The dim lighting of Room 202 cast long shadows on the walls as four students sat around a mess of holographic projections and scattered notes. On the center table: crime scene photos, audio files paused mid-play, and a half-eaten bag of spicy potato chips. Willy, reclined and relaxed, casually crunched on a chip so loudly it echoed.
"Can you chew any louder?" Luan asked, her voice flat, eyes narrowed from where she sat cross-legged on the bed. Her black pop socks slid slightly as she shifted.
"Not without hurting myself," Willy replied between chews, grinning.
Alessia groaned and rolled her eyes. "Huey, please. Can we start already? Or are we just here for snack ASMR?"
Huey didn't respond. He sat in his desk chair, legs stretched out, hands steepled over his lips, eyes scanning the air like he was watching the patterns form in his head. His black blazer hung loosely on his shoulders, his cross chain catching the light from the soft glow of his HoloTab.
Then—a knock.
He stood, slow and composed, and opened the door to find Calvin leaning against the frame, looking far too smug for someone who probably hadn't been invited.
"Can't have a debrief without the guest of honour," Calvin said as he strolled in. He flashed Alessia a wink. "Huey, didn't tell me you were into media girls now.
He puckered his lips dramatically. Alessia recoiled instantly. "Get a grip, weirdo"
"You wound me."
Huey gestured back toward the group. "Now that everyone's here—"
Another knock.
This time, Huey sighed before he even turned. He cracked the door open just enough to see the familiar sharp frame of Marlo, the law student with the resting conviction face and Milo's twin.
Through the small opening, Calvin waved. "Yo, it's Miss Law and Order."
Huey stepped outside and shut the door behind him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, arms crossed.
Marlo gave him a tilted look. "Did you have something to do with that whole Riva situation?"
Huey kept his voice neutral. "That was above my paygrade."
"You're a terrible liar," she said, stepping closer. "You're hiding something, Huey."
Before he could answer, she had him against the doorframe, her hand lightly brushing his chest. Her tone dropped. "You know, if you let me in… there might be something in it for you."
Huey blinked. Just once. Then gave the smallest smirk. "Is this the part where I pretend I don't know how law and entertainment girls operate?"
He gently pulled her hand off his chest, stepping aside with just enough space between them.
"Love these days is just mutual benefit with mood lighting. Tragic, really."
Marlo chuckled under her breath, clearly not offended. "You're insufferable."
"I get that a lot."
From inside, Luan's voice called, "Huey? Are we getting started or what?"
Huey stepped back toward the door, giving Marlo a final glance. "Come in, then. Might be useful having you around."
Inside, Marlo was greeted with familiarity from Willy and Luan. Calvin, of course, didn't waste a second trying his luck again, throwing out a line that earned him another of Alessia's glares.
Huey finally took center stage, standing beside the floating case files. His blazer now hung from the chair, revealing the clean white shirt beneath. He exhaled, about to speak.
Then—a ringtone.
Huey froze. His head slowly turned, neck stiff. "Whose phone?"
Willy raised his hand. "yours."
The room fell silent.
Huey blinked, lips tightening like the notification just disrespected him personally. "Excuse me,"
Josephine's voice came through, more serious than usual. "Back entrance. Now."
Huey raised a brow. "That your way of flirting? 'Cause if you wanted a late-night date, Jo, you should've booked in advance."
"I'm serious" she said sharply. "Just come. Please."
He opened his mouth to push back, but another voice came on the line.
"Huey."
The tone was calm. Sharp. Wrapped in warm honey and spiked with a lethal edge.
His eyes widened slightly. "Hailee?"
"Yup."
"What are you—wait, are you with Josephine?"
"You heard her. Back entrance."
"I've got guests," he tried. "People in my room. Debriefing. The usual."
She didn't miss a beat. "Then do the thing."
Huey closed his eyes, sighed like the weight of the world was dragging him under. "You two are the worst."
He ended the call and returned to the main room with a perfect poker face.
Everyone was staring.
Alessia folded her arms. "Well? Who was it?"
"Something about insurance. Very urgent," Huey said. He gestured to the door. "I'll be back. Bathroom."
As he closed the door again, the others chuckled.
"what are the chances SHE sent a snap and he decided to have a quickie." Calvin whispered to willy
Still in the washroom, Huey locked the window and turned to the mirror. His reflection stared back—serious, calm, unreadable.
His irises flickered with faint blue fire.
Then, in a flash of light and plasma-like static, he split.
Literally.
Two Hueys now stood in the small space—identical in appearance, each a mirror of the other. They exchanged a brief nod. One straightened his blazer and returned to sit with the others in Room 202. The other—the real one, or at least, the more curious one—moved to the window.
You see, when your crest was plasma-based, you didn't just become a human lightning bolt. With careful training, Huey learned to apply the science of charged particle splitting. He could create two independent, conscious versions of himself—not clones, but literal halves. Same brain. Same memories. Shared strength. If one fought, he fought at 50%. But for recon or sneaking off to meet dangerous siblings and suspicious best friends? Perfect trick.
Huey smirked, pulling up his hood.
A sudden crack of blue lightning burst through the Virelia skyline. His form vanished into plasma.
Electricity streaked down from the dark clouds overhead, striking the ground like divine judgment. Sparks danced. Concrete smoked.
Then, standing amidst the crackle and steam—Huey. Hood drawn. Eyes glowing. Arms crossed like he was expecting applause.
Hailee and Josephine blinked.
Josephine folded her arms. "Nice entrance, Kal-El."
Hailee raised a brow. "Bit much for a rendezvous, don't you think?"
Huey shrugged theatrically. "I try."
Hailee was dressed casually, black hoodie over tactical joggers. Josephine, on the other hand, looked like she was about to lead a covert raid—black get-up, utility straps, minimal makeup but eyes burning with intent.
Huey squinted. "Okay, what is this? A stakeout? A surprise intervention? You know I left people back in my room for this."
Hailee ignored him. "How'd you get out, anyway?"
Huey smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Split."
Hailee blinked. "You split?"
Josephine's jaw tightened. "Wait—you're using that technique again?"
"Relax," Huey said, waving a gloved hand. "It's not permanent. I'll resync later. Just means this me is running at half capacity. Like a group project."
"Only you would compare molecular fission to skipping class," Hailee muttered.
"So," Huey leaned in. "What's the occasion that just forced me to pull a literal stunt double?"
Josephine and Hailee exchanged a look.
The air in the small dorm room was heavy — thick with the smell of potato chips, cheap air freshener, and the kind of tension that crept into your skin and made itself at home.
Huey stood before a makeshift board they'd thrown together — pinned holo-papers, security stills, medical records, scattered notes linked by thin blue neon lines.
He spun the holo-tab in his hand lazily, stopping it with a snap of his finger as he spoke:
"Alright. Lorenzo Luca. First-year. Level Four crest. Top contender for freshman of the year."
He tapped an image: a blurry pic of Lorenzo mid-spar, lightning sparking at his fingertips.
"Was last spotted during the freshman welcome party. Witnesses say he was 'fine'."
Huey added quotation marks with his fingers, voice dry as sandpaper.
Calvin, sprawled on the bed:
"Kid was hopin around like he already had a little too much to drink, right?"
Alessia, arms folded:
"Until he wasn't."
Huey smiled thinly. He liked sharp people.
"Exactly. Three hours after the party? Crest infection symptoms. Convulsions. Fainting spells. Taken to infirmary wing F2."
He opened his holo-tab again, pulling up an infirmary log: "PATIENT DISCHARGED - CONFIRMED BY ORDERLY"
Willy, crunching another chip:
"Wait wait wait. Dude didn't check out himself?"
"Supposedly. Staff said Lorenzo asked for release. Standard procedure. No questions asked."
Huey raised a brow.
"Except... he never made it back to his dorm."
Marlo just sat and watched.
Quiet settled over the room. One of those silences that says more than shouting ever could.
Inside the darkened van, Hailee sat up front scrolling through encrypted police logs, while Josephine leaned against the door, arms crossed.
Huey — this Huey — lounged across the back seat, the reflection of passing streetlights flashing across his gold cross shaped chain.
"diMarco, symbiont type. Lost to Mira in the exhibition match. Pretty badly." Josephine said with a disappointed look
Hailee, without looking up:
"Witnesses say he left the arena pissed. Hit the bathrooms to 'cool off'."
Huey (Van version):
"And conveniently... disappeared."
He toyed with a strand of his dark coloured hair playfully.
"No footage of him leaving the arena. No holo-comms sent. Nothing."
"Like he just... blinked out of existence." Josephine retorted.
"Maybe Lorenzo ran away? Maybe Marco did too? Stress and all that." Alessia added.
Huey chuckled once — a low, humorless sound.
"Maybe."
He leaned in, his shadow stretching across the board.
"Or maybe they were helped to disappear."
He connected two images together with a swipe Lorenzo's discharge form and a steal of Marco leaving the arena hallway.
"Look". He pointed to a section of the image.
Both had the same timestamp error, system clocks skipped forward by 17 minutes.
Calvin:
"Glitch?"
Huey:
"No such thing in Virelia's security footage."
His voice was flat, dangerous.
"We found traces of forced crest nullification residue near the bathroom Marco used." Said Hailee quietly
"Which means someone stopped him from using his powers."
He smirked grimly.
"Someone who knew exactly what they were doing."
"What about Lorenzo?". Josephine addrd
Huey stared out the van window at the skyline, letting a long silence hang. Then he said:
"Infections that severe? They don't walk out. They get moved."
"This isn't about accidents. Or bad luck."
He let the words hang as Alessia, Willy, Calvin and Marlo leaned closer, like moths to a flame.
"It's organized. Precise. Whoever's behind this..."
He pulled up a hidden file, encrypted in red: "Crest Instability Cases - Missing Students"
The screen filled with names — not two, but 9 missing first-years in the last month.
Both Hueys, Room and Van, speak the final conclusion in tandem, different locations but same mind.
"Lorenzo and Marco aren't missing…..."
Huey after a short pause with the gaze of those around him solely fixed on his lips, completed his sentence.
"They're dead."