Just the newbie...

"Fine." Dana nodded. Though he didn't know it, he rolled his eyes in unison with Rose when Blink had made his snarky suggestion. He picked up the nearby phone and dialed 911. Then hung up the moment the dispatcher answered. If there was one thing that would bring the cops faster than a legitimate call, it was a prank call. He turned his attention back to Nox and Blink. "Consider them dumped. We need to get out of here. The cops will return all this, or what's left of it to the proper owners."

He gestured around at all the equipment gathered in the room.

"Like we can trust cops with all this!"

"We can trust the League with all this. Cops aren't the only guys on that wire. The dispatcher didn't hear anything, but my ring sent a message. The other Lanterns will be on the way."

Blink snorted and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. "Then where to now? Home? Cerebral is gonna be pissed when he finds out we did all this with a complete stranger."

Rose semi glared at Blink before kicking him in the shin, the boy let out a tiny whimper. "The stranger helped us out, and Cerebral is just paranoid when it comes to 'stranger danger.'"

Nox was debating weather or not to take out the chip to show the lantern, or wait untill she got home and give it to Kai. letting out a sigh of relief that this whole ordeal was over she hopped of the control pannel and brushed herself off.

"I guess me and Blink going, it's almost five o'clock in the morning." she said, checking her cell phone for the time. Her eyes lingered over to the young lantern and she gave him a small weary smile. "Thanks for everything...ah..." It suddenly dawned on her she still didn't know his real name, and maybe he wanted it that way. "Thanks for everything glowstick."

"No problem." Dana nodded slowly. Then, as the pair of them made to leave, he reached out and grabbed Nox's wrist. "And Rose," he said. "The name's Dana. Fair is fair. I know your name. You know mine."

He released her and sat back in his chair. He had no intention of leaving before Hal showed up. The cops wouldn't mess with a Lantern and he had to give the League some sort of explanation for all this. They did, after all, know he was the one who had tipped them off. But the other two needed to get out while they still had the chance. One way or another, they weren't going to like the response to their presence at a scene like this.

Equinox looked at Dana after he let go, studying him for a few seconds. "Thanks...Dana." she said, before Blink cleared his throat and he took her hand. The boy shot the lantern one last look before vanishing from the warehouse in the blink of an eye...


The pair appeared in the living room of their old apartment, scruffy curtains and all. The faded yellow wallpaper gave the room and aged yet comfortable look, even though the place was small and clutered.

Home sweet home.

Rose turned her head to the kitchen as Blink let go of her hand, before storming in. She could hear her 'brother' suffling around in there.

"KAI! YOU STUPID IDIOT! WHY DI-"

Rose didn't finish her sentance.

Sitting on the kitchen counter was two sets of school books and two school bags. One black and one brown. Blink had followed her into the kitchen, and his eyes widened at the sight of the piles of textbooks. "Dude...what...did you...?" the teleported started.

Cerebral stood proudly next to the table, arms crossed and eyes sparkling. He shurgged modestly and gestured towards the bags.

Nox just stared at the books, blinking away unshed tears. It had been so long since she was at a real school. Everyday she would watch kids her age walk to thier places of learning with envy. They were lucky that they were normal.

Most sixteen year old girls only had to worry about if their crush liked them and if they passed thier silly little french tests. Rose had to worry about crazy people from her past coming back to get her. Kai had given her a tiny piece of normality.

Without thinking she scrambled over to the telepath and pulled him into a big bearhug. "Thanks Kai..."

Blink picked up his black schoolbag and looked over at Kai, one eyebrow raised. "But how did you enroll us? My legal gaurdians are dead and Rose's don't even care where she is!"

Nox let go of Kai and the telepath shook his head at Blinks question, as if telling him not to worry about it. Kai began to move his hands forming a sort sentance in sign:

I pulled some strings, don't worry about it. You two start tomorrow. We can talk about what happened tonight after school.

"Okay. Explain to me what part of 'stay out of trouble' made you think I wanted you to go and blow up a building filled with military grade hardware."

Dana sighed as he stood with Hal in the middle of the warehouse. Cops were everywhere, but the real brass on scene was S.H.I.E.L.D. They were combing through every piece of equipment gathered in the place.

"Come on, boss. You know how it is!" Dana said, shrugging. "It's late, you're out looking for a good time, you find a warehouse full of war machines..."

"Make your jokes. I know it had something to do with that girl from earlier." Hal pressed.

"You caught me!" Dana said, throwing up his hands. "We were making out in the rafters. One thing led to another and... BANG! Destroyed warehouse. Now, I really need some sleep. I gotta be at school tomorrow."

Hal didn't say another word as Dana left the warehouse. He managed to get back to New York City within an hour. He stowed the ring for the night and found his way into his bed and was sound asleep in a few minutes, dreaming dreams of red flashes and dark skies...

"This is the place?"

"Yea, this is the place..."

James and Rose stood outside the steps of thier new school in new york, both stareing blankly at the door, thier backpacks slung over their shoulders. Other kids round thier age walked up and down, some by themselves and others talking and laughing with their friends. Rose could see some of your sterotypical 'popular kids' hanging around as well as some blotchy skinned boys yaking on about some sort of science project.

"Okay, where to first?" Blink asked, shoving his hands in his black hoodie. "Kai said to go to the adminastration office and pick up some stuff." Rose replied, suddenly feeling a bit self conious in her dark blue jeans and her old brown leather jacket when she saw what some of the other girls were wearing.

"I wish he came with us..." she muttered, beginning to walk up the stairs with Blink at her side. "Yea, well, he is bussy trying to figure out that weird chip you gave him." Blink said casually, readjusting his grey beanie hat.

Entering the school Rose saw what she expected. A long hallway lined with blue metal lockers, and more socializing teenagers. The floors were a polished black and white linoleum.

"Now where the hell is the admin office?" she sighed, blowing a sleek strand of her long auburn hair from her face, her pretty green eyes skimming the doors in the hall.

"We should have got a map or something..." Blink chipped in. A smile tug on Rose's lips knowing Blink couldn't use his powers.

It was going to be funny to see him try to use a door...

RIIIINNNNNGGGGG!

Dana was jolted from his sleep, not by his alarm clock, but by the five year old jumping on him like a trampoline. The alarm was just the music to this main event.

"Oof!" he laughed. Though groggy, his breadth of patience with Jimmy Jr. had always been incredible. In lieu of their father's presence, Dana had fallen into the duties of a father figure for his younger brother. Sitting up, he grabbed the toddler and started tickling him. "This means war!" he cried as he did so. Jimmy giggled wildly. "Now then! What are you doing invading my territory, eh?!"

Still giggling, Jimmy struggled to speak.

"M-Mommy says to get up!" he declared finally.

"Is that so?" Dana said. "IS. THAT. SO?!"

Jimmy nodded vigorously, still giggling.

"Then I better get up!"

He lifted Jimmy and planted him next to his bed with ease and hopped out of bed. Jimmy immediately ran off downstairs when Dana told him to. A shower, a tooth brushing, and a rummage through his wardrobe for a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt later, Dana was in the kitchen with his sister, Jimmy (now deep into a bowl of Fruit Loops), and his mother, Liza.

"About time, sleepy head." Liza said, looking around when he entered the kitchen, a towel still draped over his damp hair.

"Hey, Mom." he said.

"School's starting in twenty minutes, so you don't really have time for breakfast." she said, tossing him a power bar. "Better get going."

"Right." Dana nodded, pulling off his towel and tossing it into the hamper in the corner, taming his hair with his hands. He picked up his backpack and headed out into the garage. He was just mounting up on his bicycle when his mother caught up with him.

"Wait!" she said, making him look around.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"You wanna tell me what you were doing last night?" she asked slowly only once she was in range to mutter the question and have it be heard.

"Last night?" Dana said innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me." his Mother said. "Ever since the kidnapp--" she caught herself. "Ever since they brought you back, you've been gone at night, always in a rush. I'd like to know what you're doing!"

"I've... been spending a lot of time at the Monastery." Dana said slowly. "That's all."

"Look, I know it must have been horrible for you, but you know you can share these things with other people than your grandfather. You can tell me anything, Dana."

"I know, Mom." he said. "I'm just... not... ready."

"Okay. But no more nights out. I don't like worrying about you. Promise me."

"... I... promise." Dana said in a small voice. His mother nodded slowly. He hated lying to her. He hated it. But everyone from Hal to his grandfather who knew his secret were in agreement -- no one should know who didn't need to. And... unfortunately... she just didn't need to.

"Alright then." she said finally. She smiled and brandished the comb she'd carried out. He hadn't noticed it in her hands. Without waiting for him to react to it, she arranged his hair in a few moments. Standing back to admire her handiwork and the embarrassment on her son's face, her smile broadened. "Now! Off with you!"

Dana arrived at school fairly quickly. If there was one thing he was better at than formulating constructs, it was riding a bike. But then, he had a lot more practice at it. After chaining his bike up with the others, he headed into the building. His locker, 1215, was halfway down the main hall. He was in the middle of extracting his books for the day from his locker when he heard a familiar voice. He was still trying to place it when he closed his locker and turned to see a shockingly familiar face.

"D-OH GOD!" he swore, nearly leaping backward into his locker in surprise. His outburst drew a bit of attention, but he quickly turned and scurried down the hall toward his first class.

What the hell are they doing here?! he thought wildly. He was just about out of sight of them when the principal's voice rang out.

"Mr. Richter!"

Dana groaned. At least the man hadn't used his first name.

"Yes, Principal Jennings?" he said, turning.

"I have a special assignment for you this morning." Mr. Jennings said. "We have two new students enrolled here. They're starting this morning."

Oh, no... don't tell me...

"Their names are..." the Principal checked the paperwork quickly. "James Andrews and Rosella Marsh."

Dana had to resist the urge to close his eyes in horror. This was bad... really bad.

"I'd like you to show them around this morning. You know, just help them figure out where everything is and all that. I've already cleared it with Ms. Johnson. You're getting full attendance marks this morning. Why don't you come with me to the administration office and we'll wait for them?"

"You got it!" Dana said, plastering a fake smile across his face. That's it! he thought. The universe is conspiring against me!

"D-OH GOD!"

Rose quickly turned her head around, looking for the familiar voice curse.

that sounded li-

"Finally! I told you we should have gotten some sort of a map, then we wouldn't have been wondering around the school for ages!"

"We would've been there alot quicker if you let me ask someone where it was."

The duo had finally made their way to the adminatration office, after a fair time serching. Rose stared at Blink for a momment, and she thought she saw a flicker of nervousness cross his face. Taking a deep breath, Rose turned the door handle and strode into the office.

The school secretary sat at a desk next to a door with the principal's name plastered on it. The secretary didn't look up from the computer screen as she typed away, crewing on some strawberry flavored gum.

Rose walked up to the woman and opened her mouth to talk but before she could even begin the secretary blew a bubble and poped it. "Principal Jennings is waitng you you in his office..." she muttered, her voice dreary and monotoned.

Closing her mouth she looked over to Blink, snd he shrugged in reply. "Let's get going then," he said casually and walked over to the headmaster's office. Rose reajusted her school bag and followed the teleports lead...

"Ah there's our newest students!"

Dana stood from the seat he had been occupying when the principal made his declaration. He turned and watched Nox and Blink enter. Pleasantries began to exchange.

"I hope you've found the school acceptable thus far!" Jennings said, shaking the hands of each student in turn. He was good about not treating his students like little kids most of the time. "I'm Donald Jennings, the principal here at The Belham School. We're pleased to have you."

Typical of Jennings, he was all about appearances. He hid one hand behind his back and gestured to Dana when he wanted him to step forward. Dana obeyed, albeit with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"May I introduce D--" Principal Jennings began, only to have Dana finish his sentence.

"Dana Richter." Dana said. If he was going to be revealed, he might as well do it himself.

"Exactly." Principal Jennings said, recovering from his surprise at the way Dana had spoken over him quickly. "Dana here is one of our most exemplary students. He's one of our best Juniors. He'll be showing you around the school, helping you figure the place out."

Dana nodded.

"Dana. I suggest you show James here to his class first. As a Freshman, he's not going where you and Rosella are headed."

"Yes, sir."

"Right then. Hop to it!" Mr. Jennings said, moving around his desk and taking his seat while Dana led the way out of the administration office and down the hall.

By now, the halls were pretty much cleared and empty. After checking around for any sign of a hall monitor, Dana cut into a little-known side passage that professors used to shortcut between the main hall and the east wing. Students didn't dare go in there for fear of receiving a detention, so it was the perfect place for the conversation that they had to have.

"One of our most exemplary students, our best junior!" James said mockingly before Dana had a chance to say a word. "So. Is it too late to change your nickname to General Square?"

"You wound me." Dana said in a flat, wholly unconvincing tone. "What are you doing here?!"

"We're going to school." James said slowly, as though talking to an equally slow person.

"No, you don't understand! You can't go to school here!" Dana said. "This is not the place for people like... well, like us. If my father knew..."

"Oh, he's gunna tell daddy!"

"This isn't a joke." Dana said, though he wished it was. "My father is the vice chairman of the board of directors of this school! If he found out what you do with your nights, you'd be worse than expelled!"

Rose's heart skipped a beat when she saw who else was sitting in the principal's office.

Oh crap. Oh crappity crap crap.
Rose sighed, pushing her hair out of her face.

Out of ALL the schools...He had to be at THIS one...

As Jennings rambled on about Dana and how he was going to show them around, Rose cursed her stupidity in her head.

You honestly thought you could go somewhere and NOT run into some sort of superbeing? So much for normal...

Once shooed out of the room, Rose and James followed Dana into the dead silent hall and into some sort of side passage. Blink made his snarking remarks and earnt himself a clip over head from the light manipulator.

Rose shoved turned to Dana and nodded slowly...why did she feel ashamed?

"Look, we understand the risks of coming to school. We're freaks, and some people don't like freaks, we get it. But no one is going to find out, specially not someone on the board of directors okay Dana? we would let your little secret slip either." She said firmly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Rose, Kai said to never call oursel-"

"But we are James...Now, can we get to where ever we're got to go? We might as well LEARN somethin while we are here." Rose said sarcasticly.

Dana stood there a moment without saying a word. Secrecy was their business, of course. It was every hero's business. But it was obvious that they didn't get just how far and wide his father's reach went. A single slip up was enough to tip Jimmy Richter off. That's all it took. And once he knew what they were, he'd find a way to use them to justify his position against heroes... all heroes.

"Understand that you can't use your powers in public here." Dana said, deciding that telling them the rules was just about the only thing he could do. "Not even if you think you're being covert. Trust me, this place isn't what it seems. They will see you if you reveal your abilities, even for a moment. Just remember that."

He looked between James and Rose briefly before heading off down the passage toward the east wing end. As was Jennings suggestion, their first stop was the Freshman math classroom. However, on the way, he pointed out the path to the cafeteria, the library, the various school wards and wings. It was a big place. After leaving James with the dragon-esque Ms. Vargas, the math teacher, Dana led the way to his and Rose's first class -- Ms. Johnson's Chemistry 103.

"I am happy we got to meet again." Dana said finally after a good five minutes of complete silence as they turned into the sciences department.

Rose had to bite back laughter at the sight of James walking into Ms. Vargas math class. The woman looked like she was going to roast the poor boy on a stick. Once the door slamed shut and the three became two, silence filled gap. As Rose walked at Dana's side to thier first class, She tried to remember the route to each place pointed out. On top of everything else, she really didn't want to get lost as well.

Cheer up moron, think of it this way: At least you now know someone then James at this school. She thought to herself, tugging on her red shirt. According to her timetable, her teacher was Ms. Johnson. She couldn't put into words how much she hoped Johnson wasn't like Ms. Vargas.

"I am happy we got to meet again." Dana said, breaking the silence as they strolled into the science department. Rose felt a smile tug on her lips as she turned to the redhead. "I guess I am too, I don't I could survive if I only had James to talk to at this school," Rose grinned, before catching sight of the room number that matched the one in her timetable.

Rose reached out her hand to open the door but instead Ms. Johnson flung the it open as she peered at the two. "Ah! I thought it might have been you two! The principal had informed me you would be late today Dana, how nice it is of you to show around the new students!" She said, gesturing them into the room, the rest of the class eyeing them.

Catching sight of Rose Ms. Johnson smiled at her and turned to the class. "Sorry for the inturption class, but we have a new student joining us today. This is Rosella Marsh! now...where to seat you..."

"I have an available seat next to me." Dana said, pointing toward his table.

"That you do." Ms. Johnson nodded. "Well, then, it's time we filled it. Dana, you and Rosella are now lab partners. Go ahead and take your seats. We're about to get started on the project for the day."

"Yes, Ma'am." Dana nodded and gestured for Rose to follow him to his table. Like all the tables in the room, there were two seats to each. Dana sat down and pulled out his book, opening it to the appropriate page for the day (231) and pointed out the number for Rose. Up at the head of the class, Ms. Johnson was already talking.

"Okay. Well, today, since we have a new student and it's my first day back from vacation, we're going to be returning to basics. So go ahead and open to page thirty-five."

Dana blinked. Thirty-five? Silly slime?

"That's right, people! We're making slime today."

This was a simplistic lesson that most of the lazier students were thrilled about. Dana, meanwhile, had been kind of looking forward to learning about metal alloys. But it wasn't like he hadn't read the chapter already.

Silly slime?

Silly slime...?

When will I ever need to know how to make SLIME?

Rose grumbled and pulled out her brand new chem textbook to page thirty five, when a paperball hit her shoulder and rebounded onto her table. Rose looked over her shoulder to see where the ball had come from, and noticed a pair of sniggering boys sitting at the desks a few tables over.

She raised her eyebrow and opened the paperball to read the contence. Scribbled onto the lined paper was a little note:

Hey Rosie, why not ditch no nuts over there and sit with me at lunch...I can show you a real good time...

Rose was shocked by the note, her face went a bright shade of red. Looking over her shoulder she glared at the sniggering boy with blonde hair, who just wriggled his eyebrows at her in return, grinning smuggly with a dimple on his chin.

Deciding to ignore him Rose turned to Dana, her cheeks still scarlet in embarresment and frustration. "Alright, can we make the stupid slime already?" she hissed, trying to contain her temper.

Who did that smug ass kid think he was? She thought to herself. I bet he is one of those idiot boys who think they can have whatever they want because of how much money their parents have in the bank...

"What's up?" Dana asked, taking note of her sudden change in tone. He hadn't noticed it happening because he was flipping through his book. (Not that he needed to. It was force of habit at that point. He already knew how to make slime.) It was a moment before he spotted the piece of paper laying open on the table near her. There was a note scrawled on it. Dana sighed.

"Hey." he said to Rose, reaching across and taking the piece of paper, balling it up and tossing it into the wastebasket under the table. "Don't let Derrick bother you. Ellers and his little minions belong to this group they call the Officer's Club. They're all sons of powerful politicians and military officers. They call each other by their parents' titles. Like... they call Derrick 'Mr. Secretary' because his father is the Secretary of Defense. They think they're hot shit. Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they got to you. They aren't worth it. Lemme go get us our chems."

He stood up and walked over to the cabinet where the chemicals were stored. He grabbed what they needed and returned to the table a few moments later. Ms. Johnson wasn't finished talking about the chemical properties of the slime they were going to make that day, but she didn't stop him. He was one of her best students, if not the best. She knew he knew what he was doing and since he wasn't distracting anyone, she let him go about the business without disruption. Returning to the table, he planted the haul of chemicals on the table.

"Polyvinyl alcohol, AKA: PVA." he said, brandishing a bottle and placing it on the table. He was careful to keep his voice just where Rose could hear so as not to interrupt Ms. Johnson. "Hydrated sodium tetraborate, AKA: Borax. Sodium hydroxide. Hydrochloric acid. And, finally, fluorescein. Our slime is gunna glow. Green, of course."

He pulled a face when he said this last part and winked. She'd appreciate the humor of that little ego joke. Each time he introduced one of the chemicals, he brandished the bottle it was in and placed it on the table. Last thing on the table were disposable gloves and the other pieces of equipment they needed. It wasn't much. Then he took his seat.

Rose let a tiny laugh slip as he took his seat next to her, her face slowly going back to it's regular colour. He was right, she shouldn't let it see it bothered her. After all, that is what that 'Derrick' wanted.

"Green huh? Hmmm...Not my favorite colour to be honest, don't think you have a way to make it glow Yellow do you?" she teased, pulling a face right back at him childishly. Ignoring the feeling of Derrick and his friend's eyes on them she rolled up her sleeves.

Rose looked at their items Dana had collected, Carefully pulling back her long hair so she didn't get anything stuck in it. She stole a sly glance over to Derrick, still pretty bothered by him. You could guess why he thought he was so 'cool'. He was tall, blonde, and pretty good looking, he would be more so if he got rid of his annoying smug smile. He father was the secretary of defence, but judging by his clothes...he was loaded.

Moron.

Oh how she wished to see someone smack that smile right off his face.


Quickly looking back at her text book briefly before looking up and Dana. "So how long have you been at this school for?" She whispered, careful not to speak over the teacher.

"Since sixth grade." Dana said, remembering the moment five years ago when his mother dropped him off for the first time. "It was the first time I had ever gone to school without my sister. At the time, it really bothered me, but... I've gotten used to it over the years."

Moira had been accepted to an incredibly exclusive preparatory school targeted at sending its graduates to Harvard Law School. In that goal, they had a 97% success rate, hence their incredible reputation. While Belham was a private school, it didn't have such lofty goals. Just as long as their students made it into some university somewhere, that was enough for them. He had been happy for Moira getting that scholarship (the school she attended, the Warthal Academy, only accepted students on the scholarship), he'd never been very interested in spending his time becoming a lawyer. He didn't believe in the system the way Moira and their mother did. The way their father had, once upon a time.

"You know I'm a little surprised you were able to get into this place considering the tuition. Not many people can afford ninety-thousand a year to send a kid here, much less pay that amount twice over..."

"You have a sister? It must of been hard. I don't have any biological siblings." She said, kind of surprized. As he explained that she didn't go to this school, she thought back to her early school years...

Her thoughts were broken by Dana's question, Rose shrugged, "I don't know how Kai did it, then again, alot of people owe him a few favors..." she winked, but in truth she had been wondering the same thing.

Kai had his momments when he would use his 'secret weapon' to get things they needed in the past. Being a telepath, he can poke and prod around in someone's head if he wanted to. He could play with people's thoughs and opinons, and take away someone's free will. He cold make you relive your worset memories...

Rose prayed to God he hadn't twisted some guy's mind so they could go to this school.

"That's a hell of a favor." Dana said, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise as he shook his head slightly. He pulled a pair of gloves out of the small box he got from the equipment case and began pulling them on. "Put on gloves and glasses. Some of this stuff is corrosive in its liquid state."

He started mixing the concoction. He filled their two little plastic cups with water from the tap mounted on their table and then handed one to Rose.

"We'll start with the alcohol. This is about... 120 milliliters of water." he said, eyeballing the volume he put into each of the cups. "We'll need to mix about... four point eight grams of PVA into this to give it the proper composition."

Dana started measuring out the appropriate amounts of powdered polyvinyl alcohol with the scale on the table, brushing each properly measured quantity of PVA onto a small leaf of paper and then dumping it into the cups starting with Rose's. He handed her a small stir-stick.

"Stir it up." he said as he went about measuring out his quantity. "Once this stuff dissolves, we'll get to work on the borax."

By now, the rest of the class was getting their supplies out of the cabinets. Ms. Johnson was at her desk, already well under way with her mixture having started it as a demonstration for the classroom. Before long, everyone was hard at work... Perhaps not hard...

"So who's this Kai person you mentioned?" Dana asked as he mixed his alcohol.

"So who's this Kai person you mentioned?" Dana asked as he mixed his alcohol. As Rose stirred her mixture she felt her stomach drop at the question.

Rose wasn't sure how to answer that one.

Oh, you know, just a mute mind reader I met when I was dumped at the dirt poor house for 'gifted' kids. We used to be thieves and then kind of ran away together! She thought to herself sarcasticly. That's not weird at all!

"He is my older brother," She lied, mixing the contence of her cup a little slower. "He looks after me and James." She added hastily, avioding his green eyes and pretended to read a page from her textbook.

Rose sighed, and decided to stay quiet for the rest of the lesson, not really wanting to be asked questions she didn't have a cheerful answer to...

The rest of the lesson passed fairly quickly. Dana and Rose didn't share much else. They focused on their task with Dana giving directions along the way. After chemistry, which constituted the entire morning up to 11:30 when the Juniors had their lunch period. Dana led the way to the cafeteria.

"Well, this is pretty simple." he said. "Pick what you want. They fill up the tray. Take your seat. Eat. Like ridin' a bicycle only without any safety equipment."

He chuckled a bit and got into line. A tray full of gourmet veggies later and he was sitting at a relatively empty table. He wasn't half way through his cauliflower when he got some very unwelcome company.

"Well, if it isn't Ginger!"

Dana stopped in the middle of a chew, then swallowed.

"Derrick." he said, looking up at him. "What? Already get bored torturing the newcomers?"

"Torturing?" Derrick said, sitting down opposite him. "Nah. I was giving her a legitimate invitation to a good time."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, Ellers, but nothing that's ever come out of your pants could have been considered a good time." Dana said in an uncharacteristically harsh tone. All day, he'd been out of sorts. He wasn't at all his lighthearted self. Of course... lying to his mother wasn't his favorite way to jump-start the morning. "Now, could you get away from me please? You're making me lose my appetite."

"One of these days, I'm gunna make you pay for talking to me like this, you know that?"

Dana's face slowly split into a smile, then he pushed his tray to the side and leaned in.

"Ellers. People like you, I can't stand. So far, I haven't done anything about that. But if you ever talk to Rose again... I'll reconsider that lack of action. And you won't like my decision."

Derrick and Dana locked gazes for a short while before Derrick snorted and stood up.

"You'll be hearing from the General, Senator." he said. "It's about time you regretted leaving us."

Dana watched him go. Then he returned to his food.

Rose was shocked.

BEYOND Shocked.

As soon as Derrick had sat down across from her and Dana, she knew something might go down. Her fingers slowly formed a fist under the table as the stupid blonde mentioned his 'invitation'. Obviously the boy couldn't think straight with all that blood that should be in his brain trapped in his pants.

But is wasn't that that shocked Rose.

It wasn't the devilish smile that appeared briefly on Dana's face.

and It wasn't the agressive sounding threat that Dana had given Derrick.

It was the words that left Derrick's mouth as he walked away.

It's about time you regretted leaving us...

As soon as the blond was out of sight Rose turned to Dana, her eyes wide. Dropping her fork Rose crossed her arms firmly over her chest and stared at the redhead.

"Regret leaving us? What's that meant to mean? Please don't tell me you used to be friends with that moron?" Rose asked, her back straightening to full height.

He can't have been one of those air heads? He seemed to smart for that...to kind...

What does it matter now? he isn't hanging around with them anymore! He stood up for me! she thought to herself as she awaited answers.

"There's more to this story than you know." Dana said. "I suppose I should probably tell you the rest."

He stood up and walked around, sitting across from her to take up the space. He didn't want anyone else joining them and it was an unwritten rule at the school that wherever a boy and a girl were sitting across from each other, space was to be given. Usually, with Juniors and above, that meant couple. Of course, that wasn't the case with Dana and Rose. But he saw no harm in playing off that little caviot to his advantage.

"The Officers' Club didn't start under Derrick. He was just a lieutenant in the beginning. So was I..."

"The world has many problems." said the girl standing at the podium on stage. The lecture hall had been lent out to interested students for the event. Dozens of students were there, barely filling the front three rows. Dana stood off to the side with a few others. The girl on stage, Amanda Anderson, fourth daughter of the President of the United States, was already well into an impassioned speech.

"I know the world looks at the affairs of student governments as trivial, the desperate attempts of children to seem more like adults." Amanda was saying. "But we can be more than that. This school is suffering under an onslaught of classist crime. The rich and powerful treating the poor and intellectual as inferior, just things to be treated badly whenever it so suits their whims! Can we abide this? Can we stand by and let it happen when we have the power to stop it? No. I say no.

"Friends. Those of us gathered in this room are the sons and daughters of some of the greatest men and women in the world. Though their actions may not always have been pure, our parents have all, in their own way, done incredible good. I say we can live up to that example. Ending bullying in this school would only be the first step in a journey to infuse a sense of community, fairness, and justice in the halls of this school that will last far beyond any of our tenures within these walls. If we stand together, we can strike a first blow at the heart of this problem. We can start to change the way our fellows, our classmates are treated. It is not the last step in the journey. But, I feel that it is an important first step."

"The Officers' Club!" declared a voice, making everyone look around.

"What was that?" Amanda said curiously, looking around for the source of the comment. "C-could the speaker stand, please?"

Derrick Ellers stood.

"I think we should call it the Officers' Club." Derrick said. "Throughout history, officers have stood for honor. If there's anything this school desperately needs, it's a bit more honor."

"I agree." Amanda said, smiling. She looked around. "Community comes from a sense of shared principals. But it survives only through the just treatment of our fellows. Derrick has a point. We should declare our goals in everything we do. Even in our names."

Dana looked around a bit. He was a freshman, not comfortable giving his opinion in a room full of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. But he couldn't stifle his thoughts. He raised his hand slowly.

"Yes!" Amanda said eagerly, pointing him out. "What is your name?"

"Dana Richter." he answered, folding his arms again.

"Senator Richter's son?" Amanda asked.

"Yes." Dana nodded.

"Well, Dana. What do you have to add?" Amanda asked. Dana peered around furtively before answering with his contribution.

"You said our parents, despite their failings, have done incredible good and that we should use even our names to tell the world our goals." he said slowly. "Then I think the members of this group, whoever they might end up being, should take the titles of their parents. Not for the ego. But... to set a goal for ourselves."

"I like it!" Derrick said. "We'd be setting a bar for our actions and marking ourselves as members in one go."

Amanda smiled.

"Derrick, Dana. The two of you represent the two halves of this struggle." Amanda was saying almost an hour later, the three of them gathered back stage. "Derrick. You belong to the popular crowd. Dana. I may not have known your name, but I know your face well enough. It always got pointed out when the conversation turned to the school's best students. In many ways, we three represent the left, the right, and the center of this argument. If we're to have any hope of success, we need the outlook of all three of those positions at the helm of this."

"So you want us to be co-leaders?" Dana asked, uncertain what she meant by this.

"Yes. I want the two of you to act as the lieutenants to this group. Senator Richter," she looked at Dana. "Congressman Ellers," she looked to Derrick. "I'll only be able to lead this group for the next year. After that, my life is going to take me away from this place. I'm not going to set up a system that demands three. But while I lead, you can create a system that demands two. And that should be the future of this organization. The two of you working together will be the true leaders of this after I'm gone. Can I trust you to carry on the cause?"

"Yes, Madame President." Dana and Derrick said in unison.

"Derrick!" Dana said, throwing the door open. The room was filled with members of the officers club. It had been a few months since Amanda had graduated and gone off to Yale. But the moment she was gone, Derrick had turned away from the path she laid out for them. "What is this?!" he brandished a flier.

"It's a flier, Senator." Derrick said. "I think it explains itself."

"You never consulted with me about this!" Dana protested. "We are not suspending the Watch. We still haven't dealt with the problem! There are still dozens of reports every day!"

"It's a big school, Dana." Derrick said slowly, seating himself at the head of the table the officers were gathered around. "That problem can't be solved the way Amanda wanted it to be so it's gunna be solved a different way."

"And what way is that?" Dana asked.

"This is an exclusive school, Dana." Derrick said. "Just in case you didn't catch the root word there, it means to exclude. And we can start excluding the weaklings that are tarnishing our school's reputation as easily as we can defend them. In fact... it seems we're having a considerably easier time of it than our previous plan."

"You can't do this!"

"I already have. And before you threaten me with Amanda or the Paladins, remember -- Amanda isn't here any more. And as for the Paladins, well... they've been disbanded. Honor doesn't pay. Ruthlessness? Oh... it pays."

Dana looked around the room, disgusted. Most of the people gathered there were members of Derrick's branch, the West Wing Guardians. But there were a few of Dana's East Wing Paladins there as well. Those who had worked with him all this time couldn't even meet his gaze as he looked to them. Finally, he returned his attention to Derrick.

"Fine." he said slowly, crumpling up the fliers. "Have your little gang, Secretary. I won't have anything to do with this. In fact... I'm ashamed to have been part of it to begin with. And Amanda would have been too."

He turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I left the group." Dana said finally, bringing his story to a close. "Turning the Officers' Club into a gang had always been Derrick's plan, even from the beginning. Now he just has most of the school running scared. It's just a power trip for him. And I wanted nothing to do with it. Still don't. But I was always the guy that gave the group legitimacy, aside from Amanda, of course. Without my father's name protecting the group, Principal Jennings doesn't give into the Officers the way Derrick wants. So he hates me."

Rose nodded slowly, letting the new found infomation sink in. As Rose stabbed her pile of peas with her fork, she let her gaze drift over to Derrick across the cafeteria, adsent mindedly sending him a tiny glare.

I guess that proves that corruption is everywhere...even in high school.

"That explains alot..." She muttered, resting her head on her hand as she contined to slaughter vegetables. "It is a good thing you left though, I don't think I could look at you the same way again if you had been part of that controlling gang of bottom feeders." She said, sounding more harsh then she intended to.

"But why are these idiots still getting away wih everything they want? It infuriates me! I can't wait for someone to taek them down a peg or to, I want to be there when Derrick get's rejected, or by refused something he wants."

Rose's face had gone a deep scarlet again as she blew a loose strand of her hair out of her face. Her nose crinkled up ever so slightly in disgust as she thought back to the note. "I still can't believe some people..." she shuddered.

There was a small silence before Rose spoke up again, she leaned forward toward Dana so he could hear. "Before I forget, what are you doing tonight?" She began to ask in a hushed There is something about yeasterday I think we might need your help with..."

"These idiot are the sons and daughters of some of the most powerful and influential people in the world." Dana explained, gesturing around at the students in the lunch room lazily. "Jennings may not be willing to kick ninety grand a year out the door for every person the Officers want gone without his boss's, boss's, boss's authority hanging over his head like a dangling knife, but he's also not about to cross the parents of the Officers to reign them in. You heard the kind of authority those glorified gangsters spawned from."

He didn't have much more to say on that subject, but a moment later, Rose inquired as to his evening plans.

"I'm sure I can make the time." Dana said, leaning in. "More of Stabby's friends causing trouble?"