"Sultana, you got here so fast?" Roy exclaimed.
"Fast? You've been out of contact for two hours!" Sultana shot back.
Two hours?
Roy could've sworn it had only been half an hour since he made the call. But time distortion was common in a malevolent spirit's domain. Evil spirits loved messing with people's sense of time to instill fear and despair, making it easier to kill them.
Once the spirit's domain was dispelled, FEAR swooped in, took control, and rescued the students from the mental hospital. After a thorough sweep, only the three unlucky girls playing ghost nurses had lost their lives. One male student had his eyes sewn shut but was otherwise alive—lucky, considering Roy found him before the nurse ghost could finish him off.
The Ouroboros Society's initiation ended in a chaotic mess, and a bigger storm was brewing.
The first half of the event had been livestreamed to most of UCLA's student body. Though the second half was cut off due to the spirit's electronic interference, people knew something had gone wrong. Despite FEAR's efforts to contain the story, news spread online like wildfire.
Thankfully, most recruits and actors didn't know the full truth. Only Roy, Shodi, Harry, and a couple of unfortunate recruits were in the know. FEAR managed to suppress details about the evil spirit, spinning it as a deranged killer hiding in the hospital.
But the news of deaths during a UCLA fraternity initiation couldn't be contained. And someone—nobody knew who—leaked that Roy was involved, sending the media into a frenzy.
By Sunday, a headline dropped: "New Olympic Champion Involved in Fraternity Initiation Leading to Three Girls' Deaths." The internet exploded.
Ah, the charm of journalism at its finest.
Roy hated interviews, which already put him at odds with the media. Now, sensationalist stories were popping up left and right, twisting the truth. Jennifer and Nidi were furious. Jennifer had her team send cease-and-desist letters to the worst offenders, while Nidi went to war online, battling Roy's detractors.
Roy's good looks had earned him a legion of fangirls, but just as many haters. His critics were now tearing him apart online, sparking a full-blown internet war.
Reporters swarmed UCLA's gates, eager to catch Roy for a scoop. But Roy, disguised in Nidi's black-framed glasses, slipped out the main entrance unnoticed. It was Sunday—no classes.
Jennifer, Nidi, and the others left UCLA in small groups, meeting up at Madison's Beverly Hills mansion to avoid drawing attention. A gaggle of gorgeous women would've been too conspicuous.
Inside the villa, nearly all of Roy's Los Angeles crew was present: Jennifer, Nidi, Ashley, Sultana, Keller, Meri… even Clary showed up, for reasons unclear. The women were unfazed—Clary was bound to join their circle eventually. Only Elizabeth stayed away, avoiding the drama. If the demon queen had shown up with Eluresha, things would've gotten awkward fast.
"Who the hell leaked this?" Meri asked, eyeing Roy curiously.
"I already asked Harry," Roy said. "He checked with the fraternity, the recruits, and the actors. They all swear they didn't spill that I was involved. Most of them didn't even know I'm an Olympic champion."
Sure, being an Olympic champ was a big deal, but not everyone followed boxing. Many had only glimpsed Roy's face in passing on TV or in the papers, finding him vaguely familiar at best.
Jennifer frowned. "So the leak came from the students watching the livestream? That's way too many people to track down."
The Ouroboros initiation had at least 20,000 UCLA students tuned in. Finding the leaker among them was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Sultana shook her head. "We can't rule out the recruits or actors lying either. But Roy, whoever leaked this clearly wants to screw you over. Got any enemies at school?"
Roy had been at UCLA for barely a week, hardly attending classes or meeting his peers. Enemies? Unlikely. Good thing his advisor was Elizabeth, or he'd be flunking already. But Elizabeth's help came with a price—her "gifts" always did, and Roy knew he'd be paying her back in his own way.
"If I had to guess, maybe that Phoenix Society guy," Roy said, recounting the Friday run-in he and Shodi had at the Phoenix Society's club.
"That guy's definitely suspicious," Jennifer said. "But right now, we need to squash this story."
Keller, the only journalist in the room, spoke up, and Roy valued her expertise.
"Keller, any ideas?" he asked.
"I saw the headline this morning and wrote a piece to clear your name, but my editor killed it," Keller said. "I checked with colleagues at other outlets, and they're all saying the same thing: they've been told not to run anything defending you. Roy, someone's got it out for you."
Roy's brow furrowed. This was getting complicated.
Whoever was behind this had serious pull. Roy's suspicions about the Phoenix Society guy grew stronger. The Phoenix Society was full of old-money heirs with deep ties to traditional media. A few phone calls, and they could easily smear Roy.
"Keller, is there any way to fix this?" Roy asked. He wasn't thrilled about being the campus pariah.
Keller sighed. "The best way is to bury this story with a bigger one. The news about you is mostly speculation—flimsy stuff that won't hold up. If we drop a bombshell story, it'll overshadow everything."
Roy nodded thoughtfully. It was a classic PR move: when a celebrity or company faced a crisis, another scandal conveniently popped up to divert attention. Muddy the waters, shift the focus.
"That's a solid plan. Keller, got any big stories up your sleeve?"
Keller gave a wry smile. "That's the problem—I don't have anything juicy enough to steal the spotlight."
Nidi looked worried. "So we just let the media trash Roy? Can't we sue them?"
Meri, the only law student present, shook her head. "Those papers are clever. They use vague wording to imply things about Roy. Suing would be a long, expensive fight with no guarantee of winning. The only ones getting rich would be the lawyers."
Nidi had no comeback. If a future lawyer said it, it was probably true.
Then Clary, who'd been quiet, spoke up. "Can't FEAR or the police vouch for Roy?"
Keller shut that down fast. "No way. The public barely trusts the feds. If the police back Roy, some people will believe the rumors even more."
Roy groaned. Nothing seemed to work. They were stuck.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a text. He glanced at it, expecting spam, but froze when he saw the sender.
Roy Black, I can help you handle this PR mess. Meet me at XX Bar at 6 PM if you want to fix it. —Marianne Megan
Marianne Megan, the reporter, claiming she could fix his media storm? Roy's expression turned skeptical.
The others noticed. "What's up, Roy?" Jennifer asked.
He showed them the text. "Think we can trust her?"
Jennifer, Nidi, Meri, and Clary exchanged odd looks. They knew Marianne's history of hounding Roy.
"She's still at it?" Jennifer muttered.
Sultana and Keller, out of the loop, were curious. "What's the deal with this Marianne Megan?" Sultana asked.
Jennifer filled them in on Marianne's relentless pursuit of Roy. Keller chuckled.
"I know Marianne. She used to be an anchor at KABC-TV until that station went under after the Greed King incident. She got lucky, survived, and jumped to ABC News. Her rep in the industry isn't great—she plays dirty. But she's good at digging up stories, or ABC would've fired her by now."
"So, can we trust her?" Roy asked.
Keller shrugged. "Meet her, but watch your back. She's tricky."
Roy nodded. "Got it. I'll meet her tonight. Anyone want to come with me?"
Sultana passed. "I'm tied up with the hospital cleanup. There are still ghosts there FEAR needs to contain."
Besides the nurse ghost and doctor, other spirits lingered, like the pretty ghost Roy and Shodi encountered who'd undergone ice-pick therapy. They weren't aggressive, but FEAR had to secure them to prevent future trouble.
Keller was out too—she had deadlines to meet.
Roy looked at the five college girls. It was the weekend; they should be free, right?
Nidi grinned sheepishly. "Uh, Ashley and I have a gaming event tonight."
Jennifer shook her head. "I've got my sorority initiation."
Roy turned hopefully to the two seniors. Clary was out—she had to return to the Shadow Hunters' base for training with Iris. That left Meri.
Thankfully, Meri didn't let him down. "I'll go with you, Roy. I've got nothing else going on, and I can be your legal advisor."
Roy sighed in relief. He wanted a woman along since Keller warned Marianne played dirty. Better safe than sorry.
"Oh, Roy!" Clary piped up, excited. "I've been training with Iris and learned a new ability. Wanna see?"
Roy didn't think much of it, assuming it was some new holy light technique. "Sure, what is it?"
"Someone lend me something!" Clary said.
Nidi, sitting beside her, offered her phone. "This work?"
"Perfect!"
Clary placed a blank card on the table, then set Nidi's phone on it. With a swipe of her hand, the phone vanished, and the card now bore an image of the phone.
"Holy crap!" everyone gasped. Turning a 3D object into a 2D card was wild.
Roy immediately saw the potential. "Can you take stuff out of the card?"
"Of course!" Clary swiped the card, and the phone reappeared.
Nidi grabbed her phone, inspecting it in disbelief. "This is insane!"
"Clary, if you seal something in a card, can someone else take it out?" Roy asked.
Clary frowned. "Theoretically, yes. Shadow Hunters have rune tech that lets us share power with others. Pulling stuff from the card doesn't take much energy. If I mark someone with a rune, they could do it."
"Let's try it with the phone."
Minutes later, Clary used her blood to draw a Holy Grail rune on Nidi's arm. Nidi successfully retrieved the phone from the card.
This was huge for Roy. He'd been frustrated about not being able to share certain items, like the Executioner's Blade. His inventory let him carry it, but Jennifer couldn't. With Clary's cards, that problem was solved.
Unable to contain himself, Roy hugged Clary and planted a kiss on her. "Clary, you're a lifesaver!"
Insert a photo of Nidi
(End of Chapter)