Midas, Sam and Willow crouched low on the school roof, watching as Rachel faced off against Red Phoenix.

    "She shouldn't have done that," Midas said, shaking his head. This entire plan was going off the rails. First Mr. Lee had left them, then Taro, Evan and Nate, and now Rachel. How could they all just sacrifice their own safety, just like that?

    "We need to keep going," Sam urged. "That's the only way we can help Rachel now."

    Midas silently turned around and peered up over the ledge of the higher section of the roof. Oddly enough, Insomnium was alone. He sat in an office chair, his back to them. Next to him stood an IV pole, holding up a bag of serum which streamed into his arm by means of a transparent tube.

    "Let's stay low," Midas whispered to Sam and Willow. "He has to know we're up here by now. We'll go slowly, and if he turns around, rush him."

Sam and Willow nodded. Together, the three of them silently scrambled up the ledge and began to approach Insomnium. With every step, heart rates rose, breaths caught in throats, brows sweated.

We're almost done here, Midas thought to himself. Just get over there. Get over there and you can undo everything you did.

Still, his hands shook uncontrollably. It wasn't lost on him that this was possibly the most dangerous part of the plan. Sam and Willow would definitely be at the most risk if anything went wrong- Namely, if Insomnium somehow got control of him again.

Suddenly, Midas felt Sam squeeze his hand. He glanced over at her and Sam tried to give him a reassuring look. Midas couldn't even manage a strained smile, but nodded to let her know he'd gotten the message.

They were extremely close now, close enough to see the laptop that sat in Insomnium's lap. A map of the city was displayed on the screen and dozens of blinking dots swarmed all over it. He suddenly began to laugh, a low, wicked sound that sent chills down Midas' spine.

"I see you've found me," Insomnium said without turning around. "Congratulations. I didn't expect you to make it this far."

The group didn't answer. Midas motioned for the others to continue their approach.

"In a way, though," Insomnium went on, "I'm a bit relieved. I thought I wouldn't get the chance to crush you myself."

Midas felt dizzy, and like he might vomit. They were so close. Only a few more steps, and Sam would be able to reach him. It was almost over.

"Your friend is of no use to me now, though," Insomnium said. "So, I'll just be... removing her from the picture."

There was a sudden whirring noise, like the sound of a drill, and a drone the size of a washing machine appeared from the opposite side of the roof. Midas, Sam and Willow stood frozen.

The drone began to swoop towards them, showing no signs of stopping.

"Duck!" Midas shouted.

Everyone bent for cover, but the drone was too fast.

Sam screamed as the drone caught her full and hard in the chest and dragged her from Midas' grasp. The drone forced her halfway across the roof before finally relenting and soaring back into the sky. In a pile of broken shingles, Sam lay unmoving, her eyes shut and unblinking.

"Sam!" Midas shouted. He broke into a run, along with Willow.

N o w . . .

Midas screeched to a halt. The familiar pain of his bones rattling within him sent his mind into a panic.

L e t ' s g e t t o w o r k , M i d y .

Willow, who was already kneeling down to check on Sam, looked back. "Midas?" she asked, seeing the alarm in his face.

Midas felt his hand begin to raise towards the girls. He gritted his teeth and forced out one word.

"Run."

The power surged through him and in that moment, he knew that there was no way to save them from himself. No way to save Willow. No way to save Sam, who lay crumpled on the ground, defenseless.

At least she doesn't have to see it, Midas thought miserably. He couldn't close his eyes, couldn't look away. He could only watch.

"Fire!"

Midas' vision was suddenly filled with paper airplanes and playing cards. A sense of utter relief washed over him as a flurry of paper swirled around his head, like a snowstorm. Insomnium made him destroy some of the flimsy ammunition, but his vision was still clouded.

Then, he felt a sharp kick in the back and was forced to his knees.

"This is for your own good, Midas," he heard Rachel say. An arm snaked around his head and held him tightly, blocking his eyes, while a knee dug into his spine, keeping him down.

Midas felt himself begin to struggle against her, knowing that this was Insomnium's attempt at regaining his advantage. Then, Midas felt two other forces holding him down.

"We gotta keep him down," Nate said, forcing his arms down.

    "Is Sam okay?" Taro asked, pinning Midas' legs down with his hands and knees.

    Rachel glanced over at where Willow and Evan were practically dragging Sam towards them. She was still unresponsive. "I don't know," Rachel said, her eyes widening.

    Between the two of them, Willow and Evan managed to pull Sam over to Midas. They set her down as softly as they could.

    "She's unconscious," Evan said, "But still alive. We need to get her in contact with Midas."

    Willow, who was struggling not to cry, took one of Sam's limp hands and pressed it to Midas' clenched knuckles. Midas still writhed and struggled.

    "Was that supposed to fix it?" Taro asked uncertainly.

    "It must be because she's unconscious," Evan said. "We need to wake her up." He bent down close to Sam and shook her gently by the shoulders. "Sam. Sam, you need to get up."

    "Sam, wake up," Willow was sobbing. "Please wake up."

    The others chimed in too, nudging Sam, shaking her, yelling at her. Sam remained still.

    Then, Midas drew upon every ounce of will he had left, every bit of strength that Pierce hadn't leeched away from him, and he screamed out at the top of his lungs.

    "Sam! Please!"

    Only a few seconds later, Sam's eyes snapped open and Midas felt Insomnium's vicious control disappear. He gasped for breath involuntarily, his body exhausted and relieved.

    Sam still said nothing. Her chest rose and fell irregularly and her breathing was shallow. Her eyes were wide and glanced around rapidly.

    "I..." she wheezed. "I-I can't..." She pointed to her chest. "Breath."

    "The drone hit you full on," Willow said, sniffing hard and wiping away her tears. "You must have some broken ribs. I know it hurts, but try to breath."

    Sam nodded, trying to slow her ragged breaths. She groaned in pain. "Where are we?"

    "Still on the roof, unfortunately," Midas said, sitting up as the team finally released him. He looked around and found that they were halfway across the roof again, much farther from Insomnium now.

    "You!" Insomnium laughed. He turned around in his chair to watch at the SVE club. "You fools! You honestly thought anything you did would make a difference?"

    "That's kind of what we were hoping," Taro said weakly.

    Insomnium guffawed. "As if any of you could have stopped me. You are but flies trying to stop a freight train. I am the greatest villain who ever lived!" he shouted. His triumphant attitude was replaced by that of focus. He glared at the SVE club, especially at Midas. "You all think you're so special. Think you can stick together and beat me with- What? The power of friendship?"

    "That is not what we think!" Rachel retorted, offended.

    Insomnium ignored her. "Let's see how much longer you can remain 'friends' when you've forgotten each other's faces." He stretched out both hands towards them and gave a mighty shout.

    The SVE club collectively lurched backwards, all feeling the same power. A high pitched noise, like metal grating metal, sounded in the ears of all those on the roof. But Sam was the only one who screamed.

    "My head!" she cried. "Oh, my head!"

    Midas was the only one unaffected. He glanced around at the others, who looked at each other in confusion.

    "What's he doing?" Nate asked, sounding panicked. "Everything's gone blurry. I can't see a thing!"

    "I'm gonna pass out!" Sam exclaimed, cringing in pain. It was like the migraine she had experienced during her first encounter with Insomnium, but increased several times over.

    "You are not passing out!" Rachel said, blinking rapidly. She shook her head, sputtering and gasping for breath. "What... what's going on?"

    "He's trying to take our memories!" Midas realized. "All of us!"

    "What do we do?" Evan shouted. "Midas?"

    Midas looked over all his team mates. He felt as if he'd gone deaf. They cried out, but he couldn't hear them. Their memories. Why were they so important that Insomnium would exert so much force to take them away?

    His mind played things back, like his life was flashing before his eyes in the space of only a few seconds.

    "Don't call me Midas. I'm Dynamidas. That's what they called me at ISH."

    "I collect autographs from heroes. And since you went to ISH and will probably be a hero one day, I was hoping I could get yours."

"Name's Rachel Patterson. Who're you?"

    "Now tell me, Midas, is this your card?"

    "The mask exploding. It was cool."

    "Let's make a deal, Dynamidas. If I can get people interested in the SVE club, you have to let me join!"

"You would consider origami a unique super hero talent?"

    "Man, I'm only here because I stole a pizza from the cafeteria."

"You will be Insomnium. After I've gone. Insomnium must live on to keep the heroes in check."

    "Fine! I'll be a sidekick."

    "You can stop this now. Don't listen to anything he has to say. He'll betray you like he betrayed us."

   "I'm bad and evil and far too twisted to be part of that stupid school. I'm. A. Villain."

    "I mean, you're mean sometimes, but you're not evil. But you're not exactly a hero either."

"You're alright, Midas. You talk a big game, but in the end, you're just like the rest of us- powers or no powers."

    "Winning's not important. What is important is to learn from your mistakes and to not give up until you can win."

    "On your own, you're nothing against supers. But together, you can make a stand."

    "You traitor!"

    "If you wanted to protect them, you had every opportunity to do that back at ISH! And you left them behind!"

"I'm not a hero. I'm not your son. And I'm never going to be your heir."

    "It sounds cliche, but under the mask and the powers... you're just a regular guy. Just a person, like me or any of the SVE members."

    "People are stronger together."

    With that thought in mind, Midas was startled back to reality.

    People are stronger together, he thought over and over. There was something important about that. People are stronger together.

    "That's it!" he shouted. He turned to his team. "Guys, everyone hold on to Sam!"

    "What do you mean?" Rachel shouted back.

    "Just do it!" Midas answered.

    The SVE members fought through their failing senses and reached out towards Sam, who was struggling to remain standing. Willow was the first to find her and took the hand that was not held by Midas, followed by Evan who grabbed Sam's wrist.

    Sam flinched. "Wait a minute. The pain... it's getting better."

    "You're distributing your power to us," Midas explained. "The larger your power becomes, the harder it will be for Insomnium to get in our heads."

    "And the less my head hurts," Sam said.

    The others, Taro, Nate and Rachel were taking hold of Sam's forearms. The high pitched noise subsided. Meanwhile, Insomnium absolutely rocked with exertion, his face gone completely pale.

    "No. That's impossible," he muttered. He howled in frustration and attempted to double his power against them. His eyes narrowed and looked the team up and down, searching for a weakness. There had to be one.

Midas and the SVE club looked at each other in amazement, all supporting Sam to remain standing as she sagged with exhaustion.

"Wow," Taro said, summing up everyone's thoughts in one word.

Midas nodded in agreement. "But we're not done here. Let's get that serum."

The others prepared themselves, and in unison, all began to step forward. It was slow going, trying to move despite their tangled arms and awkward positions, all the while struggling to keep Sam from collapsing. Still, they moved towards Insomnium steadily and without hesitation, each step strengthening their resolve.

Insomnium had relented his torrent of mind-scrambling power. He watched the group approaching him, a thin smile on his face.

"Please, take your time," he said. "I have all day."

The SVE club was now mere feet away from the super villain who had caused all this trouble. Midas could feel the absence of Insomnium's power.

What's he up to now? he wondered.

"What pesky flies," Insomnium said, as if talking to himself. "Ah, well. You know what you have to do with flies." He snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, dozens of supers began pouring onto the roof. Sensuns, forzatacs, technas and more, all ascending to the top of the building by means of ladders that had been pushed against the brick walls. They came at the SVE club from all sides, moving quickly. In a matter of moments they would be upon the team like wolves upon chickens.

Insomnium shrugged. "You have to swat them. Sorry, Midas. But you had a choice. Join us. Or join them."

Midas looked out at the crowd racing towards them, and then at the faces of his teammates. They were scared. All but Sam had been in the same situation not even a day ago. That time, things had ended badly, and it was all Midas' fault.

I won't let that happen again, Midas thought. He turned to Sam.

"Sam," he said, "I'm going to let go."

"What?!" Sam gasped. She nearly doubled over with the pain that had come with the gasp.

"I need to end this, Sam," Midas said. "I need to stop Insomnium."

"I'm not letting you go," Sam managed to say, her fingernails suddenly digging into Midas' palm. "We stick together. That's the plan."

"Please," Midas begged her. "I've had enough of doing the wrong thing and hurting all of you. Just this once, I need to set things right. For the last time."

Those words were heavy and final-sounding. That scared Sam. "Why are you doing this?"

Midas looked pained. Sam could barely hear him when he said, "Sam, I... I'm not going to lose any of you again."

Sam was taken by surprise as Midas wrenched his hand away and ran towards Insomnium at full tilt. "Midas!" she screamed after him. Midas did not look back.

Upon reaching Insomnium, Midas kicked over the IV pole, and the glowing, blue serum splashed from its bag. The roof beneath them began to quake viciously, as if it would give way any moment.

Insomnium glared at Midas. "I still have serum in my system. That was foolish."

Midas ignored him, focusing on wielding his power quickly and precisely, before Insomnium could lock onto him. The roof continued to rumble and cracks formed around Midas and Insomnium in a lopsided circle. Then Midas turned to the villain, feeling a measure of relief. "You're never going to get in anyone's head again."

Insomnium looked in shock at the nearly shattered section of roof they stood on. It would only take one small blow for the entire thing to collapse inwards. "What... what are you doing? Midas, I'm your... I raised you."

"Yes. And this is what we both deserve."

Midas gave one final push- It wasn't difficult. Then the section they stood on began to collapse. Midas turned around, giving his old friends a sad smile.

    I think I did it, was the last thing he thought before he fell through the hole, along with Insomnium. Smoke and debris flew up from the hole.

Only seconds later, all the supers on the roof stopped advancing. They looked at each other in confusion, wondering if the nightmare was finally over.

Meanwhile, Sam was pulling away from the SVE club, which had begun to untangle themselves. The only way Insomnium wasn't still controlling everyone was that he was either unconscious or dead. And if he was dead, then what of Midas?

"We need to get to Midas," Sam said, staggering over towards the edge of the hole.

"Sam, wait! We'll help you," Evan shouted, following her. The others were not far behind.

But Sam kept going. She had to know.

She stood at the edge of the hole and peaked down into the school. Her heart jumped and she tasted bile as soon as she looked. She fell hard to her knees and stared blankly, saying nothing.

Evan reached her and peered down. "Oh. Oh no." He put a hand on Sam's shoulder to steady himself as he too got to his knees. Sam had begun to sob.

The rest of the SVE club arrived and saw the same thing Sam and Evan saw.

"No way," Taro mumbled, his eyes filling with tears.

Rachel turned away, not wanting to look or be looked at. She put her hands on her hips and sniffed hard, staring up at the gray sky.

Nate and Willow sat with Sam and Evan at the hole's edge, just watching and thinking. Rachel finally kneeled by them. Silently, the SVE club joined hands.

Down in the rubble of the roof, Insomnium was nowhere to be seen. But Midas was easy to see. He lay atop the pile, not moving, not breathing.

    It was as if he were sleeping. It was as if he were dead.