literally," Nick joked before groaning in pain. He leaned his head back and grit his teeth. "At least Ike is still out there."

"No he's not," a deep voice answered. Ike limped into the room, ripped his dripping aviators off, and pocketed them. "I'm just not as fast as you," he said while turning towards Cindy. "I'll get him out. You go help Jimmy and Ethan."

"You sure?" Cindy asked.

"Just finish this," Ike growled.

Cindy nodded and raced back into the wall. She sprinted past the thinner crowd and ripped the walkie-talkie from her waistband. She activated the transceiver and said, "Hang on, Jimmy. I'm coming."

Jimmy and Ethan tore down the halls. It was a miracle they'd stayed on the Black Atom this long, there was nothing but flecks of black and dull patches of white to follow. Jimmy craned his neck as they raced by the gym. "Did you see her go that way?"

"No," Ethan shot back, "she's still in front of us. Turn left!"

Jimmy followed Ethan past a four-way intersection and headed west. He struggled to visualize a map of the school as his diaphragm and calves were wracked with cramps.

Ethan asked, "Is she trying to lose us? Then gonna backtrack to the gym?"

"No," Jimmy realized as the phantom disappeared up a staircase. "She's going for the roof!"

"She's crazy," Ethan said as Jimmy radioed the Black Atom's destination.

After Jimmy pocketed his walkie, they climbed the stairs and dashed across the school's third floor. Both wheezed for breath while shoving open the door to a maintenance closet housing a ladder to the roof.

They stared up at the access hatch that was still closed.

Both boys looked around and saw nothing. Ethan asked "Did we beat her here?"

"She could have closed the hatch behind her," Jimmy realized. "Come on." He sucked in a few more deep breaths while grabbing the rungs. He started to climb with Ethan right behind him. He was a few feet from the top when a cold invisible liquid sprayed right into his eyes.

"Ahh!" Jimmy screamed as he instinctively used both hands to wipe the burning liquid away. He instantly fell backwards and tumbled towards the floor. He flailed madly until Ethan caught his wrist mid-air.

"Got ya," Ethan panted as he hung onto the ladder with one hand. The hatch above him swung open and then closed. "You good?"

Jimmy wiped the invisibility spray away and saw that he'd come within a foot of crashing onto the floor. "Yeah…thanks."

Ethan groaned while swinging Jimmy closer to the ladder. The genius gripped the bars and fell in place behind Ethan. He said, "She's absolutely insane."

"All the more reason to stop her," Jimmy said. "Come on, there's nowhere left for her to run."

Ethan nodded and climbed up the ladder. He pushed open the door, looked down to shield his face, and then heaved himself onto the roof.

"I don't see her," he shouted.

"That doesn't mean much," Jimmy grumbled while finishing his ascent. He peeked his head through the hatch, saw Ethan slowly prowling the roof for any sign of the Black Atom, and then hoisted himself through.

Jimmy closed the door behind him and looked around. The roof was enormous but spartan. Other than three A.C. units, there was nowhere to hide. Jimmy kept his guard up as he skirted the space, but he saw and heard nothing.

"Any trace of her?" Jimmy asked.

"She's vanished," Ethan answers while waving his arms around an A.C. unit. He grabbed nothing but air.

Jimmy couldn't understand why the Black Atom would lead them here. Then he remembered what Ethan had asked downstairs.

"Is she trying to lose us? Then backtrack to the gym?"

Jimmy turned his head towards the hatch, which was still closed. "Ethan," Jimmy said as quietly as he could. When the boy looked his way, he jerked his head towards the ladder.

Ethan came closer, and Jimmy whispered, "She's there." Ethan cocked his head, and then he saw it too. The tiniest bit of floating flour, suspended in midair.

The three stayed motionless for a long moment, then Ethan pounced on her. He collided with the Black Atom and a feral scream rang out. Jimmy activated his watch and swung it over the hatch's frame. Metal bubbled and fused together, locking the door closed. As Ethan lost his grip on the ghost, Jimmy threw his final bomb.

The balloon exploded, flour puffed in all directions, and the Black Atom slid out of Ethan's grasp.

"You can stop," Jimmy told Ethan while motioning for him to stand down.

Ethan gasped for breath but nodded while getting to his feet. He slowly walked backwards towards Jimmy as the ghost clenched her hands into fists.

"The hatch is sealed. There's nowhere to go," Jimmy said while he and Ethan took a step in tandem towards the girl. She inched backwards towards the roof's edge. "You can't get out until the rest of our team comes up here, and you won't be able to slip by them."

"Just give up," Ethan pleaded.

The Black Atom stood still for a long moment. The white cloud that was her face craned over her shoulder, towards the roof's edge.

"Don't," Ethan pleaded. "We're on the third floor. You won't survive that."

The Black Atom turned fully around and walked towards the edge. Her shaking hands gripped the cement wall as she peered below.

Jimmy shouted, "I know there's some mud down there and you think you're lucky enough to walk away from this fall. But it won't do any good. If you get away, we'll just find you later. It's over…" Jimmy sucked in a deep breath and added, "Aashna."

The Black Atom froze as Ethan turned to Jimmy. "What did you just say?"

Jimmy ignored him and walked towards the tiny girl standing near the roof. "I've been where you are. I was so ashamed of who I was that I would have risked anything to escape it. But there's another way." He took off his right glove and offered the girl his hand. "We can get through this together."

Ethan stared at the white figure in shock. The ghost simply stood there for a long moment, then slapped Jimmy's hand away. "Ugh," she groaned while pulling a hand towel from an invisible pocket. She wiped the invisibility spray off her face and hair, then moaned, "You are the worst, Neutron. Can't believe I ever died for you."

Ethan blinked in shock as Aashna unwrapped her fishtail braid and let it hang past her shoulders. "How…what…Aashna, what the heck did you do? You're the Black Atom?"

"Obviously!" Aashna rolled her eyes and stormed away from the boys. She headed for a nearby A.C. unit and leaned against its wall. She faced Jimmy before saying, "And for the record? I'm not ashamed of who I am. I'm proud as heck of what I did today. Seems like you need some therapy, though."

"Proud?" Ethan clutched his head and paced back and forth. "I don't…why? Why would you do all this?"

"You really are an idiot," Aashna kicked a stray pebble before starting to wipe the rest of the invisibility spray and flour off.

Jimmy took a seat on the cement wall and stared at his friend. "She did it for you."

Ethan's face fell. "For me? How did any of this help me?"

"Because everyone I wedgied made your life miserable!" Aashna bristled. "Do you not remember what it was like before you left Earhart? You came home from school every day crying or refusing to talk. All because those bigoted assholes made you feel ashamed of who you were. And Damien? He lied to you and broke your heart. So I figured I'd throw him on the list."

"But all of this happened months…years ago," Ethan countered. "Why now?"

Aashna sighed. "You've been a wreck the past week. And everytime I asked you about it, you just plastered on this smile that was insultingly fake. All you'd say was that everything was fine."

Jimmy chimed in, "So she read your journal to see what was wrong."

"You read my journal?" Ethan's eyes doubled in size. Furry and terror made his voice tremble. "What is the matter with you?"

"Well how else was I gonna figure out what was bothering you? You didn't talk to me."

"I didn't think you'd care!" Ethan shot back. "Ever since our parents got married, all you've done is act like I annoy you."

"Of course you annoy me!" Aashna screamed. "My god, you are the most boring, vanilla, milquetoast, dull, goody-two-shoes kid I have ever met. I had to read a thesaurus to figure out how to accurately describe you, Ethan. No kid should have to do that!"

"Well then if I'm so awful, why'd you try to help me in this colossally stupid way?"

"Because I love you, you moron!" Aashna threw the dirty cloth aside and sank to the ground. "Because even though you annoy the heck out of me and we have nothing in common, when our parents got married," Aashan hesitated and sucked in a deep breath. "I thought it was going to be awful. I thought everything was going to change. Moving into a new house, switching schools, it was all terrifying. And I know you must have felt the same way. But all that time, you just seemed so happy to have a sister. You…just tried to protect me."

"That's what a big brother does."

Aashna banged the back of her head against the steel behind her. "And a little sister's main job is to be annoying," Aashna muttered. "I like to think I've done an incredible job at that."

"Without a doubt, you have."

"But sometimes, when their big brother is at their lowest, you have to figure out a way to help them," Aashna shrugged. "So yeah, I read your journal. And when I realized that the same thing was happening here as at Earhart, I couldn't let it go. They were actually making you sick, Ethan. Someone had to do something to stop them."

Aashna rose to her feet and strode towards Jimmy. She looked her former king in the eyes and crossed her arms. "My brother was willing to make himself invisible just so he could go to a dance. How messed up is that? So you're wrong, Neutron. I'm not sorry about what I did. If I could go back in time, I'd do it all again."

Jimmy simply asked, "And all the innocent people you terrified today? The ones who had nothing to do with that petition?"

Aashna's face wavered for just a moment. She tightened her arms and said, "Well, they could have done more to help Ethan and the other kids like him. They could have shut down that petition a lot sooner."

Jimmy considered that. "Maybe we could have. I wish I had. But-"

Ethan approached his sister and knelt down in front of her. "But how is that going to make the world any better, Aashna? You can't terrify or beat up everyone who disagrees with you."

"It'll make some people come around," Aashna countered.

"And it will make others hate me even more," Ethan pointed out.

Aasha fell quiet and stared at the roof beneath her.

"Aashna, I don't like what you did today."

"But-"

"Big brother talk. Listen," Ethan warned her. Aashna rolled her eyes but clenched her jaw. "Hurting people won't stop them from being intolerant idiots. But even if it did, I wouldn't want that. Did you hear what Principal Clarke said this morning?"

"Yeah, and if she'd said that three days ago maybe none of this-"

"No," Ethan cut her off. "Not the part where she supported people like me. When she spoke to the ones who made the petition. She told them that they're just kids and they have the potential to change. That's why what you did was wrong. Because even if they deserved it, they're kids like us. We're all going to mess up in our own ways. Everyone deserves a chance to grow and make things right without being tortured first."

Jimmy heard a pounding on the hatch and took that as a cue to step away.

Aashna frowned and asked, "You really believe that?"

"I have to," Ethan answered.

"Man, you really are lame." When Ethan's left eye twitched, Aashna sighed and said, "But I guess…I can try it your way."

"Thank you," Ethan said while rising to his feet. He and his sister turned to Jimmy, who was slicing the hatch's seal open. An exhausted and dripping wet Cindy Vortex accepted her boyfriend's hand and lumbered onto the roof.

"Thanks," Cindy wheezed. She wiped the hair out of her eyes, cocked her head, and asked, "Aashna?"

Aashna's hands clenched into trembling fists. "But I'll start after this!" she screamed while storming towards Cindy.

Jimmy tried to tackle the hellion barreling towards his girlfriend. Aashna simply leapt over him and swung at Cindy with all her might.

Finally able to see her target, Cindy effortlessly sidestepped the blow and gripped Aashna's wrist. Cindy swung the girl's arm behind her, used her left leg to trip Aashna, and pinned her to the ground. "Really?" Cindy tiredly asked.

"I hate you!" Aashna screamed.

"What the heck is going on?" Cindy asked the boys gaping at her.

"Aashna's the Black Atom," Jimmy answered while stumbling to his feet.

"And she's become very protective of me," Ethan added.

Aashna thrashed with all of her might while screaming, "He was your friend! He died saving you in that war! How could you do that to him?"

"For goodness' sakes," Cindy grumbled. She leaned down and yelled in Aashna's ear, "I was lying, Aashna! I didn't mean any of what I said in the auditorium. It was all a trick to get you out of hiding."

Aashna immediately stopped squirming. "Wait, really?"

"Yes, really. Of course your brother can go to the dance."

"Oh," Aashna mumbled. A moment passed, then she groaned, "That was a mean trick."

Cindy narrowed her eyes. "Can I let you go now?"

"Fine," Aashna answered. "I'll be good."

Cindy released her hold, jumped back, and readied herself in a crouch stance. Once she saw that Aashna wasn't going to fight, she let out a deep breath and straightened herself . She watched Aashna trudge towards her brother, who placed a hand on her shoulder. Cindy herself walked towards Jimmy and asked, "So what now?"

Jimmy said, "We have to bring her to Principal Clarke."

"Or," Aashna offered while gesticulating towards the edge of the roof, "I could try leaping off this building. Then you all just tell everyone I got away!"

Cindy scoffed. "And why in the world would we do that?"

"Because I learned a lesson!" Aashna beamed.

Jimmy shook his head. "That is not clear to us."

"Jimmy was right," Ethan looked down at his sister. "You messed up, sis. The only way this is ever going to be made right is if you come clean."

Aashna gulped. "But…um…that wasn't really part of my plan. I figured I'd kind of just disappear and everything would be fine."

Jimmy offered, "Take it from someone who's ruined the school. You'll feel a whole lot better once you own up to this.

Aashna crossed her arms and rubbed her sleeves. "But what if mom and dad get mad?"

"I mean, they're absolutely going to be mad," Ethan said.

"What if I get expelled? What if I have to move again?"

Ethan put his hands on his sister's shoulders. "I'll make you a deal. If you do everything I ask, then I'll do everything I can to stop that from happening."

"Really?"

Ethan nodded. "But you have to do everything we just talked about. You need to confess to Clarke, try to be nice from now on, apologize to all the people you wedgied-"

"But they suck!"

Ethan ignored her and said, "And you have to never read my journal again."

"Fine," Aashna groaned. "As long as you actually tell me what's making you sick next time. That way I won't have to break into it."

"Deal," Ethan smiled. "Hug it out?"

"Can't we just shake on it?"

Ethan wrapped his sister in a hug. Aashna half-heartedly flailed like a beached dolphin before succumbing to the embrace.

Cindy grabbed Jimmy's hand and said, "You know, I never really wondered what it would be like to have a brother. But it seems nice."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "It's overrated. Come on. Let's wash this mess off and find Courtney. You still have another speech to give."

"Ugh," Cindy moaned while gripping the ladder.

"Don't worry," Jimmy assured her. "We'll do it together."