Together again, at last, the Afterschoolers regrouped in their school's library hideout. It was there that the students filled Wight and company in on what had happened.
"I see... Nindai is behind all of this," Wight sighed. "If what you said is true, we don't have much time. The whole world is at stake here."
"He's planning where to send the other heroes tonight," Invisia said.
"Then tonight we'll have to strike," said Wight. "Get whatever you need. Tonight we're ending this."
"We can't just rush in there looking for a fight!" said Maisie. "Surazo has a whole army working for him."
"Right. Well, it's a good thing I have a plan!"
"Really?" Sofia asked.
"Kinda. I'm still working on it. But for now, get changed, grab what you need. We're moving out in an hour."
With Invisia's help, the girls were able to sneak back to their dorms and prepare for the fight at hand. They laid out their Star Trooper uniforms, despising how they were mere traps.
"What are you gonna do with them?" Maisie asked them.
Miya reached into her suit and forcibly ripped out the piece of tech that would hinder her Aura Crystal's abilities. Dropping the chip on the floor, she stomped it into pieces. Sofia, Invisia, and Luli did the same with their suits.
"That's a start," Luli said. "Now what?"
"And now we make them even cooler!" Invisia declared.
Maisie smiled and teleported out of the room. When she returned, her hands were full of theater department costumes and sewing supplies. Sofia had a similar idea, running to the art room and back, with a couple of paint and spray cans.
Invisia kept her overall grey suit, but sewed on a hood to the back. Luli also added a hood, but added fingerless gloves to her suit for easier tagging. Sofia, on top of adding her own sneakers to her costume, added a few more layers of fabric to her gloves. Miya kept her change the simplest, choosing to paint over the silver outlines of her suit with white. They all followed that idea and replaced Nindai's signature color for that of a true hero.
"What about you?" Miya asked Maisie. "Don't you want to make a costume?"
"No, thanks," she said. "I'm good with just shorts and a tee shirt."
"If you say so. Let's go. Jonas and Briar are probably waiting for us," said Luli.
When the students returned to the hideout, Jonas was straightening his costume and putting his mask on. What stuck out around the room was that Briar was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Briar?" Invisia asked him.
"She's gone to take care of something for me," Wight said. "Are we ready to go?"
"Ready!" Sofia cheered.
"Good. Now let's go save the day."
Back at Nexus headquarters, Surazo was sitting on his throne and looking at the many mind controlled heroes kneeling before him. They obediently waited for their orders. The only ones absent among the group were Aux and Lucky.
"The plans for attacking major cities are ready, master," Evak shared. "Just say the word and we can begin."
"We shall hold," Surazo said.
"Hmmm? What for? Shouldn't we move on to the next step?"
"No... We are not yet ready. There is still a loose end here in Hoirom... The young heroes are still out there. They survived the lair self-destruct."
