"Ladies and Gentlemen. Honored guests. Allow me to formally welcome you to Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics! A toast!" Symphonius raised a flute of champagne into the air. "May this dinner help bring our two schools ever closer as we reaffirm the bonds of friendship which unite us both!"
There was a rousing round of "Hear, hear!" from the teachers, as well as from the Thumbledown students. Gavin raised his own glass of lemonade (some of the freshest-tasting lemonade he'd ever enjoyed) and joined in the toast, although not quite as enthusiastically as most of the others. He risked a glance down the table toward Jupiter and Harriet and could tell that they, too, were not as boisterous with their cheer as the others. In fact, none of the St. Hibbard students seemed particularly energetic, with the possible exception of Maximilian. There was too much bad blood between the schools as far as St. Hibbard's was concerned to just sweep it away with a raised glass.
Gavin dutifully downed his entire glass of lemonade and immediately grabbed the attention of one of the students serving them in order to get another. Most of them looked to be in Middle School, with one or two high schoolers ordering them about. It was strange to be waited on by kids younger than himself, but Symphonius had explained that the opportunity to help during this meal was a great honor and that many, many kids who weren't with them tonight were extremely jealous of those who were.
That seemed to sum up the attitude of the students of Lord Thumbledown's. They truly loved their school, and were willing and eager to go the extra mile in its service. Gavin didn't understand why they were so devoted. He liked St. Hibbard's and all but he wasn't looking to spend his free time in the kitchens or scrubbing the bathrooms. But these kids absolutely worshipped their school.
Not that they didn't have reason. What he'd seen so far of the school had been jaw-dropping. The dining room in which they were currently seated was immense, with a ridiculously-long table with enough room for everyone in both parties. It was a very formal affair, of course, with Symphonius at one end and Mrs. Gruber on the other. On one side of the table sat Gavin, his friends, and the other three St. Hibbard adults, while the other side contained all six Thumbledown kids and their three adults. Gavin was near Mrs. Gruber's end and sat between Harriet and Samantha (the students were seated in a boy-girl-boy-girl order) Directly across from him was a mouse-like Thumbledown girl named Paulina Frigmont. Her superpower (and it was a superpower, not an ability), was that she could blast freezing air out of her fingertips. She'd already decided on a superhero name, Frigid, and was only waiting for graduation to take it on. It seemed the students here weren't allowed to use superhero names while at school.
On either side of Paulina were the insufferable Austin Cragmire with all of his amazing abilities and a quiet kid named Quentin Ramirez. Gavin thought Quentin's power was extremely cool. He created a bubble of force around his hands that pushed matter aside. He could literally reach through a solid stone wall.
Jupiter, Mitchell, Maximilian and the other three Thumbledown students (including Ryanne) were down at the other end of the table on the opposite side of the three adults accompanying each school and as such were more or less on their own in terms of conversation.
In all, 20 people sat around this long rectangle in the midst of a lavish hall whose walls were covered by paintings of long-dead people, including--in a place of honor in the center of the room--one of Lord Thumbledown himself. In between the framed portraits billowed thick, velvet curtains. Three massive candelabras hung over the table, which was itself covered by an immensely-long satin tablecloth which Symphonius had boasted had been specially made for the table.
Student servants stood against the walls at the four corners of the table, waiting for someone to call on them (such as when Gavin asked for another glass of lemonade). Other student servants served as the wait staff, and had already brought out a round of appetisers that looked to have been made primarily of vegetables but which, nevertheless, Gavin had wolfed down with delight.
As the chime from the toast died away, Mrs. Gruber stood and took the floor. Symphonius remained standing and flashed a smile down the length of the table at his counterpart.
"On behalf of St. Hibbard's Very Special Academy, I accept your generous invitation as well as your impeccable hospitality," she said. "I know I speak for everyone from St, Hibbard's when I say we are excited to be here and look forward to clearing the air and renewing our commitment to comity and friendship."
"What's comity?" Gavin whispered to Harriet.
"It means working together for everyone's mutual benefit," she whispered right back while raising her glass for the toast. Gavin had yet to receive his second glass of lemonade, so he just raised his empty glass and hoped no one would notice.
After another round of clinking glasses, both headmasters sat down as the wait staff brought in plates of steaming food that had Gavin's mouth watering. There was roast something or other (Gavin wasn't very familiar with good food), with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for starters, but there were also trays of exotic fruits and vegetables, none of which Gavin could name. A large dish of something else mashed was passed around, but Gavin passed, as it looked vaguely healthy and he was already eating the corn in addition to the appetizers. He didn't want to overdo the veggies.
The clinking of glasses was replaced by the clinking of cutlery on plates as everyone dug into the feast. As Gavin ate, he kept an eye on Mrs. Gruber, wondering what her play was going to be. They were here because Lord Thumbledown's was attacking them, and yet she hadn't mentioned anything and didn't seem inclined to bring up the subject. He wondered what she was waiting for.
"How's the tree girl?" asked Austin Cragmire suddenly, his mouth full of mashed potatoes.
Gavin looked up, a bit stunned. Samantha seemed equally stunned by the boy's outburst, but Harriet kept her wits about her. "Are you referring to Aurelia Limpit? The St. Hibbard student who was turned into a tree against her will during the Hide and Seek match with your school?"
"Right," said Cragmire, not picking up on Harriet's tone. "Tree girl. She still a tree?"
"How dare you!" exclaimed Gavin, getting heated.
Cragmire looked genuinely shocked by Gavin's tone. "What? I'm just asking. That was pretty nasty, what happened to her."
"What you did to her, you mean!" accused Gavin.
"Whoa!" Cragmire put up his hands. "Are you accusing me of something, little man?" There was a challenge in the boy's tone. Hearing this, Harriet put her arm out in front of Gavin, as if to physically stop him.
"Take it easy," she said. "Nobody's accusing anybody of anything."
"No," insisted Cragmire. "Go on. Say it. You think I did that to her?"
"Somebody at your school did!" barked Gavin, his voice rising.
"We didn't do anything to her," cut in Paulina Frigmont. "We don't have anybody who can turn people into trees."
"What? You think she just happened to randomly turn into a tree during the one time you guys are out hunting us?" asked Gavin. "Give me a break. We're not stupid."
"Actually, I think you're sounding pretty stupid right now," said Cragmire.
Gavin pushed his chair back and jumped to his feet. "Why you-"
"Mr. Mallard!"
Mrs. Gruber's voice cut through the confrontation like a knife through pudding. Gavin instantly clammed up, and even Cragmire seemed a bit chastised.
"You are to remain seated and civil throughout the course of this meal. Is that understood?"
Gavin nodded and sat back down with a look of malice tossed at Austin Cragmire for good measure. Cragmire sneered back at him, which did not go unnoticed by the headmistress.
"And you, Mr. Cragmire, would do well to do the same. I may not be your headmaster, but I assure you I am perfectly capable of making your life miserable."
The sneer vanished from the boy's face and he looked down at his plate. "Yes, Ma'am," he said meekly.
Mrs. Gruber looked from one boy to the other, then stood and clinked her spoon against her glass, getting everyone's attention. Symphonius looked up from what looked to be a rousing conversation with Jupiter and the third Thumbledown boy. "Something the matter, Aquatica?" he asked.
"Not at all," she replied. "I simply felt it would be good for us all to discuss the elephant in the room before the butter knives are used for unbecoming purposes."
Symphonius looked confused for an instant, then melted into laughter. "Quite right, quite right. Yes. The elephant. Go right ahead."
"You are all aware of the unfortunate occurrence at the end of our last Hide and Seek contest? One of our most promising students, Aurelia Limpit, was somehow turned into a tree. Against her will, I must assume."
"Yes. Terrible, simply terrible." Symphonius took a large gulp of ale from a silver tankard.
"What some of you may not know is that a second girl was attacked within the confines of our school and turned to ice."
"She was frozen?" asked Paulina Frigmont.
"No, dear," corrected Mrs. Gruber. "Turned to ice. We are keeping her in the kitchen freezer for the time being to ensure she does not melt." This elicited a snigger from Austin, but Mrs. Gruber cast a glare in his direction, and he stifled his mirth. "Furthermore, the entire school was placed in jeopardy last week due to the rampage of a giant groundhog. It took Miss Grave here captive and burrowed into the Earth."
Harriet raised a hand to identify herself, nodded, then lowered her hand, thoroughly embarrassed.
"The end result of all this is that many of the students at St. Hibbard's believe we are under attack," she continued. "And they assume the attack originates here, at Lord Thumbledown's."
This caused quite a bit of consternation on the Thumbledown side of the table. In the center of the table, the short woman gasped, the tall man guffawed, and the medium-sized person of indeterminate gender cried out in protest. Symphonius raised a hand, calling for silence.
"We are heartbroken to hear of your recent troubles, Aquatica," he began. "But you must know that this school has had nothing to do with any of these events. Turning people into trees and ice? Setting loose a dangerous, mutated animal within your school? We don't even have anyone here with those types of superpowers."
"Uhm. Er. Excuse me, but that isn't exactly true." All eyes swiveled to Artemis Folly, who nervously wiped his hands on his napkin before proceeding. "Your Miss Frigmont here is able to shoot jets of freezing water from her fingertips."
"That's a far cry from turning someone into ice," stated the short woman.
"Not if she'd been augmenting her superpower," said Folly with a raised eyebrow.
This set up another round of consternation from the Thumbledown side of the table, which Symphonius quickly squashed by pounding his tankard onto the table.
"Augmenting superpowers is against the law," he said. "Are you accusing one of my students of breaking the law?" He glared at Mr. Folly, who visibly wilted under the pressure.
"Not at all, not at all," he insisted. "I was simply looking at all possibilities. If someone at Thumbledown was augmenting their superpowers, I'm sure you would want to know about it, Mr. Symphonius, Sir."
"I'm not augmenting anything!" declared Paulina. "Besides, even if I was, you say this person was attacked at your school. I've never been there!"
"You've got that portal chick who could just whisk you there and back in a heartbeat!" cried Mitchell.
"I can't portal someplace I've never visited before!" said Ryanne, her face turning red.
"If I may.' Mr. Hollowind stood and spread out his hands. "There's no need for this discussion to become heated. Symphonius assures us that no student from Lord Thumbledown is involved in these attacks, and I, for one, believe him."
"If not them, then who?" asked Gavin. He froze when he realized he'd spoken out loud and captured everyone's attention.
After a moment, Mr. Hollowind continued. "Indeed. That may be a more dangerous question than we at first surmised."
"Why is that, Idris?" asked Mrs. Gruber.
"Simply put, the fact is that somebody is doing this. That cannot be denied. If these attacks are not a result of a school rivalry, then there may be something far more insidious behind them. Which means we may be dealing with something we've not dealt with in some time,"
Gavin realized what Mr, Hollowind was going to say a split-second before he said it, and Gavin's stomach dropped in horror.
"We may be dealing with a brand-new supervillain."