Gavin, Jupiter, and Harriet slinked their way back through the corridors of Lord Thumbledown's to the main gallery, where they said their goodbyes.
"Remember," said Jupiter, shoving a finger into Gavin's chest. "No talking about what we found to anyone."
"You don't have to worry about me," replied Gavin.
She gave a brief huff before responding, "I always have to worry about you."
She and Harriet headed back to the girls' dorms, with Harriet giving Gavin one last wave before she departed. Smiling, Gavin hurried through the boys' wing until he found his room and let himself inside. He was shocked to discover it was empty. Not only was Maximilian still out and about, it seemed Mitchell was out as well.
That couldn't be good.
Not sure what else he could do, however, he settled down on the cot and tried to get some rest. His mind, however, had other ideas. The lists of names ran through his head, tumbling over the questions they represented.
Why were the names on a list?
Why was one a list of regular names and one a list of superhero names?
Were they even connected?
Who were the other people on the lists? He could probably find out who the regularly-named people were, but would he ever be able to discover the true identities of those named on the superhero list?
Was one or both of the lists a list of villains?
What the heck was going on here at Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics, anyway?
Unfortunately, he had no answers. Eventually, the excursions of the night fell onto Gavin and sleep overtook him. He dreamed of stone corridors, and footsteps in hallways, and shadows on the wall. Dark figures were chasing him, and he knew without a doubt that if they caught him, he'd be dead. So he ran. All the corridors looked the same, and he was lost in a labyrinth of stone and darkness. His pursuers were gaining, their malicious intentions obvious, and he put on a burst of speed, but ran straight into a wall of fire. Then the entire world shook with a jarring impact.
Gavin opened his eyes to find Mitchell standing over him. The boy had a dark, foreboding look on his face as he peered down at the sleeping Gavin.
"Stay out of stuff that doesn't concern you," he growled in a quiet voice. "This is your only warning."
Before Gavin could respond, Mitchell turned and flopped down on the double bed. Gavin considered sitting up and continuing the one-sided conversation, but decided against it. He wasn't sure exactly what Mitchell was talking about, and that worried him. The St. Hibbard's bully couldn't be involved in what was going on over at Lord Thumbledown's, could he?
Or could he?
It was another mystery to solve. Meanwhile, gazing to his left, he noted that Maximilian had yet to return. This bothered him, but he couldn't exactly figure out why. He resolved to remain awake until the older boy returned, but twenty minutes later, and with no sign of Maximilian, Gavin was fast asleep.
***
The next morning the rain had abated, the bus' tires had been replaced, and the contingent from St. Hibbard's gathered in the entry hall to bid their hosts adieu.
"Thank you again for your hospitality, Symphonius," declared Mrs. Gruber.
"Not at all, Aquatica," responded the big man. "It was our honor. I trust you will take my assurances to heart. Noone from Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics has had anything to do with the unfortunate events which have taken place at your school."
"That you know about," Jupiter whispered under her breath so that only Gavin and Harriet could hear.
"I take your assurances to heart, my friend," promised Mrs. Gruber. "If I find myself in need of the services of either you or the members of your school, I shall reach out."
"Please do! Please do! And consider the suggestion I made last night during our private conversation. I think it would be a very positive step forward not only for your school, but for the Forces of Peace."
The ears of all twelve kids in attendance perked up at this odd comment. Symphonius, aware of the interest his comment had sparked, smiled mischievously. Mrs. Gruber, meanwhile, frowned, displeased.
"Yes," she said drying. "I shall reflect on our private conversation in good time."
Mr. Hollowind stepped forward, eager interest on his face. "What, exactly did the two of you-"
"In the bus!" she snapped, cutting him off. "Now!"
Awkward handshakes ensued amongst all members of both parties, then the St. Hibbard's crowd boarded their bus and settled in for the ride home. Pulling away, Gavin thought back on his eventful visit to the school filled with the kids who had actual talent. Though he hadn't met many of them, and only really talked to the three across the table from him during dinner (one of whom was a total jerk), he got a sense that they weren't that different from students at his own school. The talents were more powerful, it was true. They were superpowers, after all, not just abilities. But when you took another look at it, were they really that much better than the powers of his friends? Team them up, and St. Hibbard's kids could do some incredible things.
For the first time, he felt a small tinge of pride toward his school.
He was easily half-way home before he began wondering what in the world Symphonius and Mrs. Gruber had talked about, and what it had to do with The Forces of Peace.
***
They were greeted like heros. Everyone wanted to know what Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics was like. Questions bombarded Gavin everywhere he went for the next three days. Some of the questions were basic questions he had to answer more than once.
What was the school like?
How powerful were the students?
Did he see any displays of amazing abilities?
Did the students of Lord Thumbledown's get to eat real food?
Other questions were more singular in nature.
Did any of the Lord Thumbledown kids drink blood?
Did Gavin see any werewolves?
Had he had a chance to sneak around after dark?
He gave the last question an emphatic no.
The first chance they had, Gavin, Jupiter, and Harriet filled Jud in on everything that had happened. He listened to it all, his face downcast as usual, then promptly declared that the lists were obviously of Lord Thumbledown students who were going to hunt down and kill the kids of St. Hibbards.
"Don't be ridiculous," said Harriet.
"Think what you want," he responded. "But I'm sleeping with one eye open."
The weekend passed without incident. Gavin waited for Mrs. Gruber to vacate the school for some reason in order to allow him to make a second attempt at the hedge maze, but she never left. Maximilian vanished into thin air again, to the point where Jupiter joked that maybe he hadn't really existed in the first palace and they'd all just imagined his presence on the trip.
This made Gavin recall the mystery of where the boy had gone that night. He'd slipped out and stayed out very late. He'd been sitting on the couch when Gavin awoke, but Gavin had no idea how long he'd been there. He had noticed large, dark circles under the boy's eyes, as if he hadn't done much sleeping.
When Monday rolled around, Gavin was ready to put his head down and focus on classwork--midterms were only a week away. But his plans to spend a quiet week focusing on his schoolwork went out the window during first period when, of all people, Mr. Folly poked his head into the classroom and told Mrs. Ackachack that Gavin was wanted in Processing.
"Processing!" exclaimed the teacher, sounding scandalized. "I had no idea! Away with you, Mallard!"
Gavin followed Mr, Folly out the door and down the hall, utterly baffled as to what was going on.
"Am I in trouble?" he asked the nervous man.
"What? Oh! No. Trouble? Why would you think that?"
"You're taking me to processing."
"Yes, I am. Why do students always think such bad things about Processing? We're good people. We are. Why, I haven't eaten a child in weeks."
He smiled. Gavin stared. Finally the man cleared his throat. "That was a joke. Oh, dear. I'm afraid I'm not very funny. Ambrosia tells it much better."
They continued in silence until they came to the door marked 'Processing.' Mr. Folly gave it a push and motioned for Gavin to enter. Inside, the cubicles were situated just as they had when he'd first arrived and he squirmed a little at the memory of the strange session with the odd woman named Ambrosia.
"Now then, just have a seat and Ambrosia will be right with you," said Mr. Folly.
Gavin jumped. "Her? Again?"
"Well, of course," replied Mr. Folly. "Ambrosia does most of our student interfacing. The rest of us are not quite as good at social interaction. Have fun, she'll be but a moment."
Gavin looked around until he spotted a small chair in the corner. He sat down awkwardly, as the chair was obviously meant for an elementary student and he was afraid he was going to break it. Finally, a tall, thin woman with long blond hair walked by and smiled down at him.
"Hello again, Gavin."
Gavin looked up, confused. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
She laughed a beautiful, magical laugh that gave Gavin warm feelings in his tummy. "It is I who should apologize, Gavin," she said. "I'm Ambrosia. We met when you first arrived at St. Hibbard's." Her smile lit up the otherwise dark room.
Now Gavin was seriously confused. "No, Ambrosia was a totally different woman," he said. "For one thing, she was black. And not so tall. And her hair-"
"I was in a phase," she interrupted, waving the comment away. "It's not important. Let's get to work, shall we? You remember my cubicle? Around the back?"
He did and after a moment of indecision and another moment of looking around him to see if somebody was playing a prank on him, he followed her back to the same cubicle he'd gone to the first time. Here he sat once more on the floor against the wall while this new Ambrosia sat at the same desk and opened a file that, while still thin, was nevertheless a bit thicker than it had been the first time he'd been here.
"How are you settling in, Gavin?" asked Ambrosia.
"Alright, I guess."
"Interesting."
Gaivn rolled his eyes. Here we go again, he thought.
The questions were as random as they'd been the first time, though this time nothing painful happened, thankfully. He was asked a series of seemingly unrelated questions ranging from the practical ("Which students do you partner up with during Boot Camp?") to the mysterious ("Are there any students you do not trust?") to the downright silly ("Do you think mice deserve to have evolved feet?").
No matter what he answered, Ambrosia responded with, "Interesting."
As the questions progressed, however, he detected a pattern. Most of the questions were nonsense, but the ones that weren't centered on his power and how it worked in relation to other powers. He was proud to discuss the creation of the Gavin-a-pult he and Stanford had created. And he also mentioned his ability to control the shape of his face, just barely. He left out any mention of breaking into the library, however. Finally, she thanked him and wished him well.
He stood to leave, when she stepped forward and once again put a hand on his shoulder. "You have done well so far, Gavin," she said.
"Uhm... thank you?"
"I trust we'll meet again."
She removed her hand. Gavin remained standing a moment more. "Will I recognise you when we do?" he asked.
She laughed and faded back into the black.