Alex stood in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge. The air smelled of expensive grass and money.

Chelsea had spent another three hundred million pounds. Their shirts looked shinier than Arsenal shirts. Their boots looked faster.

Standing next to Alex was their new striker. The one Steve had warned them about.

He was a giant. He was from Norway. He looked like he had been built in a factory.

"He is big," Mark whispered, standing behind Alex. "He is very big. Do you think he runs on batteries?"

"He runs on goals," Alex whispered back. "Do not make him angry."

Mark looked at his own silver boots. "I am not scared. I am the Arrow. Arrows break metal."

The referee picked up the ball.

Steve, the manager, walked past them. He winked.

"Remember," Steve said. "The Vortex. Be water. Be air. Do not be still."

Alex nodded.

It was the most complicated tactic in football history. No positions. No rules. Just movement. It sounded like genius. It felt like a disaster waiting to happen.

The whistle blew.

The game started.

Chelsea pressed high. They wanted to show their fans that the money was worth it.

Alex got the ball. He was in his usual spot. The pivot. The shield.

He passed to Jude.

Then, he ran.

He did not run forward. He ran to the left back position.

The Chelsea winger followed him. He looked confused. "Why are you here?" the winger seemed to ask.

Alex did not answer. He just stood there.

Meanwhile, the Arsenal left back, a fast player named Zinchenko, ran into the midfield.

Jude passed to Zinchenko.

Zinchenko passed to Antoine.

Antoine was not in the number ten spot. He was playing striker.

Mark was playing... right wing back.

It was chaos.

Chelsea did not know who to mark. Their defenders were pointing and shouting.

"Who has the Arrow?" a defender yelled.

"He is... he is defending!" another yelled back.

It worked. For ten minutes.

Arsenal moved the ball. Zip. Zip. They looked like a blue and white kaleidoscope.

But then, chaos happened.

Mark got bored of playing right back.

He saw the ball. He wanted it.

He ran into the middle.

He left the right side completely empty.

The Chelsea winger saw the space. He ran.

A Chelsea midfielder hit a long pass.

The winger caught it. He was all alone.

He crossed.

The Robot striker was there. He jumped. He headed it.

GOAL.

One zero. Chelsea.

The stadium erupted.

Mark stood in the center circle. He looked guilty.

"I thought... I thought we were spinning!" Mark shouted.

"We are spinning!" Alex yelled. "But you have to spin back when we lose the ball!"

"Spinning back is hard!" Mark complained. "I only know forward!"

Halftime. One zero.

Steve was not angry. He was drawing circles on the whiteboard.

"The Vortex is working," Steve said. "They are confused. But... we are also confused."

He looked at Mark.

"Speed. You cannot just run to the ball. You must replace the man who leaves."

"Replace?" Mark asked.

"If Alex leaves the middle... you go to the middle. If Jude leaves the box... you go to the box. You are water filling a hole."

Mark frowned. "I am water? I thought I was an arrow."

"Be a liquid arrow," Jude suggested.

Steve looked at Alex.

"Professor. You are the brain. You must tell them where to flow. You are the traffic controller."

Alex nodded. Traffic controller.

"And Alex," Steve added. "Stop playing left back. You are terrible at tackling wingers."

"I know," Alex rubbed his shin.

Second half.

Alex took control.

He did not just run. He pointed.

"Jude! Go!"

Jude ran forward. The space opened.

"Mark! Fill!"

Mark ran into Jude position.

"Antoine! Drop!"

Antoine dropped deep.

It started to click. The movement became a rhythm. Run. Fill. Drop. Pass.

Chelsea could not keep up. Their defenders were getting dragged all over the pitch.

In the 60th minute, Alex got the ball.

He was in the center circle.

He saw Jude making a run to the right wing. The Chelsea left back followed him.

He saw Antoine dropping deep. The Chelsea center back followed him.

The middle of the Chelsea defense... was empty.

A giant, green highway.

Alex saw Mark.

Mark was currently playing... defensive midfield. He was standing next to Alex.

"MARK!" Alex yelled. "THE HOLE! GO!"

Mark saw it.

He did not hesitate. He ignited his engines.

He sprinted from defensive midfield. Straight through the center.

He was a silver blur.

Alex hit the pass.

It was a ground pass. A perfect, weighted through ball.

It rolled into the empty space.

Mark ran onto it. No defender was even close.

He was one on one with the keeper.

Mark did not slow down. He did not do a trick.

He just ran around the keeper.

He walked the ball into the net.

GOAL.

One one.

Mark ran to the corner. He did a spinning motion with his finger.

"THE VORTEX!" Mark screamed. "I AM A TORNADO!"

Alex ran over. "Good run, Speed. You filled the hole."

"I am water!" Mark shouted. "Fast, angry water!"

The game was tied. But Arsenal wanted the win.

Chelsea was tired. Their heads were spinning from watching the Arsenal players swap positions.

85th minute.

Alex had the ball.

He was tired too. But his brain was sharp.

He saw the Chelsea Robot striker standing near the halfway line. He was lazy. He did not track back.

Alex decided to do something crazy.

He ran.

He ran past the striker.

He ran past the midfield.

He was the Professor. But he was running like a striker.

"Cover me!" Alex yelled to Jude.

Jude dropped back to cover Alex position.

Alex kept running.

He got to the edge of the box.

Antoine had the ball on the wing.

Antoine saw Alex running. He looked surprised.

"Professor?" Antoine whispered.

He crossed the ball.

It was high. It was floating.

Alex was not a giant. He was not the Robot.

But he was alone. The Chelsea defenders had not tracked the defensive midfielder.

Alex jumped.

He did not try to power it.

He remembered his physics. Angle of incidence equals angle of reflection.

He just let the ball hit his head. He glanced it.

The ball changed direction. It flew to the far corner.

The keeper dived. He stretched.

He missed.

GOAL.

Two one. Arsenal.

Alex landed on the grass. He had scored a header. A real striker header.

He lay there, laughing.

Mark jumped on him. "YOU ARE A GIANT! YOU ARE TEN FEET TALL!"

"I am stable," Alex wheezed.

Jude arrived. He patted Alex on the head. "Good run, Professor. You are learning the Power way."

The final whistle blew.

Arsenal 2. Chelsea 1.

The Vortex had worked.

Steve walked onto the pitch. He was smiling.

"Total Football," Steve said. "Total Chaos. I loved it."

He looked at Alex.

"You scored a header. The world is ending."

"It was geometry, coach," Alex said.

Milo was waiting in the tunnel.

He was wearing a suit made of... propellers. Small, plastic fans were spinning all over his jacket.

"THE VORTEX!" Milo screamed. The fans whirred loudly. "I AM A WIND TURBINE! ALEX! THE HEADER! WE NEED A HAT DEAL! 'THE PROFESSOR'S HELMET'!"

"No helmets, Milo," Alex said. "Mark already has one."

"True!" Milo said. "Mark! Come here! I have a sponsorship with a blender company! 'Mix it up like Mark'!"

Mark ran over. "Do I get free smoothies?"

"Yes! And a blender made of gold!"

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