This is a fun chapter! Get ready for a Halloween chapter tomorrow~!

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Min threw a demonic blast of energy at Kevin, black and gold magic rocketing across the playing field. Kevin dodged it with ease, like he did with every other attack Min threw at him.

"Come on, throw something hard at me!" Kevin joked. "I'm getting bored!"

"Oh please, you couldn't survive my kind of hard mode," Min laughed, her hands lighting up again. Suddenly a gunshot- not from Min- flew past Kevin's head. He narrowly avoided it, and he glared once he saw the offenders.

"Then how about a real challenge?" Cardin said after lowering his weapon. Team CRDL stood in the doorway, all of them smug and ready for a brawl.

"Ugh," Min groaned. "These assholes."

Cardin looked at Min- for a second he thought it was Blake, but apparently not. "Who's the goth?"

"What's with the bad haircut?" Kevin asked, ignoring the question.

"My hair's always been like this!" the bully cried out indignantly.

"Whatever you say, potato face," he scoffed. "You said something about a challenge?"

"Yeah. We need some practice for the tournament." Cardin grinned. "And you two are perfect for us to train against."

"They'll be easy to take down," Dove sneered, cracking his knuckles.

Kevin sighed. "Whatever, I could use some easy exercise. Min's been putting me through the ringer, not that I'm surprised." His arms suddenly ignited on fire, catching CRDL off guard. "So, who's up first?"

The team paused for a second, before Sky shook his head and rushed at Kevin. He pulled out his halberd and swung it once he was within reach. Kevin caught the blade between his hands and grinned.

"Nice weapon. What's the melting point?"

"What?" In an instant, Sky felt his weapon burning his hands like he had placed them on a hot stove. His hands flew back, leaving the weapon in Kevin's grasp.

"He's a freak! Like Tennyson!" Cardin yelled as he ran at him.

"Not really something you should say when your head looks like that," Kevin sneered as he tossed Sky's hot halberd at him.

Cardin battered the weapon away and swung his mace-

Only to hit Min's bare arm. She had somehow intercepted the attack. "Was that supposed to hurt?" she taunted. Cardin's eyes widened- there wasn't any blood or even a bruise on Min's pale skin.

"That's one hell of an aura," Dove said worriedly. "Should we be messing around with these two, Cardin?"

"Oh, believe me- you should." Min grinned as her hands were wreathed in dark flames. Cardin yelped and backed away quickly.

Min pouted. "Aw, baby too scared to mess with us?"

"Shut your damn MOUTH!" Russel yelled as he dashed at her, going for a tackle. Min grabbed hold of him and threw him at Sky- she would've done a cool magic spell to screw with them, but she was starting to overheat. And was she starting to feel woozy?

Min grimaced. "Did I have any blood today?" she muttered to herself. She didn't notice a small patch of reddening skin where Cardin had struck her.

Kevin charged at him, throwing out his flaming fists. Cardin blocked his attacks with his mace- he was actually doing a good job of playing defense, and his weapon could actually move when it built up enough speed. Kevin was caught off guard, especially when Cardin swung his weapon at the ground, causing it to explode.

Kevin blocked the fire with his already blazing arm. "Not bad," he said, actually impressed.

"I'm in it to win," Cardin told him. "I could give less of a shit about your issues, or problems, or whatever the fuck else goes on in the world. I just want people to know that strength always pulls THROUGH!" He smashed his mace into Kevin's chest and sent him flying across the room.

"NO!" Min yelled as Russel lunged at her- his daggers were laden with Dust and therefore a pain to deal with. Kevin's arms hardened and thickened with yellow armor as he landed, and once he was back up he sent heavy metal-like soundwaves at Cardin, sending him to the other side of the room.

"Jeez, what a nut," he growled. His chest was aching and burning from that attack, but he ignored it for now.

Min weaved through Russel's stabs and slashes- the kid was bloodthirsty, maybe more so than she was. She needed some luck on her side, and she thankfully had plenty to spare. Her eyes lit up as Russel sliced at her again...and she grabbed both blades with her bare hands.

"What is with you people and grabbing weapons barehanded?!" Russel snapped.

"Scared, little boy?" she taunted, flashing her fanged teeth. Shadows enveloped the blades before they crawled up Russel's arms. In an instant, a shadowy black orb swallowed him completely, and Min smirked.

"3...2…"

The ball burst open, and a notably paler Russel collapsed onto the floor, shocked and silent. Min snickered. "Coward."

And then she tensed and tried to turn around-

CLANG. Dove's long sword slashed at her back. Min screeched as she fell to the ground. "FUCK! That actually hurt!"

"You have to keep your eyes open on the battlefield," Dove said. Ironic, because his own eyes were closed. What, was he like Brock from Pokémon? Before Dove could finish being a smug bitch, one of Kevin's soundwaves blasted him across the field.

"You alright?" he asked once he was near her.

Min looked at her slashed back, the wound resealing quickly. "The wound was temporary...but he absolutely ruined my dress. I'm actually going to kill him, this was a gift from my mom!" Dove's ears were still ringing as he got up on his knees, only for him to taste Min's expensive combat boots.

"You're lucky that kick didn't knock your head clean off!" Min yelled at his unconscious form. She turned back to Kevin and narrowed her eyes. Something was off- Kevin's chest was aching more than usual. A normal blow like that was something he would've shook off in seconds. So why did it still HURT?

"Oh no," Min gasped. "What's wrong?"

Doppler popped up. "It's not the AntiTrix...I think something might've actually happened when Cardin hit him!"

Kevin doubled over in pain, and Cardin sauntered near them, grinning smugly. "Looks like he's feeling the effects."

"...holy shit, you actually used your Semblance?" Sky exclaimed, picking up his cooled down weapon. "I forgot you had one of those."

Kevin shuddered, his breathing slowly becoming erratic. "What did he hit me with?"

"That's my Semblance," Cardin explained. "I call it Active Burn. That wound's gonna be burning for a while. Perfect tool for breaking through auras...or just making people's skin crawl with agony."

He smashed his mace on the ground, making it explode once more. The two flew back and collided against a wall. Min groaned as she stood back up, while Kevin took some time to recover.

"Doppler...you think...you can redirect some Hot Shot there?" Kevin wheezed.

"The wound is too hot even for me to deal with!" Doppler hissed. "I might just boil away if I touch it!"

"Great," he grunted as he stood up. "I don't know how long I can handle this."

"Do you want to say 'fuck it' and go apeshit?" Min asked.

"No, not yet," Kevin said as his arms changed to Numb's. Doppler provided extra support- the quadruped legs Numb used to maneuver himself around popped out of Kevin's back. Cardin raised an eyebrow but shook his head.

"I'm not even gonna question it anymore," he huffed as Dove and Sky rushed past him. Sky swung his halberd at Kevin, but it was once again caught- this time between his legs.

"Don't worry, I won't burn you this time," Kevin said as he grabbed his opponent. "I'm just gonna ask you to cool off..." And in the blink of an eye, Sky Lark was a frozen sculpture. He was protected from the grievous effects by his aura, but even then he was stuck.

Dove slashed at Min- she noted his attacks were far more fluid this time. The boy certainly wasn't messing around. He attacked her a few more times before quickly firing a bullet- the shot hit her chest and she yelped in pain. She gave Dove the evil eye as the bullet quickly popped out of her regenerating skin.

"That hurt," Min hissed, her eyes glowing yellow. "Enjoy some karma." Her hands lit up as she slammed them on the ground. Three black lines flew across the field, locking onto Dove's location.

"WALPURGISNACHT!"

A massive black explosion launched him into the air, and he crashed back down onto Lark's icy sculpture. The two were out cold- literally, in Sky's case. Min took some deep breaths as the red patch on her arm began to ache even more- it felt like her skin was about to bubble and burst in an ugly mess. She had to hand it to him- Cardin had a powerful Semblance. She'd have to sit this one out until the pain subsided.

So now, it was Cardin against Kevin.

Cardin grinned as he swung his mace at Kevin, only for the attack to be blocked by a massive ice wall. Cardin smashed right through it, and Kevin kept on building more ice walls, one after the other. He waited for an opening-

Cardin's attack slowed, just for a second, and Kevin took full advantage of it. The pincers on his back stabbed into his armor, freezing his torso. Cardin whacked the pincers away with his mace, and Kevin jumped back.

"Where was all this effort with Ben a few weeks back?" he taunted. "Maybe you would've saved your ego."

The legs retreated into his back, and a new weapon arose- eye stalks, dozens of them. They all extended and fired at Cardin. He gasped and put up a defensive barrier of aura in front of him.

The lasers hit the barrier, exploding upon impact. A dust cloud consumed the field, while Cardin's shield safely protected him from any harm.

There was a red flash, and something stood up. Cardin wanted to lower his barrier-

But he was glad he didn't because something powerful nearly smashed his shield apart. Cardin looked up- it was a wolf-like creature, with metal plates on his arms.

"N-no way," he gasped. "I thought-"

"You thought Tennyson was the only one with the transforming act?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry to say..." A metal layer formed around Bashmouth's teeth. "You're dead wrong."

And Cardin screamed as the monster bit down on the barrier-

And broke it in a single CRUNCH.

Cardin fell back, unconscious and scared shitless. Kevin grinned as he reverted back to human. The burning pain in his chest had subsided, as had Min's own affliction.

"Geez," she said, her breathing returning to normal. "That was rougher than I expected."

"Tell me about it," Kevin sighed, rubbing his arm. "You were great out there."

"Don't tell me things I already know," Min teased. "I'm gonna go change and get a snack. Wanna come with?"

Kevin frowned. "If it's gonna be deer blood again, I'm out."

Min pouted. "What? No. I have that at the dorm. I'm talking about getting fries or whatever."

"Now you're speaking my language." Kevin smiled before feeling something tug his shirt sleeve. He looked down to see Doppler, eyes wide and in need of validation.

"What about me? How'd I do?" he asked.

"Ok, to be perfectly honest- you were great," Kevin reassured him. "No bullshit, no insults, you were great. Especially with the weapons."

"I have been working on them," he said, touched by the sincerity. "It keeps my creativity flowing during the off hours of the night."

"Well, keep one upping yourself." Kevin grinned. "I'm kind of excited to see what you'll do next."

"Of course, of course," Doppler agreed. "You know...I do have a pretty cool idea planned."

"And what is it?" Min asked curiously.

His smile turned smug. "Can't tell you. It's still in development. I have some kinks to work out."

"...and now you're acting like a bastard again," Kevin grumbled, flicking Doppler on the nose.