As the crowd cheered and buzzed at the happy announcement, I stared numbly down at the newly restored Artemis.

He was dressed in what had to be the tamest outfit of the night like Dr Floid hadn't put the same effort into humiliating him like she had the rest of us. A long-tailed white penguin tux over a cream-coloured vest and a blue tie. Instead of a mask, white gold face paint climbed the left side of his neck and face to swirl around one eye in a baroque pattern.

"I can't believe this is happening....." My hands clenching painfully into the material of Apollo jacket.

"You can say that again," Alex muttered, glaring down at his flaunting mother in obvious contempt.

"The one guy..." I grieved. "The one damn person who was actually shorter than me.... gone, just like that..."

Goodbye... sweet superiority... It was fun while it lasted...

Alex sent me an exasperated look.

".... The whole world domination thing just went straight over your head, didn't it?"

"Don't be mean Alex." Alan admonished, shaking his head sadly. "It's not like there's much that doesn't these days...."

I levelled him a murderous glare.

"That better have been a jab at my intelligence and not my height, or so help me..."

"Let the fight begin!"

What?!

I jerked violently, panicked by the sudden announcement.

Wait! I'm not ready yet!

Dr Floid practically danced away, leaving Artemis and Nigel facing off alone in the centre of the floor.

"I'd get a move on if I were you!" She sang when both teenagers remained frozen, indecisive. "Before we seek our entertainment elsewhere."

Immediately, Artemis and Nigel both looked directly up to where Apollo and I stood.

Trapped between Alex and Alan.

And here I was, thinking that they just wanted to hang with me.... but no, just for something different, I'm the hostage.

On the bright side, Apollo's finally getting a taste of his own medicine... Courtesy of it being rammed down his throat.

"But...." Nigel begun, looking helplessly between Artemis and me. "I can't...."

It was easy to understand Nigel's dilemma. Even when it came to people he didn't like, Nigel wasn't one to attack needlessly. He was terrified of pain, of inflicting it on others.

The fool spent his whole life treating the people he cared about like glass.

"Nigel."

Surprisingly, the one to speak was Artemis, the unfamiliar soft voice speaking with the familiar, gentle tone.

He cleared his throat as he met Nigel gaze, as if unused to hearing the voice that had once belonged to him.

"You shouldn't worry. There is nothing you can do to me that will hurt more than watching these people hurt my brother." He glanced up at us, a small hesitant smile on his lips. "Besides, what sort of gentleman would I be if I let them hurt a lady."

Sure that my face had gone bright red, I sent him down the middle finger to tell him just what I thought of his chivalry.

"But... I can't..." Nigel whimpered again, looking guiltily at the floor.

Artemis tilted his head, studying Nigel for a moment with a thin smile.

"I'm sorry." Artemis finally said, shifting into a low guard. "But I'm afraid we don't have much choice in the matter."

Nigel stepped back in panic, hands flying up as if to stop Artemis decision in its tracks.

"No! Wait!"

Artemis only smiled sadly at the taller boy, and the soft expression finally seemed to fit the face he wore.

In a way, it made it worse to see.

"En garde."

He moved, and in that single instant, one thing became perfectly clear.

Even with his copycat ability and incredible speed, Apollo's fighting had never even compared to the original.

In the time it took to blink Artemis crossed the space between them, his heel connecting with Nigel's chin in a high sidekick. The blow snapped his head back sickeningly, sending the Joker stumbling away.

Nigel kept his feet, barely, and brought both arms up to the side of his head just in time to block the following round-house.

He stopped it from connecting with his head, but that didn't stop the force of the blow, the brutal strength behind the kick sending Nigel to the ground.

The tall boy rolled with the fall, sheer momentum creating the much-needed space between the two as Nigel flipped back onto his feet.

By the time he gained his balance, Artemis' fist was planted in his stomach, causing Nigel to curl inwards, gasping.

This is the point where anyone else would be on the ground curled up in pain, and it was that expectation that caused Artemis to pause.

And that was his first mistake.

Nigel grabbed the offending arm and didn't budge an inch as Artemis moved to leap back.

Nigel raised his head, meeting Artemis gaze. Whatever looks the boys exchanged put an end to Nigel's hesitance. With senseless strength, Nigel spun, throwing the slighter blond boy completely off the ground.

Artemis twisted mid-air to land feet first, shifting his weight sharply to the left as Nigel leapt forward, clipping his shoulder with his fist.

For the first time, Artemis cried out in pain, the unrestrained punch holding more force than any normal person would willingly use, for fear of hurting themselves.

Nigel froze, for a small instant only noticeable to the people who knew him.

Even as he reached up to clutch his shoulder wounded, Artemis spun low, kicking Nigel's legs out from beneath him.

The fight continued like that, exchanging blows with instantaneous brutality, the tables turning so fast it was impossible to make sense of the fight before it was changing.

Artemis was faster, more skilled in his movements, but Nigel had endurance and strength on his side.

Whenever Nigel managed to land a solid blow, Artemis would show small, restrained signs of pain, causing Nigel to hesitate. This would only give Artemis time to recover, and the cycle would begin again.

It was impossible to watch.

"If you people think that I'm just going to sit here and play Princess Peach, you're in for a rude awakening." I snarled, climbing defiantly to my feet, only to yelp in alarm as Apollo's hand shot up to grab me.

So much for being a fearless rebel.

It was only when nothing happened that I realized that I had closed my eyes, and upon opening them, I saw Apollo's giant hand frozen just in front of me.

Swallowing my impulse to squeal, I glanced up to find Alex gripping the stopped hand at the wrist, glaring irritably down at Apollo.

"Don't be stupid." He hissed. "Resisting us now won't stop this."

"I wasn't-"

"-Going to dump Maddison here and interfere with the fight?" Alex finished for him sarcastically. "Sure, you weren't."

Apollo began to snap back a reply, but Alex abruptly released his hand with a disgusted scowl.

"Doesn't matter, it's not like you would succeed anyway. We'd stop you, using whatever means necessary."

"Alex's right." Alan drawled, still standing in the same relaxed position against the railing. "After all, so long as we keep you alive, you still qualify as a hostage." He sent us a small smile. "And alive is a pretty broad term."

Meaning they can beat us nearly dead, and still use us to make Artemis and Nigel fight.

My jaw clenched with pure frustration.

Damn it Brain, what am I paying you for? Think of something!

"Boooriiiiing!" An annoyed voice sang out mockingly over the commotion of the crowd.

Oh no.

The room froze, even Artemis and Nigel stopping to glance up at the insane woman sitting on the railing above them.

The only thing that could make this situation worse...

Dr Floid grinned madly, swinging her legs as she watched the fight below.

Is her deciding to spice things up.

"My, if I knew that this fight was going to be so repetitive, I would have brought a book to read!"

She yawned widely behind a hand, studying the boys out of the corner of her eye.

"Now how on earth can I make this more interesting... Oh, I know!" Her grin stretched menacingly, full of cruel humour.

"Let's show little Nigel Fleming what he's been missing out on all. these. years."

With that, She snapped her fingers.

And Nigel screamed.

The sound rang with Shock. Fear.

And pain.