THIRD CHAPTER

The next day Joan receives permission to skip her morning classes so she and Olive can collect her belongings from the motel. Upon her return Joan's first class is gym, and she arrives a little late for that. There is a game of Save the Citizen ongoing, which Joan recognizes from her orientation pamphlet.

On the field, a sophomore named Stronghold and a senior named Peace are easily saving the citizen. Joan overhears a couple of boys from the hero-support group bragging about their friend Will and his partner being undefeated for a full year.

After they win again, the field is set up for the next challenge for the champions. Joan spots Medulla whispering to the Stronghold kid while pointing in her direction. She was really beginning to dislike Medulla.

Coach Boomer blows his whistle as Stronghold quickly consults with his partner.

Boomer asks, "Stronghold, Hothead time for the next round. Do you want to be heroes or villains/"

In unison they respond: "Heroes!"

"Big surprise. Who do you want to face?"

Peace says, "We pick Ramirez…"

Stronghold adds, "And Girardi!"

Reluctantly, Joan steps down to the playing field and is quickly strapped into some weird safety harness. Next to Joan is Ramirez, a blonde senior whose hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She leans over to Joan and whispers, "Heat beams."

It takes a moment for Joan to realize the other girl is telling her what power she has. Joan responds, "Super strength."

"Really? That should make this interesting."

Coach Boomer calls out, "Heroes, you have three minutes to save the citizen. Villains, your job is to prevent the rescue and make sure the citizen gets mulched."

Joan shouts, "Hey Coach, how about we dispense with this distraction just for the battle?"

Joan points to the spy sphere just above her head. Boomer looks to Medulla who nods and instantly, the orb goes to his outstretched hand. Joan wonders: mind control?

Boomer loudly calls, "READY? BATTLE!"

Ramirez and Peace immediately square off against each other. She bombards him with heat beams while he responds with flames. Both seem immune to the effects of heat, and their battle quickly turns into a contest of endurance. Joan reminds herself to stay away from that side of the room.

Will Stronghold confidently approaches Joan, and she begins to get nervous. The sophomore doesn't appear intimidating, but Joan had seen the amazing things he could do. Just as they come within arm's reach of each other, Joan is distracted when she spots the ghost again. Suddenly, Joan is briefly sailing through the air before slamming into one of the walls. The impact is stunning, but Joan is surprised by how little it hurts. She suspects her younger opponent has gone easy on her.

Will says, "Better stay alert. You can get hurt in this game."

From anyone else it would have been arrogance, but Joan could tell it was just friendly advice. A quick glance around shows Joan the ghost is gone again. Time to focus on the game.

"Okay tough guy, let's see what you've got."

The two combatants come together, grasping hands in a pure test of strength. For a moment, Joan is pushed back, but she realizes her opponent's greater experience has him positioned so that leverage is to his advantage. Shifting her stance, she gives one huge shove with every ounce of strength she has. Instantly, the situation reverses and a startled Will Stronghold finds himself being shoved back step by step.

As surprised as Joan is by her success, what follows is far more surprising. Suddenly she is hovering near the ceiling.

"Oh crap, you can fly?"

"Surprised? Now try this!"

With a hard toss, Joan is slammed towards the floor, but her path takes her over the Peace/Ramirez battle. The rising heated air slows Joan's fall just enough for her to make a soft landing. Meanwhile, Will begins a dive straight for the citizen mannequin. Joan grabs a nearby mailbox and fastballs it into Will—sending him sprawling to the opposite end of the playing field.

At once, Will is on his feet and charging back at her. With half the time still left to go, Joan realizes she doesn't stand a chance. She has a slight edge in strength, but Stronghold has experience, training and flying ability on his side. Joan's only hope is to try something desperate.

With a swift leap, Joan sails toward the citizen. Snapping the rope as she goes by, Joan tosses the mannequin into the whirring blades below. As the mannequin citizen is being torn to shreds, everyone in the gym stares at Joan in shock.

Reluctantly, Coach Boomer states, "Villains… win."

The crowd grumbles and boos while a genuinely upset Will Stronghold charges the coach's stand.

"Are you kidding Coach? She cheated! No one has ever done that, and I say it's a foul."

Joan snorts, "Is that what you would say to a real villain?"

Boomer nods, "She's right Stronghold. If there's one thing you should learn at this school it's that villains don't follow any rules. Girardi's action was innovative and true to form for a villain. My ruling stands, VILLAINS WIN!'

Will mutters, "Yeah… true to form."

As the crowd shouts its' displeasure, Joan turns away to check on her partner. She sees that both Peace and Ramirez are on their knees, totally spent from all the energy they have released. Each one is glowing red hot and is gasping from exhaustion.

Softly, Joan says, "Whoever said fight fire with fire was a moron."

As Joan walks closer, Ramirez holds up a hand as a warning.

"No, no closer. I need time to cool down, but I'll be okay."

Joan doubts that, since at that moment, the ghost comes through the wall and heads straight for Ramirez. The ghost begins blowing puffs of wind towards the blonde girl. The wind is a form of spiritual energy, so no one feels a physical breeze, but Ramirez begins to get hotter—like someone blowing on an ember.

Joan shouts, "NO, leave her alone!"

Startled, the ghost stares at Joan, only now aware that someone can see him. Smiling, the ghost blows one more time, and a tiny tornado comes out of his mouth and expanding rapidly, it heads for Ramirez. The ghost flees through the wall and Joan is tempted to give chase, but the screams of agony from her teammate have priority.

Fanned by the tornado, Ramirez is now engulfed in flames. She yells, "Oh God, I'm on fire! Help me! Oh God, it hurts!"

In the noisy gym, only Joan and Peace are close enough to hear her. Peace tries to move forward to help, but he is still too exhausted. Frustrated, he looks to Joan and shouts, "Showers!"

Joan gets the idea and springs into action. Using a nearby park bench, Joan scoops up Ramirez and runs for the nearest locker room-the boys. The bench immediately catches on fire, and Joan can feel her hands being scorched. In seconds they are in the shower room and Joan starts several showers, set to cold and at their highest pressure. Sliding the bench and Ramirez into the water fills the room with clouds of steam, but Joan also hears Ramirez moan a sigh of relief.

Mission accomplished, Joan turns to her own needs by rushing to the nearest sink and running cold water over her singed hands. From out of the steam clouds emerges a familiar figure-a little girl of about seven years-one of the many forms God uses to communicate with Joan.

TBC/Please review.