"I hope you're not planning anything devious," Thena said, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I said I'm not planning anything, okay?" Max replied defensively.
"I believe you, Dad. I believe you," Nina said dryly, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Max sighed and decided to change the subject. "So… anything interesting supposed to happen soon?"
Nina's expression turned thoughtful. "Well… there is something. I think the Atlanteans might be planning to attack soon. I could be wrong, though , things are progressing a little differently here than they did in my world."
"Atlanteans, huh?" Max said, a small grin tugging at his lips. "That should be interesting."
Nina eyed him carefully. "You know, I'm not surprised you already know about them. You always seem to know everything before it happens — and somehow end up in the right place at the right time. Care to tell me why that is?"
Max smirked faintly. "Well, that, my dear, is a secret."
She rolled her eyes. "Figures."
"Now," Max said, stretching his arms, "you wanna go watch the League get their asses handed to them?"
"In my world, I didn't get to participate in that battle , or even witness it, since I was stuck in school at the time," Nina said, her lips curling into a grin. "So yeah, could be interesting."
"Alright then," Max said, his tone dropping low and dark. "It's time for Tobi to return."
"Damn," Nina said with a mock shiver. "That was so edgy and dark."
Max blinked, confused. "What?"
"Why do you always act like that in front of other people ,but not with us?" she asked, folding her arms.
"I… don't understand your question," Max said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I mean," Nina said patiently, "you always act all brooding and serious around others, but when it's just us, you're basically normal."
"Oh, that." Max chuckled. "Guess it's a habit. Back when people didn't know my real identity, I had to keep up the act — mostly to throw off people like Batman."
Nina tilted her head. "Why even bother? You already wore a mask. Wasn't that enough?"
"You underestimate Batman's intelligence," Max said with a grin. "That man's too smart for his own good. I had to take extra precautions. And besides — the dark, edgy vibe? It was pretty cool."
Nina gave him a deadpan look. "Yeah, well, it's not cool anymore. So could you please drop it?"
"I don't know," Max said with a faint smirk. "I'll try."
Then, as if something clicked in his mind, he suddenly stopped walking. "Hey, Nina… have you ever seen the Ten-Tails?"
"Yes, I have," Nina replied immediately.
"How did I revive it?" Max asked, his tone growing serious.
"I really don't know," she said, thinking back. "You just summoned it one day. It came out of nowhere — went on a rampage until you finally tamed it and sealed it inside yourself."
Max frowned slightly. "Were there any serious casualties during its rampage?"
Nina nodded solemnly. "A lot of people were injured across multiple countries because it used Cataclysm. Luckily, it spawned in the middle of the Mojave Desert and the league helped prevent some casualties. If it had appeared anywhere else"
"Hmm… I guess something went wrong, or its awakening was unexpected," Max said, frowning. "I don't imagine myself struggling against it."
"You seemed really surprised when it awoke," Nina said. "So, I guess it was unexpected. Are you planning to revive it?"
"Yes. I'm planning to revive it," Max replied.
"How?" Nina asked, curiosity piqued.
"I think I used demons as substitutes — or rather, their demonic power — to revive the Ten-Tails in your world. I'm going to try the same thing here," Max explained.
Nina raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going to get demons? Don't tell me you're going to use Trigon, are you?"
Max blinked, expression blank. "Do I look like I've gone senile?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I'm just asking."
"I'm not planning to use Trigon. I'm planning to go to Hell soon," Max said matter-of-factly.
"How soon?" Nina asked.
"As soon as Zetsu finds Constantine," Max responded.
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then I'll find another way," Max said calmly.
Thena sighed softly. "I hope you've really thought this through, Dad. I can't imagine how your departure is going to affect Thena and Terra."
"I know," Max said. "I'll try to explain the situation to them as best as I can."
"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Nina asked.
"I don't know. Time may flow differently in Hell than it does here, but I'll be back as soon as I've acquired what I came for," Max replied.
"I wish you didn't need to go down there," Nina said, her voice gentle. "But I understand the situation better than anyone. You can trust me — and Mom — to take care of Thena and Terra while you're gone."
"Thanks, Nina," Max said, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"I just told you I'm 23," Nina said, pulling away with a half-smile.
"Come on, for old times' sake," Max said, grinning.
"What are people going to think, seeing an adult treated like a child?" she said, pointing at a few bystanders staring at them weirdly.
"Your loss," Max shrugged.
"Let's just go witness the League's beatdown," Nina said, stepping into an alley. Max followed, and as soon as they reached it, they vanished in a swirl of leaves.
-------------------
Thena's POV
If someone had told me a few months ago that I'd end up hating school with every fiber of my being, I would've laughed in their face.
Because yesterday—I was giddy. No, scratch that. I was ecstatic. Finally, a chance to live normally, meet kids my age, and not just train with Dad all the time. But now? I'd take sparring until my arms go numb over sitting through another mind-numbing lesson any day.
I already know most of what the teacher's droning on about. Math? Easy. Science? Easy too But history… oh, history. It's the worst kind of torture. Why do we even need to learn about people who've been dead for centuries? It's history for a reason,we're supposed to live in the present.
I slumped down in my chair, doodling aimlessly in my notebook. The teacher's voice was now just a flat monotone blending into the background.
Terra sat beside me, actually paying attention. Taking notes. Nodding. A betrayal of the highest order.
"You're taking notes?" I whispered.
Without looking up, she replied, "You should too."
"Traitor," I muttered under my breath.
She rolled her eyes but kept writing, completely unfazed. I sighed and turned to the window. The sky outside was bright and blue,perfect weather for doing literally anything else.
A good day to skip class, maybe grab some icecream, nap in the sun, something,anything but this. Except… Mom and Dad would probably kill me if I tried.
So much for the "normal life" I wanted.
Normal sucks. It's boring, repetitive, and way too quiet. Mom's probably out there punching bad guys with the League, and Dad's definitely doing something crazy along with Aunt Nina.
I tapped my pencil against the desk and slouched lower.
"Weekend," I whispered to myself. "Just make it to the weekend."
--------------------
Thena's POV
Nina snapped back to the present just in time to raise her hand and catch a wad of crumpled paper that would've hit her right in the face.
Her eyes narrowed as she turned to her right.
There sat Alicia Myers—smug smile, perfect posture, and that infuriatingly self-satisfied expression she always wore whenever she wanted to make someone feel small.
Oh, how Thena wanted to wipe that smirk off her face with a well-placed punch.
She slowly uncrumpled the paper.
Scrawled across it in messy handwriting were the words:
-Schiller? What kind of surname is that? Did your parents make it up?-
Thena's jaw clenched. There it was again, the surname mocking. It had started the day the teacher read out the attendance list, and of course, Alicia had been the first to laugh. If it weren't for Terra stopping her that day, Alicia would've been missing a few teeth by lunch.
Thena crumpled the paper back into a ball, gritting her teeth. She looked toward Terra, who shook her head with that familiar disapproving expression.
Thena closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered under her breath, "You're better than this, Thena. Don't let her get to you. She's not worth it."
And then—thwack!
Another wad of paper hit the back of her head.
Her patience snapped.
She didn't turn immediately. Instead, she calmly picked up the first wad of paper she'd caught and rolled it tighter, compacting it into a small, dense sphere.
"After school, Thena," Terra whispered urgently beside her. "Don't—"
Too late.
Thena spun in her seat and launched the crumpled paper with all the force she could muster.
Smack!
It hit Alicia square in the forehead with a sharp crack, sending her toppling backward in her chair. She landed on the floor with a loud bang, a red mark already forming where she'd been struck.
The classroom went dead silent.
A few gasps, a couple of stifled laughs—and then Mr. Brown, who had been writing on the board, turned sharply, chalk still in hand.
"What on earth is going on back there?!" he barked.
End of chapter.
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