Heroes in the Shadows

Chapter 21 Under the Radar

"Did you hear? Our principal is helping out the Elemental Masters," One student whispered.

"I heard he's an actual Elemental Master himself!" Another student muttered with shock.

"You think there are any other Elemental Masters in the school?"

"I hope not. That would be terrifying!"

The three ninja still stood at the entrance of their school like statues. Anxiety shot through their bodies, and they became paralyzed with fear. They glanced at eachother before finally taking a step forward. Each of them held their breaths as they flew by anyone with a badge, careful not to make eye contact.

"Hey!" Someone shouted. The small group jolted at the sudden sound. Their hearts stopped as they turned their heads to see that there was a hall monitor pointing at them.

"Hoods off while in the building," He informed roughly. Cole glanced up to see that his hood was still on his head. He chuckled nervously, sweat dripping down his face, and pulled it off. The three of them turned the corner and let out a sigh.

"Just act normal, okay?" Cole muttered to his friends.

"Easier said than done! Why are they all here?" Jay asked frantically.

"Probably to search Principal Wu's office or something, but we can't act out of place or else they'll know we know something," Cole whispered.

"Right... so I guess we just to head to class... hehe," Jay chuckled nervously as the three friends split up. As Jay passed by their principal's office, he spotted an older woman, by the open door, with a large group of policemen. Her grey hair was tied loosy in a braid, and her round glasses rested in front of her forest green eyes.

"So your saying the school board assigned you as a substitute principal?"

"Yes, just for a few days until they find an official replacement for Mr. Wu," The woman spoke with a gentle smile.

"We're going to check on that if that's alright," One policewoman spoke as she dialed a number on her phone.

"We'll also need to search the office," A policeman continued roughly.

"Please, search as much as you need to," The old woman replied gently. After the police filed into the office, the substitute principal noticed Jay lingering. He gave a weak smile before walking off. However, the old woman never took her eyes off the young teen.

Zane catiously strolled down the hallway, passing by other students. He then spotted familiar silver hair. Zane stopped to see the purple wearing andriod talking to other students while holding a clipboard. He blinked a few times before walking towards her with a smile. Pixal glanced his way after the students around her left.
The nindroid's smile, though, faded once he saw the grim plastered all over her metallic face.

"Pixal, are you alright?" He asked her, clearly concerned. She stared at him for a couple seconds.

"Everything is... adequate..." She mumbled quietly while staring at something behind him. Zane turned around and noticed a few policemen making eye contact with both andriods. Zane twitched with obvious fright. The policemen began to whisper with one another, and the white ninja quickly turned away, avoiding their gazes. Once he looked back at Borg's assistant, though, she wore her usual dull look.

"Mr. Borg would like to speak with you about your schedule, Mr. Julien," Pixal explained with a professional and empty tone.

"With my schedule?" Zane asked, growing weary by the sudden request.

"Yes, you requested that you could change classes, correct?" Pixal questioned. Zane stared into her emerald green eyes. He noticed that they shifted every now and then towards the police. Her hands were tapping her clipboard slightly but swiftly, and you could see the gears inside her head were spinning with too much to process. The nindroid gave a tiny nod, understanding what she wanted.