"Up and at 'em!"

Bella felt several ice cold droplets of water connect with her face again, and again, and again.  It wasn't until the seventh time she consciously felt it that she used her powers to throw the stupid water bottle across the room.  Seconds later, her bed went from a warm oasis to a cold and unforgiving arctic tundra.

"Why, Jade?" Bella asked as she sat up.  Her covers, now frozen, slipped off of her and fell onto the floor, the corner piece breaking off and very possibly a few small pieces in other places.  Bella sighed when she saw it, too busy mourning the loss of the only comfort she had in life to even look Jade in the eye.  "Why do you hate me?"

"Get up.  Hades told me not to let you sleep past 8am and it's already 8:06.  Time to get up."

Bella glared at Jade, though the glare was directed at Hades.  "Tell Hades to go back to the underworld."

Bella stood up, marched to the closet, grabbed a blanket, and went into the livingroom to lay on the couch.  She snuggled onto the couch pillow and pulled the blanket tighter to her body, letting her body remember what it was like to be warm.

"My powers don't run out, Bella.  I can freeze the whole apartment if you want and only one of us will be uncomfortable."  Bella couldn't see her, but she knew Jade had her arms crossed and a look of satisfaction on her face just from the sound of her voice.  She knew she'd won, but Bella was tired and unwilling to give in at the moment.

"I will fight you," Bella responded.

She heard Jade sigh dramatically then felt the entire temperature of the room go down to near winter temperatures.  Winter.  And not just any type of winter, northeast winter.  Syracuse, NY level cold.  Boston, MA level cold.  And then, as if to add insult to injury, what followed was lake-effect snow level snowfall.

Jade, that witch.

"Fine, I'm up," Bella said as she stood up, shivering and trying her best to keep warm without a coat or blanket since everything solid in the room other than herself and Jade was frozen solid.  "Can you please return the temperature to normal?"

Jade smiled triumphantly as all of the ice and snow turned into small white flecks that were absorbed into Jade's body.  "Now, go get ready.  Hades said he's coming over at nine."

Bella grumbled as she made her way to the bathroom.  After she fought Caeden for the first time, they'd checked the time and, upon realizing that it was almost time for breakfast in her time zone, Kaiya excused herself to make breakfast for all five of them.  Only she ate since Caeden felt sick and no one else was hungry, then they went back for round two.  To switch things up, Caeden fought Bella first, the Kaiya fought her, but even with the prior knowledge, Bella only barely beat Caeden (this time having her powers, but Caeden knew his way around her mind as well) and was winded after fighting Kaiya.  They fought two more times after that, Bella only winning by a hair each time and getting increasingly hungry with each fight.  By the time they were done, it was 11pm where Bella and Hades lived and 10pm where Levi lived, so they all ate breakfast/dinner and made their way home.

It was nice to know what she was up against to some extent, but Bella couldn't shake the feeling that she was not at all ready for what she would experience come 1pm.

By the time Hades arrived, Bella was finished with everything except eating.  She'd showered, brushed her teeth, done a face mask, and dressed in a black outfit with red trim.  She'd had it for what felt like forever and she had several matching outfits.  It wasn't quite her "supervillain" outfit, but it was the outfit she wore to every self-defense and fighting class her mother forced on her.  It was functional.  The top kept her chest in place so it didn't move like it did for most female superheroes and women who exercised.  The bottoms, a skirt which she originally fought her mom on, gave her freedom of movement of her legs instead of restricting them or making her uncomfortable, which is what many heroes and villains had to deal with in their tights.

Hades had stopped at the doorway when he saw her.  Jade had opened the door as Bella was unwilling to stand up and interrupt the breakfast she'd only just started and Hades simply stood there looking at Bella for a few moments after entering the apartment.

"Stop staring," Bella said in between bites.

"You're wearing a skirt," Hades commented.

"Mother's orders."  At the sight of Hades very confused expression, Bella expanded.  "My mom had this made for me a long time ago.  It's easy to move in and doesn't make me feel like a my blood circulation is being cut off.  I haven't found pants that are even close to as movement-friendly, so I deal with it."

"I just... never expected to see you in a skirt."

"I never expected to see you unable to speak for so long, so we've both been shown a different side of each other.  Now why was I forced to wake up so early?"

Hades laughed.  "8am isn't early for anyone."

"I disagree."

"But the reason," Hades continued, "is that you need to be ready for the competition."

"I'm just about as ready as I'll ever be."

"Not quite."  Hades tossed Bella a small box, which Bella caught with no effort.

"What is it?"

"Don't ask before you even open it."

Bella opened the box and found a gem that had a pulsing dim light blue light glowing from it.  "OK, I opened it.  Now what is it?"

"My sister did have a superpower too.  She was a bit of a disappointment to my parents because she never told them and they thought she was powerless, though I think they'd have been disappointed either way.  Her power was basically giving luck."

"Luck?"

"Well, technically she could twist fate, but she could only do it for benefit.  The problem was that whenever she did it, she would get really sick because there has to be a balance.  When she was dying, because of me, she smiled the whole time and used every bit of her power to make that gem.  It twists fate for its user."

"So this is for good luck but it'll actually work."

"Essentially."

"I thought you believed in me," Bella said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I do, but there's a reason that the headmaster is so sure she'll never lose a Malent Talent Competition.  It's rigged.  Professor Allistair can destroy your mind within seconds of being inside, leaving you in a catatonic state for a month or more.  The headmaster has mastered her power to the point where she could kill you even if the power she stole was the power of healing.  And just in case someone is actually good enough to defeat them, which neither of them thinks is likely, the headmaster always absorbs the powers of one or two others in order to add to her arsenal and Allistair carries his opponent's weakness with him, just in case."

"Is that not cheating?" Bella asked.

Hades shook his head.  "No more than finding people with similar powers to your opponent in order to learn how to fight them.  Nothing in the rules says they can't do exactly what they do."

"Did you use this when you fought them?"

Hades smiled.  "That was the only time I used that gem.  It loses a layer every time it's used, it's not eternal, so I use it only when I think it's necessary."

"I can't use this."

"Sure you can.  I've used it once and there are literally thousands of layers.  It'll still be roaming around, trading hands in my family for generations."

Bella frowned at it, thinking about the situation.  She'd be lying if she said she didn't want it.  A little help never hurt anyone.  Besides, she'd been thinking for the past 24 hours that she'd need a lot of luck and now she had some in her hand.

"She'd be OK with me using it?" Bella asked.

Hades smiled.  "I think she'd be happy about it.  She and Kaiya getting along made absolutely no sense because they are exactly alike and most people can't stand an exact replica of themselves.  After meeting Kaiya yesterday, how do you think she'd feel about it?"

Bella laughed at thinking about the way too happy and energetic teenager she'd met not so long ago.  The girl seemed like she'd be happy to help anyone as long as Hades approved.  That, Bella thought, was weird.  Somehow Hades had managed to gain favor with such an array of personalities and none of them were villains nor did any of them seem to care that he was.  She'd have to ask him more about that some time.

"OK," Bella finally responded.  She unzipped a secret pocket in her boot and removed her phone, handing it to Jade.  She then put the gem in its place and rezipped the pocket.  Hades just stared at her as if that was the last thing he expected.

"Bella doesn't like purses, so she puts all her things in her boots if she doesn't need a bookbag for school or something," Jade explained.  "She's got three different matching pairs of boots.  One is actually a different color.  They're red instead of black."

Hades nodded but didn't say anything in response to that revelation.  He'd ask later.

"Still," Bella said as she got ready to resume eating, "why am I up so early?  I could just be waking up now and I'd still have an hour and a half after our conversation before I need to be at the competition."

"No you don't.  We're leaving now," Hades responded.

"Excuse me?"

"This is an actual Malent Talent Competition, Bella.  The entire school will probably be there.  The headmaster rented out the Tristate MegaDome for this.  We need to leave now to get you there by 11, though if we're lucky, we'll get there closer to 10:30."

"The dome is an hour if we walk, not even ten minutes if we drive."

Hades nodded.  "Traffic is awful right now and so are the crowds.  Security has to check school IDs to make sure everyone coming in is a villain or a villain in training.  Come on."

"Guess that means I can't come," Jade says.

"No, they're taking security seriously.  Everyone's so interested in this since there hasn't been one in so long, so the crowds are already crazy."

"Why are people even up this early?" Bella complained as Hades pulled her up and into a standing position.

"This isn't early for most people," Hades countered as he dragged Bella along.

********************************************

Hades had been right.  It took them a considerable amount of extra time to arrive at the dome and then another 30 minutes for security to let them through.  Hades reminded Bella to win the competition, not the battle, something that still sounded like a cryptic message to her, before going to the area he was directed to.

They'd been separated from each other.  She was on one side of the dome while her three competitors were on the other side.  She was, essentially, alone.  The security guard didn't count.

The good news was that in her little waiting room was an array of foods: muffins, bagels, fruits, orange juice, water... a note?

Bella grabbed a muffin since her breakfast was cut short and read through the note.

Report to my office Monday morning after you've killed that roommate of yours.  I have another assignment for you.

Bella's anger flared just a little.  The headmaster's annoying cockiness was getting on Bella's last nerve.  She wasn't going to lose, not when it was so important.

Bella used her time alone to build her energy.  She ate a couple muffins and some fruit, then drank a cup of orange juice and hydrated.  She made sure she stopped eating by noon, but she kept up her water intake for two reasons.

First, lack of hydration has caused more losses than one might think.  Her interoceptive system often fought back against her when she wasn't hydrated enough.  Second, she knew she wouldn't have much time in between battles to re-energize or rehydrate.

At 12:50, someone Bella had never seen came in and told her it was time to go on the field.  She didn't hesitate to stand and follow him.  She met Hades' eyes from across the field as they walked toward each other and ignored whatever the announcer was saying to rile the crowd more than they were already riled.

They met in the middle and Professor Dark stood to her right and Hades' left.  "Good luck," Hades whispered so that only Bella could hear.

"Don't need it," Bella responded.  "But thanks."

Bella heard the announcer say something and the crowd erupted in cheers.  Then Professor Dark began speaking.  "This is an official Malent Talent Competition match, so the rules will be enforced.  Remember, no use of formalized fighting instruction. Powers only. No killing, but maiming, almost killing, and knocking your opponent out are not only allowed but encouraged.  When the buzzer sounds, you may begin."

Professor Dark backed away a few steps, then turned and walked all the way to the sidelines.  "Win the competition, not the battle," Hades said again.

"Why do you keep saying that?  What does that mean?  And don't say something about a good teacher," Bella snapped.

The countdown on the clock had gotten to five and they both knew they didn't have much time before the fight began.  "Just remember that this battle isn't the only one," Hades responded.  "You tend to think only about the immediate."

The buzzer sounded and Hades' immediately began using his power.  A black cloud encompassed him and Bella found herself using her own powers to jump as far away from it as she could.  She almost used the same tactic as she'd used on him before, but then she suddenly realized what Hades meant.

She tended to put all of her energy into the battle she was in, which left very little energy to give to anything that followed.  She couldn't think of a time she hadn't ended up in the infirmary after a match at school because she'd thought only of beating her one opponent.  Even when she fought Hades in back to back matches, there was a grace period where she could recuperate before the next one began.

There would be no recuperation time in this competition.  This was a real competition and the stakes were high.  If she tired herself out just fighting Hades, the only one she'd actually managed to defeat, she'd be too tired to fend off even Professor Allistair.  She'd never even make it to the match with the headmaster.

No wonder the headmaster was so sure Bella would lose.  Even if she managed to defeat Hades, which the headmaster likely didn't think was possible, she wouldn't make it much further.

But then, she also couldn't reveal her hand too much.  The headmaster didn't know how far Bella had come in her power realization or control.  That was an advantage for Bella, one she couldn't lose by showing it in the fight with Hades or even with Allistair.  She'd have to fight at the level that the headmaster thought she was at, maybe a tier or two higher.

"Sorry everyone," Bella mumbled.  She used her powers to break the barrier between the crowd and the fighting, piercing a hole in it and then in the roof of the dome.  It wasn't much, but it was enough to disperse Hades' power so that it wasn't concentrated and couldn't kill her.  It wouldn't be able to do more than weaken her.

But that was only step one, a step she had to take in order to give herself more time.  It would either reveal that she knew about Hades' power or that she needed to break the barrier for another reason and it was just a fun coincidence that it also helped with Hades' power.

She didn't think Hades would get any slack for helping her, but she decided it would still be better if people thought the latter.

Bella pulled empty seats and several pieces of wall and ceiling and focused them all on Hades.  He tried to move, but she put her hand up to stop him.  She didn't need to as she'd mastered her power enough to do these easy tasks at the same time without hand movement, but the headmaster didn't know that.  Bella hadn't completely mastered her power, but she was far past where she knew the headmaster thought she was.

Hades power dimmed and then disappeared altogether.  Bella could feel him breathing, laughing from beneath the pile of rubble on top of him.  He was fine, he wasn't unable to fight, but he wasn't fighting anymore.

What happened to not going easy on her?

Bella was declared the winner and then immediately began using her powers to take everything off of Hades.  The pile cleared and Bella saw exactly why he'd stopped using his power... well, he hadn't stopped.  It had dulled as his focus shifted to making sure he lived through the hole in his stomach.  Several people ran over to help- a healer, a few security guards, and Bella.

"Just get it out," Hades panted, "I can do the rest."

"I-" Bella began, but Hades interrupted.

"And don't worry about using your power to heal me.  You wouldn't be able to heal me fast enough anyways."

Bella's eyes widened at his words.  That sounded like he was just letting himself die.  If they pulled that piece of plastic out of his stomach and did nothing afterwards, he'd die for sure.  He'd bleed out and die.  The healer was there for this purpose and he didn't want her to do her job?

"Hades-"

"Just do it," Hades said, interrupting Bella again. The security guards looked at each other momentarily, then pulled the plastic out of his stomach.  The healer went to touch him anyways, but he hit her hand away.  Everyone around him watched as the hole closed up on its own.

Hades stood up like nothing had happened.  Clearly he was the only one who knew that would happen.  Bella was sure she'd pretty much just killed him, but here he was, standing like nothing had happened.  The only evidence anything had even happened was the blood he left behind and the holes in his shirt.

"Congrats," he said flatly before turning to walk away.

There was a long, unsure quietness in the entire dome before the audience erupted in cheers.  The clean up crew came to prepare the field for the match that was coming in just two minutes and everyone went along as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, but Bella was so very confused.

What the heck had just happened?