The video hadn't broken Keira.
It had redefined her.
On Monday morning, she walked into Class 12-B with her head high and mask gone. No hoodie. No headphones. Just her—unapologetically visible.
Maya blinked. "Who are you and what did you do with Sad Girl Supreme?"
Keira smirked. "She resigned. Meet Keira 2.0—CEO of No More BS."
She didn't wait for permission.
She dragged three desks together in the back of the classroom, plopped her bag down, and said, "New club. New mission. Applications open now."
Maya, intrigued, leaned forward. "Mission?"
Keira tapped a folder labeled: Project X-Terminator.
"Someone's been messing with us. Watching. Recording. Blackmailing. It ends now."
"Are we seriously doing this?" Maya asked.
"Oh, we're not just doing this," Keira said. "We're burning down their lies."
The Investigative Squad
Maya Rivera – Code: Momaya
Role: Info-filter & Emotional Sanity Unit
Reason: 97% brain, 3% sarcasm
Julian Reyes – Code: Sidekick Supreme
Role: Computer Hacktician & Meme Warfare Expert
Reason: Might've cracked the school firewall once—for reasons involving cat videos.
Noah Ibarra – Code: BuffBookworm
Role: Physical Security & Locker Surveillance
Reason: Has muscles and reads Tolstoy.
Keira Faye – Code: The Exorcist
Role: Founder, Strategist, Revenge Executioner
Reason: Burned but unbroken.
"Wait," Maya said, mid-meeting in the library. "Shouldn't we be worried about getting suspended?"
Keira glanced up. "You think X cares about school rules?"
Julian added, "If we get expelled, I vote we form an underground detective agency."
"Can I wear a trench coat?" Noah asked, completely serious.
Keira rolled her eyes. "You already own one, don't you?"
Noah blushed.
Meanwhile, Cyan watched from the distance.
He hadn't texted her since the masquerade.
He wanted to.
Every second.
But he also knew trust couldn't be rebuilt overnight.
So instead of words, he began with actions.
That afternoon, Keira found a sealed envelope in her locker.
Inside was a photo. A grainy screenshot. A boy—face mostly obscured—typing in the school's A/V room, time-stamped two hours before the masquerade sabotage.
Not Cyan.
On the back: "I'm still on your side – C"
"New lead," Keira announced to the squad. "The one who posted the video wasn't Cyan. He was framed."
Maya raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're not just hoping that?"
Keira hesitated. "Maybe. But this photo... it doesn't lie."
Julian enlarged the image and ran facial recognition through an alumni database (don't ask how he has one).
Result: No match.
But the posture, the shoes, the hoodie...
Something felt familiar.
The next day, the squad held a secret meeting inside the old band room.
Noah guarded the door.
Julian had set up a pinboard with yarn and photos.
"We need eyes inside the media club," Keira said. "It's our best lead."
"Too bad no one can infiltrate it now," Maya muttered. "They already rejected your transfer."
Just then, the door creaked open.
In walked a new face.
Tall. Pale brown hair swept back. Olive-toned skin. Wireframe glasses that sat slightly crooked.
"Sorry," he said, a soft drawl in his voice. "They told me I'd find Keira Faye here?"
Everyone froze.
"And you are?" Keira asked sharply.
"Lucien Dela Cruz," he said. "I'm new. Transferred this week. And… I think I have information about your little stalker problem."
Enter: Lucien
Keira didn't trust easily.
So when a perfectly timed new student arrived offering help, her alarms went off like fireworks.
"How do you know anything?" she asked, arms crossed.
Lucien set his backpack down and pulled out an old spiral notebook.
Inside were pages filled with timelines, screenshots, and… emails.
Anonymous emails from a user called ex_ile_0 — the same one who had once spammed Keira's inbox with threats.
"I got these three months ago," Lucien said. "They warned me not to transfer here. Said I'd 'vanish like the others.' So I decided to enroll anyway."
Julian leaned forward. "You're either brave or stupid."
Lucien smirked. "Maybe both."
Over the next hour, Lucien laid out what he knew.
He had been in a different school where students had also received anonymous threats, then conveniently moved or transferred.
The same usernames were linked to an old underground student forum—now wiped clean.
He believed X wasn't just one person. It was a system. A game.
"They don't just destroy people," Lucien said. "They study them. Then set them up to destroy themselves."
Keira's breath caught.
Was that what they were doing to her?
That night, Keira sat on her rooftop, staring at the city lights.
Cyan appeared beside her.
She didn't tell him to leave.
"I heard you have a new team," he said, trying to sound casual.
Keira nodded. "We're calling ourselves the Class Avengers."
"Nice. So... can I apply?"
She looked at him. "That photo helped. But I still don't trust you."
"I know," he said softly. "But I'll keep showing up. Until I've earned it."
Silence.
Then—
"Why did you come to this school, Cyan?"
He didn't look at her. "To fix something I helped break."
"Vera?" she guessed.
He nodded.
"What happened?"
Cyan's jaw tightened. "She was part of a group. A secret forum where students bet on emotional sabotage—who could break who faster. I watched. I didn't stop it. Until she became the target."
Keira's heart chilled.
"She never forgave me," he said. "And I never forgave myself."
The next day, Lucien officially joined the squad.
Noah was suspicious. Julian adored his data dumps. Maya silently observed everything.
During lunch, the group sat under the bleachers, cross-referencing names, checking class schedules, tracking movements.
Keira's phone buzzed.
Unknown sender:
"So many new players. Wonder how long they'll last."
"Let's play, Keira. Round two starts now."
— X
She showed the squad.
Maya cursed under her breath.
Julian immediately locked down the Wi-Fi.
Lucien tilted his head. "They know we've started counterattacking."
Keira's voice was steel. "Good. Let them come."
Meanwhile, across the courtyard, Vera watched through the library window.
A small smile touched her lips.
She dialed a number.
"They've taken the bait," she said.
A pause.
Then:
"Yes. Even he doesn't know what's coming next."