And here's the next chapter of The Wave: Confrontation! Let's go back to school with Kaz and Oliver! Updates might get less frequent due to my busy schedule, but hopefully you won't have to wait long.

LabRatsWhore: Thanks for reviewing! And I don't really have much choice but to look it up on YouTube (I totally love Future Tense). Ah, yes, the food... I like Brussel's sprouts, too.

Enjoy!

-Writer207

The next morning wasn't anything special for most, except two Normo doctors at a superhero hospital. But it wasn't like yesterday, either. This time, they weren't hiding from each other, which was already a big improvement. It was only a beginning and it was small, but all small things can help them improve their relationship.

Both Oliver and Kaz had been preparing what to say to the other. Oliver would just tell him about what he learned, but only when he was a hundred percent sure Kaz was Kaz, which was a very small chance. Kaz, on the other hand, was going to lie about what happened the past days. He didn't like lying to his friend and needed a lot of concentration not to use 'fire' a lot, but this was absolutely the only way Oliver would believe him.

He made sure he was trembling when he entered the school building. Kaz knew Oliver would be there and so also made sure Oliver saw Kaz trembling and made it look like he was not feeling at ease in this building, looking around constantly for something he might just imagine. Oliver frowned; something was really wrong with his former best friend. Why else would he clearly be scared of everything around him?

When Kaz saw Oliver, a smile appeared on his face, only to be soon replaced with worry. Hastily, Kaz walked to his best friend – he almost stumbled his way to him. Before Oliver could stop his best friend, Kaz grabbed him by his shoulders, looking at his best friend as if he had been missing for a very long time.

"Oliver…" he began, "Oliver, I'm so sorry. Are you hurt? Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay." His words stumbled out of his mouth with the same manner he had walked over to Oliver. Confused by his actions, Oliver took Kaz' arms and forced his former best friend to stop holding him. And yet, he wouldn't do that or say those words if everything is okay.

"Kaz? What's going on?" He said, and Kaz shook his head.

"Not here… not now! The walls have ears and everyone, everyone, can listen to us talking. Can we please go to a place where we can talk alone?" With everything that happened the past few days, Oliver didn't dare to believe Kaz' words. But he could clearly hear the desperation in his voice and even saw it in his eyes. Something was wrong with his friend, and he wanted to know what it was.

"Alright. Let's go." And the two walked to a hallway where almost nobody came through, because this was the hallway leading to the cafeteria and that special room was only accessible during lunch break. And now Kaz and Oliver were there, with minimum risk of being eavesdropped. Kaz repeated his lines in his head. Don't forget: it's acting, it's not lying.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me?" Oliver asked, and Kaz started to nod and look at Oliver.

"You were right, man. You were right, all along!" Kaz almost shouted these words because his act required it, and he made sure to sound very desperate – a little trick he learned from his brothers. "The Annihilator… he… he…" he started trembling, and shook his head several times, looking close to crying. That's when Oliver realized what Kaz was trying to say.

"He made you evil," Oliver said. He felt great because he was right all along, but was saddened to see his best friend like that. Being evil must've really hurt him. "Are you okay?" he added after a while when Kaz still shook his head.

"No, Oliver, I'm not okay!" He almost shouted again, "You have no idea how hard it is. I remember everything I did. I definitely didn't want to hurt anyone, b-but I had no choice. I didn't want this. You have to help me." He had grabbed Oliver's shoulders again, and his friend nodded.

"I will help you, Kaz. Don't worry about that." Still, Kaz wasn't too convinced. He had to live without Oliver's support and trust for a while, and now he needed a little more attention before he'd let the boy go. He pretended not to hear Oliver.

"Something in me snapped, just like in Tecton. I… it was when my sis was talking to me, I think… Wait… oh no! what if the Annihilator can turn off my evilness? What if I become evil once more? I don't wanna be evil, Oliver! It's the most terrible thing to feel in the world! Please, Oliver, help me! No, don't help me. I don't want to hurt you. Stay away from me." In the last seconds, he improvised. He was about to run away (part of his improvisation exercise), but Oliver stopped him.

"Kaz, wait!" he used such a powerful voice that Kaz indeed stayed with his best friend. "No, you're not going to stay away from me. I'll help you with it, I promise." Finally Kaz nodded, agreeing with Oliver, thanking him for his support and trust. And he was relieved – now he didn't need to keep up his act and could act like he normally would – only a little more dramatic because of the act he just performed.

"Who made you evil?" Oliver asked, and Kaz shrugged.

"I dunno. They caught me from behind. I also wasn't allowed to know which heroes were evil, for safety reasons – he didn't really trust me, being a Normo. Also, I was turned evil in the Med." Kaz sighed. Hopefully he had now thought of anything and wouldn't contradict himself in the future. In the meantime, Oliver shook his head. There had to be a way to know who was making all those heroes and his best friend evil…

"Maybe the security cameras can help!" Oliver said, but Kaz shook his head.

"Have you ever seen cameras hanging around there?"

"Kaz, we're talking about the most advanced hospital in the world. Sure they'll have security cameras, but I bet they're so small we haven't seen it yet." Kaz nodded eventually; that could work.

"You're right! Oliver, you're a genius!"

"I know," Oliver said. "We'll figure this out together. Now come on, before we get caught. I assume you'll stay calm during class?" Kaz smiled.

"I'll manage." And the two left. Oliver was too occupied with Kaz' little act he completely forgot to share the plan his father told him about. But there sure was going to be another time he would be able to tell him about the Optimo-plan.

When Skylar entered the school building, during one of her last days here, she couldn't see Kaz and Oliver anywhere. Something told her this was suspicious. Kaz and Oliver couldn't stand each other the last time she saw them, so they both should be here, hiding from each other, far enough for safety but close enough to keep an eye on the other. She scanned the main hall again, but there was no sign of the two Normo doctors.

They might be at home, she thought. They both didn't dare to come to school. But another part of her mind rejected this theory. Kaz wouldn't skip school only because he has a dispute with Oliver, and Oliver would never skip school at all. So there must be something else going on between them. The Annihilator had given her the job to keep an eye on the two boys when at school, and she wasn't going to fail him. She was not going to fail her master.

Before even taking one extra step, she got a call. Frustrated, she took her phone and looked who called her. She recognized the telephone number as Henry Tidwell's private number. She did take the call anyway. "What is it, Henry? Make it quick." She sure wasn't going to call him Titanio, and certainly not on a place with so many listening ears.

"The Annihilator wants you to come back home." Skylar sighed.

"Why? I have a job to do."

"And now he gave you another job. He's giving you Alan." Skylar sighed again, this time even more frustrated than the previous time.

"Why can't you do it? Or Martina? Or Michael?" Heroes normally knew each other with their first names, too, just in case they met each other outside their 'work'.

"They both tried and they both gave up. He's just a teenage boy and the Annihilator thinks that by making you his tutor, Alan would gain more experience against more powers. And you've got 24 of them, so…"

"I'm not doing it!" she said, "I already have a mission! I lost Kaz and Oliver at school and I want to find out where they are right now."

"Skylar, please, do as he says. He is our leader. He's already sending someone else to take care of Oliver and Kaz so you can focus on teaching Alan." There was a long silence before Skylar sighed again.

"Fine. I'll be there in ten minutes." She hung up and turned around. It appears she wouldn't be taught English and math today. She put her phone back in her pocket and turned around, back to the main entrance. She didn't get a lot of looks – they weren't interested in the new student Connie Valentine – but there were two Normos who noticed her leave.

"Connie? Where are you going?" Jordan asked as she and Gus walked in. she hesitated to answer, but recovered rather quickly, answering as fast as she could so she could be at Tidwell Manor in time.

"I need to go to Alan. He's been ill since his first day here and I forgot I was going to look after him today. I need to go home." She walked away from them without saying another word.

"Say 'hi' from me!" Gus shouted to her, but Skylar ignored him. She couldn't use any hesitation or hold-up, because she needed to train Alan even if she knew nothing of how to control those powers. When she was sure nobody saw her, she jumped up and flew through the sky to Tidwell Manor.

In school, Jordan and Gus were wondering what was up with her. They had a conversation, and came to the conclusion Connie was hiding something very important from them. And Jordan, wanting to know what Connie is hiding, decided to go follow her around after she finished school, because if she skipped school again, she had to join a club at school and then she would have even less time for the Domain. Gus needed to stay at school, too, or else he wouldn't get his monthly money anymore. He didn't want to say how much it was, but it was a lot.

They had to stay in school, just as Oliver and Kaz, and the four of them having separated thoughts while Skylar served as Alan's opponent during his training.