Cassandra woke up to the scene outside the bubble, where ambulances and police officers still lingered in the area. She rubbed a tired eye, realizing just how much energy it had taken to drain Ashley's powers. Maybe she should have thought of a different approach.

Something inside of her snapped when she her gaze fell upon Heather Harp—the woman who had given her father up for adoption. The very sight sent a surge of emotions coursing through Cassandra's veins.

It enraged Cassandra. Someone like that shouldn't be receiving fair treatment. None of this was about punishment. It was about revenge bottled up inside her. Her mother had warned her not to seek revenge, but the women had been right in front of her.

Cassandra had never felt that furious before—aside from when dealing with Ashley. It was because Ashley had intended to cause harm, something Cassandra didn't like.

Staring at the outside world, she watched as police officers waved their arms, trying to get her attention. A group of reporters stood nearby, microphones in hand, asking questions she couldn't hear.

Cassandra was not in the mood to listen to adults blab nonsense, trying to figure out why she caused that earthquake. She stood on shaky legs, and holding her head as she looked around for Divina. The thing paced nearby with a devious grin, clearly amused by the chaos outside.

"Quite a showing. Where did that stupid thing run off to?" Divina snarled.

"It can't run," Cassandra stated.

"Why not get rid of the high ranks?" Divina asked, arms crossed. "It makes things quicker."

"It has no form of transportation. Ashley relied on followers or her speed to get places," Cassandra replied.

Divina began laughing, causing Cassandra to frown. She didn't like Divina's personality. Bella shouldn't have had her life taken away. She didn't get to experience life just to have Divina destroy Ashley.

"I can't believe I can get my powers early," Divina said with a devious grin. "Break it down. Make it beg. That's how you get results."

"No," she spat, crossing her arms.

"No?" Divina tilted her head. "Shame. I was hoping for some entertainment."

Cassandra narrowed her eyebrows as Divina slammed to the ground with an unseen force. Divina tried to stand, but it didn't work.

"Maybe it's fun for you, but I'm here to end this. I'm not toying like some sick freak," Cassandra snapped.

"You're no fun. Watching it squirm would be so satisfying," Divina said with a wicked grin.

Cassandra released her hold, her breath heavy. Around them, the fields stretched wide—most were mud, dotted with old crops and uneven holes. But outside The Bubble, the land was different. Trees still held their leaves, standing tall and unbroken against the early morning light.

"I'll handle this my way," Cassandra snapped, turning away.

Part of her wanted to leave Divina here to rot, but she couldn't. Not yet. Divina was the only one who could help kill Ashley.

"But—" Divina began, only to hit the ground again under an invisible force.

"I said no." Cassandra's voice was sharp. "Draining powers takes energy out of me. You're human, Divina. That changes things."

Divina struggled to catch up. "Why not just zap over to it? Save us the boring walk."

"And burn through my energy for what? A shortcut?" Cassandra snapped, her eyes narrowing.

The image of Bella haunted her—the real Bella, full of kindness, not this twisted version driven by greed and cruelty.

Divina's tone was cold and plan. "Why do you care about these humans?"

Cassandra trembled. She raised her hand. Divina flinched.

To anyone watching, it might look like a threat. But she could erase Divina's existence from Bella's body.

"Because they didn't ask for any of this," Cassandra said through clenched teeth.

With a sudden surge, Cassandra lifted Divina into the air and slammed her down once more. Divina's eyes spun wildly. Everything had to go Cassandra's way, especially after what Divina had dome to Bella.

Closing her eyes, Cassandra lowered herself to the hard ground, conjuring a peach in her palm. She stared down the empty, snow-free road ahead. The sky was glowing faintly with dawn, the soft light making it harder for Ashley to hide.

Divina slowly sat up, brushing herself off while smirking defiantly. "Funny, isn't it? A human wielding all that power. Doesn't sit right."

Cassandra conjured another peach and hurled it at Divina's face. The fruit made a loud splat, splitting in two as juice dripped down her cheeks.

"Gross," Divina muttered, wiping her face.

"You should know all your answers," Cassandra snapped.

"You really think it's just about trapping your parents? Its motivation changes the moment it sensed you," Divina said.

"You mean when I stopped the storm in my mother's womb?" Cassandra replied flatly, taking a bite of her peach. "Or how my growth rate is linked to my powers?"

Divina plucked the ruined peach from the ground, half-laughing as she wiped her sticky hands. "You know, people ever tell you you're just like your father?"

Cassandra didn't respond right away. She stared at the dirt road ahead, the peace resting heavy in her hand. They did say that often. That she had his determination. His intensity. His refusal to bow down.

But lately, it felt like she was being asked to carry more than even he ever did.

Divina kept going. "That's exactly why God tried to wipe out everyone. But its plan failed. It wanted to trap followers to keep them close, so it could kill in the human world."

Cassandra's eyebrows drew together. "Did something go wrong?"

"Oh, you could say that." Divina said, tapping her chest. "We went wrong. Fallen stars. Slipped through some loop in space... and ended up here."

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "Who made God's substance?"

Divina smirked. "Bella's father."

Bella's father had been responsible for this mess. Cassandra didn't understand how that could be possible—or even how the substance was created. People always said that chemicals could create dangerous things, like drugs.

Divina's tone shifted, more explanatory now. "The man was dying. Sick. Made something illegal, unstable. Dumped it in a ditch to hide the evidence. That ditch? That's where particles formed. And that's where God latched onto someone through a wound."

Cassandra looked down at her hands, flexing them slowly. That kind of contamination had infected everything.

"So all do this... started with one man," she said quietly. "One choice."

Divina nodded. "And humans were helpless. Until you showed up."

Cassandra blinked. She'd seen proof in her parents' memories—the storm that almost never ended or the power plant incident.

She was the pause in the storm. The moment everything stopped spinning.

Maybe because she was never meant to be born in the real world. Maybe that's why her power broke the chaos.

"You see how this bubble was created? That human named Ashley didn't exactly create it. The last mutant power granted that day those fifteen and older vanished. This meant all the energy formed around the powers caused that human to create it with the tissues," Divina said.

"So, Ashley's powers were the last developed?"

"No, some random human. God intended for those fifteen and older to vanish because they didn't have powers. From the beginning, everyone here had their powers, but they were unaware of them in Simcoe."

"Why only Simcoe?"

"See, this wasn't just about the substance. We—the fallen stars—knew the powers arrived to earth. My powers were scattered and randomly chosen. Uden Academy develops them first, then spreads to Simcoe."

Cassandra still didn't fully understand how it worked, but the basic truth was clear: this was unavoidable since the start.

"Now we get to defeat that thing." Cassandra watched as Divina laughed.

Cassandra looked off toward the horizon. She wanted to defeat Ashley quickly, but at the same time, it pained her. She just wanted her parents to get the peace and happiness they deserved after the hell Ashley had been causing.

Heather felt a sharp ache in her head as she slowly regained consciousness in the sterile hospital room. As she blinked, the light blue wall across from her came into focus she narrowed her eyes, but everything felt disoriented. She squinted against the brightness light from the window, until she spotted a small television in the top corner of the room.

Her memories began to surface, particularly Cassandra's face flamed with rage. This wasn't just some random act; it felt deeply personal and targeted. Why would Cassandra choose to focus her anger on Heather specifically? She wasn't sure, but she needed to figure out why.

"It's good you survived," remarked a nurse named Hayley. "However, I need to inform you that you do have a concussion. There are reports circulating that the incident are saying was targeted at you."

As Heather processed the information, her mind raced back to the event leading up to the attack. Cassandra was supposed to be her granddaughter, but she didn't even want to see her. This wasn't just a random act of violence like the first incident, but it felt deliberated and calculated.

The memory of Bella Foster's laugh replayed in her mind as she found amusement in Heather's pain. Ashley had been present too, but unlike Bella's laughter, Ashley had been on the ground consumed by fury and fear.

Hearing a soft knock, Lola Foster stepped into the room. She was the mother of Bella Foster, and worked at the local pharmacy.

"I'll be back in a few," Hayley said as she dismissed herself.

Lola sat down heavily on the chair across from Heather, taking a shaky breath. "My husband... he admitted something a few months ago," she began. "Jay didn't mean to create the substance, but it all happened."

Jay was Lola's husband, and they had been married for sixteen years. Their relationship began in their teenage years when they attended the same high school in Simcoe.

Heather's foggy mind tried to catch up. "Wait... Jay? He created this?"

Lola nodded. "He was working on a cancer medication. It was supposed to help—simpler than anything else—but things went wrong. Our boss... he found out and ordered Jay to dispose it." Her hands twisted on her lap. "That's how... all of this started."

Heather's head throbbed harder. "Dispose of it... by dumping it? What did that even do?"

"I don't know the details," Lola admitted, tears brimming. "But whatever happened, it changed things. Jay's not well either—he's had a brain tumour for almost a year. And Bella..." Her voice broke. "I haven't seen her since we could she inside."

Heather tried to process it. The pieces didn't fit yet, but the weight of it all pressing down: her family, her enemies, the strange power—they were all tangled together.

"Whatever happened, it seems unavoidable. NASA has been getting involved with the incident, but there have been no official claims," Lola sighed.

There had been a tight bandage wrapped around that ached. "Cassandra's actions weren't an accident," Heather said. "I remember her looking angry."

Cassandra was furious, her face covered with hatred. It had been the first time she had officially seen her up close, but Heather didn't expect to end up in the hospital.

"It's unfortunate, especially with everything going on. Can you believe Cecile Dunlop is being charged with sexual assault?" Lola inquired. "When a court hearing becomes necessary, River might end up with all the money."

Heather stared at Lola with knitted eyebrows. River shouldn't be allowed to be given such cash. The boy would be handed houses, limousines, and millions of dollars.

"They thought about doing it outside that place, which is why scientists are looking into all this," Lola rambled. "They are even testing Jay's body for that substance inside it. I'm not sure if they found any."

Would it be game over if they figured out the substance? Heather didn't understand what was happening, but it wasn't good at all.

"I saw Bella..." Heather started.

"Is she okay?" Lola panicked.

"She hit Ashley in the head with a shovel," Heather said.

Heather didn't understand what she had witnessed or the terms given. God and goddess Cassandra had addressed them as.

Nothing made sense anymore. Ashley was gone—no longer the daughter Heather had known. She had become something dangerous, something thats could kill them all.

"Maybe it's some phase from all the trauma," Lola said nervously.

"It could be stress. A lot of people have changed personalities," Heather suggested.

"You have to heal from whatever happened," Lola murmured. She stood with a forced smile before walking out of her hospital room.

Heather knew that showing herself near that barrier again could get her killed. The police couldn't touch Cassandra—they had no proof of what she had done.

In Simcoe, everything had been burned to a crisp. Scarlett stood in shock as she surveyed the plaza, barely recognizing it. The church had collapsed, its bricks scattered like bones across the ground. Buildings that once lined the street were reduced to ash, their shapes erased by fire and wind.

The only place untouched was the park, where rows of graves cut through the grass.

"It could be that she was being respectful," Mallory suggested.

The long rows of covered graves were replaced with sticks due to the strong winds from the storm that Ashley had caused those months ago. The fallen trees were blackened, the grass and houses reduced to ash.

"Do you think they'll get gravestones?" Mallory asked. "It just... doesn't feel right like this."

"If someone wants to sponsor, but it looks slim," Scarlett said.

"Some of these people had such a big impact. Melany always helped with the medication, or even Ilya. I know Nelson started a new grave area, but it doesn't feel the same," Mallory said.

Scarlett glanced out from behind a cluster of burned trees and collapsed houses. The siding was gone, with some burned to ash.

"I doubt there are many weapons around here. Greyson might have kept them stored somewhere," Scarlett remarked.

Scarlett doubted Greyson would've stored weapons anywhere obvious. Back then, everyone had something on them—just like she and Mallory did now.

"Uden Academy probably has a lot. Didn't Luke store some weapons away?" Mallory asked.

Scarlett knew Luke had stashed weapons away in the equipment shed when she saw Oscar and Maverick taking tools from out of the vehicle.

As they made their way down the dark, deserted street, Mallory flashed the flashlight to illuminate their path. They needed to keep ambushing Ashley until she was forced to hide. Divina's powers would take two months to fully develop her powers, but Scarlett assumed they'd find a quicker method.

Cassandra had always rambled about everything she saw or heard. Scarlett remembered how excited she'd get over the smallest things—someone jumping over a fire, a car starting, anything normal.

Scarlett should have been caring for a baby. Instead Cassandra had grown into a teenager like the rest of them, and the thought still didn't feel real.

They stepped inside a house that had been half burned. The kitchen was nothing but ash, yet the rest of the structure remained intact.

"I don't think this place is going to have much we can use," Mallory sighed.

Scarlett looked through empty wooden cabinets that lined the walls. Many of the cabinet doors had either fallen off their hinges or lay burned on the ground.

"Do you think it was a bad idea for the crackheads to go to Uden?" Mallory mumbled.

"You think Eden will burn it down?" Scarlett inquired with smirk.

"She used to burn cars and stuff!" Mallory panicked as she waved her arms around.

Scarlett remembered the countless times she had witnessed Eden and Luke getting into fights. While it was not uncommon for students in older grades fight, those two insane people would fight within a meter of each other. The only ones who would intervene were the teachers, security, or the two police officers stationed onto school grounds.

"That place can go to ash. Then the government will probably ship us all off somewhere else in Canada," Scarlett sighed.

"Our parents might take us back..." Mallory trailed off, her thumbs pressed together.

"My parents couldn't care less about me. Plus, I'm a teenage mother, so I'd be getting those long lectures about unprotected sex," Scarlett sighed.

Carefully stepping inside a room, Scarlett looked around for anything remotely helpful. All there had been was more ash or broken drywall on the ground.

"What's that?" Mallory asked, pointing through an open wall to something Scarlett had not seen before.

At first, Scarlett thought it was a person. Then it stepped into full view, and the thought fell apart.

Its skin was a bruised purple, stretched too tight over its frame. Its legs were short and bent wrong, forcing it into a jerking, uneven walk. Black hair clung to its head in wet clumps, shifting around the street.

It was not human, almost like an alien from another planet. The two of them watched in silence as it wrapped one arm around the trunk of a fallen tree and twisted. Wood cracked like bone, the sound echoing the empty street.

"It looks like one of those followers," Mallory whispered.

They ducked behind a burned bed that had the back wall uneven.

"I don't think Cassandra created these," Scarlett said. "She wants to keep us safe, but this is causing destruction."

"Is it—" Mallory stopped herself. "Is it dangerous?"

"I don't think so, but we have to find Mark and Angel."

It moved without looking ahead, its head tilted as if listening to something no one else could hear. When it struck the tree, it didn't flinch—just adjusted and kept walking.

Scarlett snickered and covered her mouth. She took a step into another bedroom, and they both looked out the window.

"Shouldn't Cassandra be able to stop it?" Mallory asked.

Cassandra may be her daughter who could save them, but she's trying to drain Ashley's powers away. It could be that she doesn't even know either.

"Maybe they eat us or something," Mallory whispered fearfully.

Scarlett didn't want to die by some weird-looking alien that had only three fingers on each hand. It's an inhuman thing that may have been created somehow by Ashley.

Cassandra had mentioned that she wanted to get rid of Ashley's speed first, as it was considered a risk factor even though Ashley is nearsighted.

"Divina might be doing something," Mallory suggested, crouching down beside Scarlett.

It didn't seem possible. As far as Scarlett knew, Divina wouldn't get her powers for another two months.

"It might be through Maverick's illusions," Scarlett whispered.

"So, they might not hurt us?" Mallory asked.

Scarlett knew that was highly unlikely. Anything Ashley has created in the past was to kill them, like the storm or those fires she set in Simcoe.

"I wouldn't trust it after what we saw. That thing is probably her new followers," Scarlett said.

"So, we're going to die?"

"We're in the endgame stage," Scarlett sighed heavily. "Ashley wants to kill us all, Cassandra wants to save us and Divina wants to kill Ashley."

Hearing the door open, Scarlett rushed over to see Mark and Angel.

"Okay, what is that?" Angel panicked.

"It's some creepy thing!" Mallory rambled, her thumbs twisting nervously. "It sliced a tree and then ran into another one."

Scarlett noticed that Mark held a clear bottle of nail polish remover in one hand, and a lighter in the other.

"I didn't realize we were giving each other manicures," she snickered.

"It's flammable," Mark stated, holding up the bottle of nail polish remover.

Mallory widened her eyes. "We're lighting her body on fire?" she asked timidly.

"We're causing a fire," Angel clarified.

"We aren't the crackheads!" Mallory whispered, panic tightening her voice.

Bryce had burned part of the counter in a science class, and Eden had accidentally set the teacher's desk ablaze. The teachers said it was an accident, but it had been intentional.

"I thought the fireworks were a distraction?" Mallory inquired.

"We might figure out what kills those things," Angel whispered.

"We found two lighters," Mark whispered.

Mark carefully opened the black door. They walked quietly, but it felt like everything around them was loud. They dove behind another house, staring at the thing in the centre of the damaged plaza.

"How do we even get near it?" Mallory whispered.

The alien was walking around in a circle on the destroyed road, looking down at its bare feet.

"We're going to throw the bottle," Mark whispered.

Scarlett wanted to laugh, but it seemed like a stupid idea to try to use fire. Although she wanted to try anything to get out of this place.

With a steady hand, Mark unscrewed the grey cap from the bottle he held tightly. "Ready?" he asked.

Scarlett watched as Mark threw the nail polish remover right at the alien's feet, while Angel threw the lit lighter directly where the liquid had spilled.

They watched flames erupt a round the alien, engulfing it in a fiery blaze. The creature key out a ear-piercing screech that echoed through the empty neighbourhood. With each passing second, it popped and crackled like popcorn in a microwave melted in the fire.

They rushed near the rubble of Burger King to see that the thing had melted away.

"Do we have to burn them?" Mallory asked.

Watching the burning flames glow, she wondered if there had been more of those things around here.

"Missiles would come in handy. It's not that we can use gasoline or our lighters," Angel sighed.

The fire continued to spread slightly on some of the charred buildings, but it was barely melted them.

"How do you shoot a missile?" Mark asked.

"Don't you light them?" Angel asked.

"River has fireworks, so maybe those will work," Scarlett said as she looked around the rest of the plaza.

The street was uneven with cracks and potholes . This was the same place where Greyson had fought Jason or where Luke had attacked the plaza with thugs.

"Should we keep looking for things that cause fire?" Angel asked.

"We have to keep burning until we get out of this place," Scarlett said as she searched around the plaza. Looking up at the dawn sky with its mix of dark blue and orange, she let out a sigh.

"We don't have much to start fires," Mark said as he looked at the building that had been blown to the ground.

"Is the gas still accessible or not?" Scarlett asked as she attempted to pick up a small piece of drywall but found it hard.

"Yeah," Mark said, his hand in his pocket.

Now that Scarlett thought about it, using gasoline wouldn't work. It would catch fire, but that might fry their skin.

"Aren't there chemicals we could use? Like cleaning stuff?" Mallory asked.

"It's less harmful, but where do we get the chemicals?" Mark inquired.

"We're going on a trip to Uden Academy," Scarlett said with a smirk.

It's been awhile since she had gone to Uden Academy. The last time she was there was when they left for the power plant to turn on the electricity, but that obviously didn't work.

"They've probably started to burn the place down already!" Mallory panicked as she waved her arms up and down.

"It's doubtful yet. Chemicals are harmful, so they'll probably have them by the time we get there," Scarlett implied.

In the past, she used chemicals in science class but also to create schemes. Once she convinced this brainiac named Douglas to switch their carton dioxide with another group to cause an explosion with the bunsen burner since they set the burner too high.

"They won't be all gone?" Mark asked.

"We've had the idiots play around with them. Greyson kept them off limits," Scarlett spoke.

Cleaning chemicals didn't have any use to them when they could care less about cleaning. Who knows if chemicals work on something inhuman.

We finally figured out who created the substance and that's why Divina choose Bella.