Powerless

51. A good strategy is key.

I have no clue what it is Damien did but all the pain I usually get from letting my mind wander has just... vanished. Why? What spell did he use? What does it... No. I can't focus on that right now. I need to focus on what's going on. Deep breaths, Cassidy. I could feel the world melt away around me until it was just me and my thoughts. Me and...

'Cassidy.' I looked up to see I was in this dome thing. That's... That's a first. 'Not really. You've just pushed past the normal barrier this power has. No pain... means no holding back.' Another me appeared in front of me and I narrowed my eyes. 'Relax, I'm just a figment of the imagination. Someone to talk your thought out with.'

"Where am I? Where did I go?" The other me just laughed as he sat down in front of me.

'Nowhere. You're still just sitting in the dirt. You've simply just gone into your own mind. But that's not what we should be focusing on right now, Cassidy.' He crossed his arms and smiled brightly as I narrowed my eyes. 'Let's start with what you know already right? You're at a disadvantage. Why?" I narrowed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"They know what we are capable of better than even we do. We don't know their powers at all, save for Felix and maybe Mark." He nodded and I groaned trying to form my thoughts into a proper sentence. "They're stronger and know the field better than us. They have more experience. As well as the fact that they..." My eyes went wide and the other me raised an eyebrow at me with a small smirk. "They planned everything out. They planned the lesson... The students... They've split us up."

'Bingo. Why?' Why? Why is right? Why split the student's up into teams if we aren't fighting each other? Why make it seem like it's going to be one of our usual exercises if it wasn't. And why were Mark and Felix put against us? I mean... Our strongest players are Me, Roman, and Damien. I say Damien despite not knowing his powers because he clearly stated he had more than he could name off. And... from just what I felt from him... He's clearly strong. Felix as trained Roman the entire time he was here. He's Roman's mentor. Mark is literally Damien's Father. Those two could tell you every weakness and strength these men have without much thought at all. On top of that Felix knows three of my powers. Three out of the five. He's the only teacher that knows anything at all. Why split us all up and target us with our mentors? 'You're asking all the right question but you aren't finding the answers. Answer this... What is the lesson?'

"I don't..." His smirk grew and I frowned. "What?"

"Damien did inform you." I narrowed my eyes as I tried to go over everything. The only thing I remember was...

"There wasn't going to be any." My mind started racing. "There wasn't going to be an explanation because this wasn't a normal lesson. This wasn't a mock battle. They intended on making this as real as they could." Things started to click into place. Questions found answers. While answers found more question. "They put us against our mentors to test us." We are at a disadvantage for a reason. It's rare you'll ever find yourself in a battle with an advantage. When you're the hero you have to take everything you're given. Even when you have a step up they still have the high ground. You have people to protect. You have morals to uphold... rules to follow and weight on your shoulders. They only have themselves and their desires. They have no reason to hold back or prevent them from getting their hands dirty. Except...

'They aren't acting like villains.' I looked up to see him smiling and I narrowed my eyes. 'Are they?'

"No, they aren't." Villains wouldn't just wait for us. They wouldn't be so lax. They knew they had us on our feet just like Felix knew I was a threat. Even if his champion failed with the first attack he should have kept going instead he let Damien guard me. He didn't do a thing until I made a move.

'If they aren't the Villains in this scenario, then what are they?' They're our teachers but... They wouldn't stick to that. No. They would do what they must. 'Think about it, Cassidy. How was Mark acting?'

"He was... He was targeting his son." Mark never made any moves he just circled us taunting Damien. Egging him on like... Like he was trying to get him to snap.

'He did say there was a power he couldn't use without being out of it.' I narrowed my eyes as he started to laugh. 'And the fact that he stated he has a lot of powers.'

"What if he mental strain?" I asked out loud but I was really just voicing my thoughts. As I do all the time. "If Damien has mental strain his father would obviously know. It would make sense to try and use it to his advantage."

'However, Damien stated it would not be good for them if he did lose it.' I think his precise words were the ground wouldn't handle it. I narrowed my eyes in thought. This was confusing. It's like their thoughts were all over the place with this. 'The question isn't why they did all this, Cassidy. The question now is...'

"What's our next move?" He smiled again and I frowned. "We can't think of this as a lesson. We can't think of them as teachers. We have to stop thinking of ourselves as heroes." His eyes lit up as he sat there just watching.

'If you aren't the heroes...' His smile turned to a mischevious grin as he clasped his and in front of him. '...what are you?'

"We're the villains in this fight." He cocked his head to the side a little as if asking for more to the answer. "The teachers are playing the role of the heroes. On top of that they're egging Damien on knowing full well he'll lose control. With that in mind, I can only assume they would do the same with Ghost. Taking that into consideration I can only assume that we are meant to play the role of the villain. Why else would they be so careless about mental strain? They want us to see what it's like to play the other side. Make us think like the enemy..."

'So what are you going to do?' I couldn't help but smirk deviously as the realization finally hit me. In this scenario, I don't have to hold back. 

"We're the villains." He started to laugh as I stood up and straightened my self out relishing the comforting pops my bones made in response. "I guess... break some rules... cause some damage... overall... Have a shit ton of fun!"

"Cassidy?" I opened my eyes to find I was back outside... or more correctly stated, I returned to the present. I looked over to see Damien practically hyperventilating as he gripped his walking stick tightly in his hands. Patton was looking over at me with this question on his mind but refused to ask it.

"Damien..." It was like a rubber band snapped. I groaned slightly as my mind started reeling a bit but Damien literally collapsed. He was smiling like a total nutjob as he struggled to catch his breath but he looked up at me with this glint in his eyes. I wonder... If I'm right about this, and he has mental strain... Why was he so quick to help me?

"Sorry... I... I couldn't hold on any longer." His voice was raspy and dripping with pain as he just laid there. The thing is we don't have time to waste.

"I..." I narrowed my eyes as the usual fear of talking kicked back in and I frowned. He just smiled as he picked himself up and laughed. "I'm not fine. I wasn't done anyway." He just smiled wider. 

"Good. Now, what was all that about being a villain?" My eyes went wide as he laughed again. My blood went cold. Everyone just looked around at each other clearly anxious as his eyes went pitch black. "Cus I can do that."