“Are you sure this is the right place?”

  Daisy’s voice cut through the low hum of the crowded street, her eyes scanning the bustling parade route. Her colleague, Chris, who had accompanied her from NovaTech, was fidgeting nervously beside her, his fingers tapping rhythmically on his tablet as if trying to reassure himself with the data he kept pulling up.

  “According to the readings, this is where the spike should happen,” Chris replied, his voice tight with uncertainty. He glanced at Daisy, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool evening air. “The energy build-up has been increasing steadily for the past hour. It’s right here, Sector 4.”

  Daisy nodded, her eyes narrowing as she took in the scene around her. The streets were already packed with people, the buzz of anticipation thick in the air as citizens gathered to pay their respects to Crimson Nova. Banners hung from every lamppost, and giant screens were mounted along the parade route, displaying live feeds of the event to the public. Heroes from all across the country were scheduled to appear, their presence meant to reassure a nation still reeling from recent events.

  But Daisy couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

  Her mind raced through the data she had spent hours analyzing. The power spike was growing exponentially, and it was centered right where the parade’s final stage would be—where the Guardians, the remaining Novas, and the city’s most important figures would gather to reveal the new Guardian to the world. If the spike reached its peak at the wrong moment, the resulting chaos could cripple the entire city.

  And she was standing right in the middle of it.

  "Keep monitoring the grid," Daisy said, her voice sharper than she intended. "We need to be ready for anything."

  Chris nodded, though his nervous glances at the sky betrayed his unease. He wasn’t built for fieldwork—most of them at NovaTech weren’t—but they didn’t have a choice. The parade was happening whether they liked it or not, and if they didn’t act fast, the city could be plunged into darkness.

  As she adjusted her tablet, scanning the data streams one more time, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Daisy pulled it out, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the notification.

  Breaking News: Nova vs. Guardian Fights — Final Match Recap.

  She hesitated for a moment, glancing around to ensure everything was stable, then tapped the screen. The live broadcast flickered to life, revealing the aftermath of the final Nova vs. Guardian bout, a spectacle that had captivated the world for days. Her eyes quickly skimmed the recap: four Novas had battled Guardians, each fighting for the coveted spot left vacant by Crimson Nova. All but one had fallen short.

  The video shifted to the reporter, a polished woman standing outside the arena, her voice smooth and professional. “And with that final fight, we have our results. Jalen Hughes, Emily Shaw, Isabella Ruiz, and Alexis King have qualified for the final selection. The decision now lies in the hands of the Guardians themselves. We will know who the newest member of the Guardians will be by the end of today’s parade.”

  Daisy’s chest tightened as she watched the footage from the final match, her mind struggling to focus. The Nova candidates—those same young heroes she had seen train for years—were fighting for a place on the most prestigious team in the country. But all she could think about was the danger lurking just beneath the surface of today’s events.

  Her eyes flicked back to the crowd in front of her. Somewhere in this mass of people, a threat was growing, unseen and unaccounted for.

  The reporter’s voice snapped her back to the broadcast. “And as the city prepares to reveal its newest Guardian, we shift now to live coverage of the Crimson Nova memorial parade. The streets are filled with spectators, and in just a few short hours, the world will witness the grand finale, where the Guardians will officially name their newest member.”

  The screen showed an aerial view of the parade route, zooming in on the stage where the ceremony would take place. Banners with Crimson Nova’s symbol fluttered in the breeze, and the podium was already set for the Guardians' arrival. The crowd, swelling by the minute, looked electric with anticipation.

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  Daisy turned off her phone and slid it back into her pocket. The parade was about to begin, and the tension in the air was almost palpable. The excitement of the crowd felt wrong, discordant with the danger she knew was looming. It was like watching a storm build on the horizon while everyone else was too busy dancing in the rain to notice.

  "Do you really think something's going to happen?" Chris asked, his voice trembling slightly.

  Daisy glanced at him, her face set in grim determination. "The numbers don’t lie. And whoever orchestrated the NovaTech attack—they’re not done. They’re waiting for their moment. And this parade? It’s the perfect distraction."

  She checked her tablet again, her heart pounding as she noted the growing fluctuations in the power grid. The spike was still building, inching closer to critical levels with every passing minute. They didn’t have much time.

  The sound of cheering erupted in the distance, and Daisy’s attention snapped to the parade route. The first wave of heroes had arrived, their brightly colored suits reflecting the last rays of the setting sun. The crowd erupted in applause as the Guardians made their way onto the main stage, their presence larger than life. Stellar, Warden, Tempest’s Fury—they were all there, standing tall and confident, symbols of hope in a world teetering on the edge of chaos.

  But Daisy couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all wrong.

  She pulled up the city’s security feed on her tablet, her fingers moving quickly over the screen as she scanned for any anomalies. So far, everything seemed normal. Too normal.

  "Chris, we need to get closer to the stage," she said, her voice tense. "I want a better view of the power signatures in that area. Something’s not right."

  Chris swallowed hard but nodded, following her through the crowd as they weaved between excited spectators and vendors selling hero-themed merchandise. The closer they got to the stage, the more Daisy’s unease grew. She could feel it in the air—the crackle of tension, the sense that something was about to snap.

  The cheers of the crowd grew louder as more heroes arrived, each one greeted with thunderous applause. Daisy barely registered their names anymore. Her focus was solely on the spike—the invisible threat building beneath their feet.

  Suddenly, her tablet pinged with an alert. Daisy stopped dead in her tracks, her heart leaping into her throat.

  Power Surge Detected – Sector 4.

  It was happening.

  "Chris!" she called out, her voice cutting through the noise. "The surge—it’s spiking! We need to warn them!"

  But before they could move, a voice boomed over the speakers, silencing the crowd.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this momentous occasion,” Stellar’s voice rang out across the parade route. “Today, we honor one of our greatest heroes, Crimson Nova, who gave her life to protect this city. And in her memory, we will reveal the newest member of the Guardians—the hero who will stand with us as we continue to protect the people of this great nation.”

  The crowd erupted into applause, but Daisy barely heard it. Her eyes were locked on the readings flashing across her screen. The surge was climbing faster now, heading straight for the stage.

  “Daisy,” Chris whispered, his face pale with fear. “What do we do?”

  She didn’t have an answer. Not yet.

  The power surge was already at dangerous levels, and if it hit the grid during the ceremony, it could take down the entire city’s power. Worse, it could trigger a catastrophic chain reaction, destabilizing everything.

  Her fingers flew over the tablet, running calculations, simulations—anything to figure out how much time they had left. But the numbers were grim. They had minutes, maybe less.

  “Get to the Guardians,” she ordered Chris, her voice sharp with urgency. “Tell them what’s happening. I’ll try to stop the surge.”

  Chris nodded, his face set with determination as he sprinted toward the stage. Daisy turned back to her tablet, her mind racing as she searched for a way to divert the surge, to stop it before it hit critical levels.

  The cheers of the crowd faded into the background as her world narrowed to the flickering screen in front of her. She could hear Stellar’s voice, still addressing the crowd, but his words were drowned out by the roar of blood in her ears.

  Daisy’s fingers trembled as she tapped into the city’s emergency power grid, trying to reroute the energy before it overloaded. But the surge was too strong, too fast. It was like trying to stop a tidal wave with a bucket.

  "Come on, come on," she muttered under her breath, her heart pounding as she worked. "There has to be a way…"

  But even as she fought against the inevitable, a dark realization settled over her.

  They were out of time.

  The surge was going to hit, and when it did, the parade would descend into chaos.

  And she had no idea how to stop it.