Interludes (NO COMMENT POSTS PLEASE)

[Layla Stevens]

This was a stupid idea, Layla thought, watching the girls twirl about the dance floor. They were all so pretty in flowing dresses and made up faces. They were all giggles and smiles as their dates led them around the floor. Layla had arrived long before most anyone else, decked out in a pressed pair of slacks and a nice long sleeve shirt. She'd talked to a few people, but it wasn't long before she had felt that three was company. Everyone had a special someone that they were there with that evening, even Bobby. They didn't need a goofy tomboy hanging around. So she took up her spot on the bleachers, amusing herself by creating a little light show in her palm.

"Hey, you wanna dance?"

Layla lifted her eyes from the floor to see Ty standing in front of her, hand outstretched. She looked out at the dance floor and then back at Ty with an eyebrow raised. There were tons of other girls here. Prettier girls. Girlier girls. Why was the football player asking her to dance? "Who put you up to this?" Layla instantly regreted asking as a look of geniune hurt washed over Ty's face. She bit her lip and took his hand. "Sorry. I'm just not really sure what to do at one of these things. Sure, I'd love to dance." She supported herself on his hand and hoisted herself off the bleachers. A grin found it's way onto Layla's face. Maybe this wasn't so stupid after all. She could have fun without a date right? Yeah. Of course she could. There were plenty of other girls here without dates.

As soon as Ty and Layla had taken their spots on the dance floor though, she heard some girl yell something about pity followed by a sickening crunch. She looked around to see Portia running from the dance floor. Layla swung her head back around when she heard a whimper. Bobby stood, barely on one foot, biting his lower lip. "Hang on, Ty." Layla pushed her way past the gawking couples to Bobby's side. "What happened?"

"She's broke my foot! She stomped on it and broke it!" Bobby looked ready to fall on the floor at any moment. Layla wanted so badly to go track down the pale girl, to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing. But the first thing she had to do was help her friend. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm up behind her head, settling her shoulder under him.

"Come on. Lean on me. We'll get you out of here." Layla looked up at the crowd around her and jerked her head towards the exit. A guy in a suit nodded back and began pushing the onlookers back, making a path to the door. Halfway across the dance floor, Layla felt the weight of supporting Bobby ease a little and looked over to see Mr. Norris holding Bobby's other arm. He nodded to Layla and spoke quietly to Bobby, reassuring him that he would be okay. The three of them hobbled out of the gym and to the nearest medical facility.

The rest of the evening, Layla had sat in the uncomfortable chairs of the waiting room. The nurses wouldn't let her back to see how Bobby was doing and they wouldn't tell her anything about his condition. So she sat. And waited.

This was a stupid idea.

[Brianna Landers]

"Our Homecoming King is..."

Stephen Reed. Come on, just say Stephen Reed. Bri kept her bright smile on her face. The bright blue tafetta of her skirt whispered softly as she turned to survey the line of Homecoming King candidates. At this point, she'd settle for Bryan Baxter. Ty wouldn't be so bad. Neither would Biff. After all, it couldn't be...

"Nigel Barlow. Congratulations, sir."

"What?" The smile faded from Bri's face as she looked around in disbelief. Nigel? Nigel had won?! She peered down the line again as people cheered and congratulated the boy. She wasn't surprised to see Stephen, scowling. She knew what was going through his mind. They had been discussing it all week, every time they were met with hostility during their campaign. This school was so backwards. Nerds like Kara and anti-social loners like Stasis didn't belong on a Homecoming ballot. And juvie rejects like Nigel did not win Homecoming King. How could this happen?

Bri turned her attention to Nigel. He looked pale, shell shocked as Alex placed the crown on his head. "What? No really... Who won?" Figures. He didn't belong in this world. He never did. This was Bri and Stephen's world. Nigel had tried to fit in once and failed at Seacliff. Bri remembered well the problems Nigel and his friends had caused. The trespassing on private property, vandalism and a whole list of other rumored incidents. Bri took a small comfort in the fact that this school was so backwards at least she wouldn't have to dance with him. She and Stephen would dance by themselves, maybe leave a little early, and let the freaks have their freak King and Queen.

"And our Homecoming Queen is Brianna Landers." Bri blinked a few times. She grinned widely and hugged Angel next to her. She had won! Even after all the dirty looks and mean comments she had recieved from her classmates, she had won! It took only a moment before the reality of her victory sank in though. People around her were laughing, and she knew why. It was no secret that she and Nigel didn't get along. Especially after that fiasco in the D only a couple weeks after they both had enrolled. The smile quickly faded from her face as Nigel hesitantly made his way down the line to her, tiara in hand. Without even thinking, Bri crossed her arms and stared at him when stopped in front of her. He still looked like he didn't believe this was happening.

"Uh, congratulations, Bri," Nigel muttered as he carefully placed the tiara on Bri's head and held out his hand. The DJ immediately put on a slow song by some long forgotten band and Bri's heart sank. She looked at Nigel's hand and then down the line to Stephen. He looked ready to punch a wall. His hands were clenched tightly as he stared daggers at Nigel. Bri could tell that her victory only added a sting to his loss. Not only had they elected Nigel over him, but the school hadn't elected another girl who would have been an outcast at Seacliff as Queen. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be thrilled. She was supposed to be dancing with Stephen. She was supposed to be happy. Bri resolved to talk to Stephen after this was all over. She just hoped everyone steered clear of him until then.

Slowly Bri took Nigel's hand and let him lead her out to the now empty dance floor. The crowd around them was laughing and calling out encouragement to Nigel. Nigel just looked at her like he had no idea what to do. Bri sighed in frustration and grabbed his wrist. She planted his hand on her waist and grabbed his other hand holding it out about shoulder height. "Lead," she said, a little sharper than she had expected.

Nigel seemed to be coming out of whatever stupor his dibelief had put him in. "I'll try not to step on your feet." Bri just rolled her eyes and told him he'd buy her new shoes if he ruined hers. As she and Nigel swayed to the music, Bri heard someone call out for them to kiss and she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the thought. He may have cleaned up and put on a nice tux, but under all that he was still the trouble-maker she would see sitting outside the principal's office as she walked to class with her friends. He was still the punk that people knew to go to if they needed smokes or booze for a party. He was still that idiot that got into fights in the halls just to prove how tough he was. Like hell she was going to kiss him!

"Look, I'm just as uncomfortable as you are."

Nigel tilted his head just slightly. "Didn't you want to be Queen?"

Bri nearly laughed. What a stupid question. "Of course, I wanted to be Queen. But not like this. So let's just tolerate each other til this is over. Don't try anything and when the song is over Stephen won't pound your face in."

"I think he'd have to get in line..." That was the last they said to each other as they woodenly went through the motions, stepping back and forth like a couple of elementary kids out on the dance floor for the first time. Bri almost smiled at the fact that by winning, Nigel had most likely earned the wrath of Biff Hannigan. Maybe that would remind him that he didn't belong in this world.

[Eddie Amplitude]

It was 5:30 in the morning, another restless night. Eddie sat on the roof of the gym, the bitter December wind blowing in his face. “It’s been almost a year already since I got here.” he though to himself, remembering his first day at Saint Joseph School.

----------

Christmas Eve ‘06, the snow wasn’t like Eddie remembered it back home. Gray and unrelenting instead of white and beautiful. The boy stood in the courtyard between the boys and girls dorms, a small duffel bag in one hand and a small slip of paper in the other. “Quad 3...” he remembered thinking. He paused for a moment, turning to someone who was waving at him. It was a girl around his age, light brown hair, and a very pretty smile. Eddie waved back and continued through the doors to the boys dorm.


Wincing a little at all the thoughts pushing into his mind. Eddie walked down the long hallway looking for his assigned room, he bumped into something in the empty hallway. A clear voice entered his mind above all the others, “Sorry about that. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Slightly baffled, he responded with his own telepathy, “Don’t worry about it. Do you happen to know where quad three is?” “Sure, down the hall three doors to the right.” the voice in his head responded back. “Thanks.” Eddie would later discover that the person he bumped into was a boy names Sam Stinebrenner, a telepath who had been invisible since birth.


Eddie stood in front of the door to quad three for several minutes, questioning whether he should enter or not. Finally he grasped the door knob. “Here we go.” He thought to himself, turning the knob and lightly pushing his way in.


----------


Quite a few things had changed around the school since then, but so much was the same. In spite of everything that had happened in the last year, Eddie thought to himself, “There’s no place I’d rather be…”

[El Nuevo Diestro]

Mid afternoon on the quad, and he'd finally got a good bit of time. And space. He wasn't thinking about that now, though. He wasn't really thinking.

"...compass diagonal left, parry, THRUST!..." "...que estás en el cielo, santificado sea..." "...ax^2+bx+c=0, where a is not 0..." "...niña pelirroja es una..." "...ral of leaf is leaves, plural of knife is knives, plu..."

All in his head, all at once, simultaneous. None of them were his thoughts, though. They were the voices that were now always with him. They were actually being fairly quiet, very few speaking at once. Thats the way it typically was in combat practice and situations; most of them become extremely watchful, scanning all directions from whatever vantage point those old souls occupied for any danger and waiting to warn him. Many of the rest seemed to combine, guiding his movements in the distinctive patterns of La Verdadera Destreza, around and across and about the Circle. The Circle was all; the Circle was life.

"...jump along diameter to behind opposing minor circle, extend sword, SPIN!...." "...tu Nombre; venga a nosotros tu reino..." "...-b +/- square root of b^2 - 4ac..." "..que no puedes perdir. Pelirroja es..." "...ral of box is boxes, plural of ox is oxen, plu.."

He stopped moving. "Why is this? It should be boxes and oxes, o oxen and boxen, no?"
A rare moment of dead silence.
Finally, a voice from a soul he heard by itself rarely; he thought he must have passed on young, and possibly recently compared to the others. "Niño, if you try to understand English and its rules, you will go utterly mad. Just memorize."
This was enough for the rest to regain themselves.
"LISTEN. LEARN. OBEY."
"Sí, Diestros."
Back into the movements of the Circle, and the clarity that came with it. He felt so clumsy trying to talk through the voices of the souls in normal situations, but in the practice of the blades clumsy is the last thing he felt. (Although, there had been that one time....in that club, where everybody had been dancing. Apparently, many of the souls had loved dancing, and had let him...helped him....dance, the way they normally reserved for combat)

There was the minor circles. These circles represented the distance of one quick movement by the combatants. Moving to a point on the circumfrence, and any associated swordplay, constituted any one "movement" action in Destreza. He executed a movement now, moving diagonally, sword up, dagger back. The Major Circle, though, was the key, the Circle, and its diameter represented the distance from his guard to the guard of his opponent; in other words the closest distance where neither could be effective against even basic defense. Entering the circle to get your sword into the opponents defense, while at the same time not letting him inside of yours, was the guiding principle.

"HEY! Mexico boy!"
Another voice, lost in the swirl of his head.
"Yo! I'm talkin to you, El taco!"
A distant part of him took note of the large boy and his two friends ("he's one of the American footballers", he thought), because he never felt comfortable with anything but his family's weapons, and he had to make sure no one moved too close while he practiced since the blades were real.
"Oh whatever el taco. Here's a burrito for you!" Completely absorbed now in Destreza and the voices, he noticed neither the laughter nor the piece of food thrown at him. The voices of his ancestors, however, guided him without hesitation as usual.
"Hop back one movement, THRUST...." He had a second to wonder about what his sword had just impaled, before the next command came "SPIN!"
and the item went flying. His conscious mind had already half-forgotten the thought when a quickly disintegrating burrito landed in the half-open backpack of a boy laughing with his two friends and walking away in "triumph".

[D. Planet]

Mal felt his heart race as he opened his e-mail inbox. His father had responded far more quickly than he had anticipated, and considering the huge attachment that had come with the message, he had sent Mal exactly what he needed. He almost hesitated for a second, then clicked "Read".

Hey pal,

I have no idea what you need them for, but here's the specifications for the suit, just like you asked. Now, keep in mind that there's still some parts of the thing that are kind of sensitive, so to use a cliche, avoid letting this fall into the wrong hands. I know we've had Council and Arachnos representatives trying to get their hands on these specifications.

Oh, and there's something a little extra that we whipped together that you can add to the suit if you want.

Merry Christmas,
Dad

Mal opened the "something extra". As he saw what it was, he raised his eyebrows in slight shock, and a little anticipation...

[Gravwarp]

A gentle snow fell down upon the Transdimensional Chalet, the ski slopes bustled with line of people waiting to make their way down the ski runs. Sam stood next to Bryan as they waited for their turn.

Above them, Rocco's party was in full swing. Eddie, Sam and Bryan showed up to the party. They had hung around for a little while to say hello to their friends but the teenaged made the friends uneasy. fter Eddie decided to head back to the dorms for the night. Bryan had suggested that the pair go skiing.

As the group ahead of them had been given the signal to head down the hill, Sam turned to Bryan. "How about a race?" she asked him. Bryan laughed as he locked his feet into the rented skis. "Sure! I haven't been skiing since I was 10 but I think my natural athletic ability should carry me safely to victory."

Sam laughed out loud and rolled her eyes. "We're gonna do this far and square, so no wonky gravity stuff," Sam said, "You have to promise."

Bryan's grin spread wide. "I give you my word." He covered his heart with one hand and raised the other like a witness being sworn in to testify.

He lowered his goggles in place and Sam readied her snowboard as the attendent told them the run was clear. "On three!" Sam said to Bryan. He fixed his ski poles into the packed snow, preparing to launch himself foward.

"Three!" the girl shouted and the pair took off for the first gate in the slalom run. As Bryan just edged into the gate, he looked ahead and saw Sam already halfway to the next gate. He couls hear her giggling as the gap between them widened.

"Great! I'll never hear the end of this," Bryan thought to himself with a laugh. "All I have to do now, is get down to the bottom in one piece."

[Stasis Kiss]

"That was fun."

Stasis had to smile at the satisfaction in Nova's voice. Who knew he'd never been skating before? Although she guessed it made sense once she thought about it. If everybody spent their time floating around as glowing balls of energy or dive bombing unsuspecting birds out of the sky, who'd have bothered to spend time figuring out it was possible to glide on ice using thin metal blades?

"Glad you enjoyed it, dayball. For awhile there I was thinking you'd never get the hang of it."

Nova rubbed his tailbone, grimacing. "For awhile there I wasn't sure I was going to either." He looked down, smiling. "But I figured if you wanted to take me out, you'd have found a faster way than lingering death by internal bleeding."

She ducked her head and stuffed her hands harder into her pockets. The district of Silver Lake had opened the gates to the biggest outdoor skating rink in Paragon only a week before and while she was no great shakes at it, she knew enough not to need to hold onto anything. Nova hadn't had that comfort and had spent the last hour and a half with a stranglehold on her neck and shoulders, trying to get and then keep his balance. She'd laughed about hard enough to give herself hiccups. He'd expended so much energy that his entire body had steamed in the cold air.

"If I wanted to take you out," she said finally, "I'd've hired Misericorde." She shot him a shy smile that was at odds with the words.

They'd opted to walk instead of taking a bus back to the train station, Nova trying to work out the kinks. Stasis hadn't minded the extra exercise. It had stopped snowing the day before and most of the sidewalks had been salted clean. She watched her boots hit the pavement, watching for any ice patches that could make her slip, trying not to be too aware of how close he was, what his hands had felt like. She could feel his eyes on the top of her head like warm sunshine though.

"Oh, anything but Misericorde," he agreed although she had the feeling he didn't realise the implications of what she'd just said. "I'd rather stay vertical for awhile, at least until the sore spots go away and we can try it all again." Then, casually, "Hey, you want to get something to eat?"

The whole thing felt weird. He was trying too hard not to try too hard.

It wasn't a date because she been pretty clear that she didn't know how to date but what else did you call it? Friends hanging out didn't work either because he didn't want to be friends and she wasn't sure what she wanted but had to agree that friends didn't exactly cover it. He'd held her hand during the caroling a few days before. That had seemed like a safe start. His eyes glowed sometimes when he looked at her but that didn't have to mean much. She called Nova dayball to tease him but also because it was true. Random glowing sort of just came with the territory.

'Yeah, I think so," she decided. She was kind of hungry now that she thought about it. "I have a couple of bucks left, we could try and get a burger somewhere."

"I got a few more than a couple bucks. Let's find someplace warm to sit down and I'll treat you to something better than a burger."

She opened her mouth to object and then slowly closed it. "Sure," she said. "Sounds kinda nice." She risked another smile and was rewarded by the answering one that spread across his handsome face. She wasn't sure but when he looked like that, she could almost swear she saw gold tracery racing under his skin. Obviously it had been the right thing to say.

"Perfect. Come on, let's cut through here and hit the overpass. There's a nice Italian place around the corner and I know you love pasta."

"I what?" She followed without hesitation as Nova turned down a side street, already mapping the route in her head. "Since when?" If they ducked behind the Intellicorp building, through the alley and then cut through the empty lot on the other side of the street, they'd be about a half block from the dead end of Quartz. They could take the stairway and then the overpass up to the next level. It wasn't too far from the train either, for after.

He smiled over his shoulder, pale hair catching momentary fire in the weak sunlight. "You saying you don't like pasta? Stasi, everybody likes pasta." He spread his arms wide. "It's a rule."

"Since when is it a rule?" she asked, lengthening her stride to try and catch up the half step he'd gained. "Since you just said so?"

"Yup," floated the answer. "Because I just said so."

"Nova," she laughed, "you're a featherhead. Just because you like pasta doesn't mean everybody else does."

"But you do, don't you? From the day I met you, I said to myself that you looked like a girl who likes pasta."

She eyed the back of his head, automatically dodging the sway of his wings to try and get back into pole position. "The day you met me, you were probably trying to figure out how to stay corporeal for more than ten minutes at a time. Pasta was the last thing on your mind."

He grinned down at her as she finally managed to slide up. "Do you actually remember the day we met?" He sounded curious. She nodded, shoving her hands back into her jean pockets in unconscious habit as she turned into the alleyway.

"Sure do. At the top of City Hall. You nearly gave me a heart attack when you landed." She wrinkled her nose and decided to keep going. "You didn't have a shirt on either. Jai wasn't really happy about it, that I remember." He really hadn't been happy about how she'd stared but she'd just been startled, that was all. Not often you saw angels falling out of the sky. She'd made it up to him.

"Maybe he knew."

Stasis hauled her memory away from the smell of water, a bridge and kisses sweeter than molasses sugar. "Knew what?"

"Maybe he knew I liked you."

"Ah yeh?" spilled out of her lips and she cursed herself again for slipping. She looked up at his face. "I mean, you did?"

"Sure," he replied. "If I'd been Jai, I don't think I'd have been happy to meet me either." The quirky half smile on his lips did funny things to her insides.

She had no idea what to say to that. As it turned out she didn't have to.

"Well, well. Just look what a little patience can do for you."

Stasis turned back, actually taking a few more steps farther into the alley before coming to an uncertain stop. "Excuse me?"

The guy leaning against the building didn't look all that tough. Even when he straightened, half blocking the cut through, he didn't look that tough. There was something odd with his hands though, too-long thumbs tucked into belt loops.

"Who said that Christmas doesn't come to the meek. Didn't I say that, Lenny? That Christmas comes to the meek?"

"You sure did." The voice was from behind and Stasis felt a cold snake curl in the pit of her stomach. "The meek shall inherit, I think you said."

"Right. So let's be all meek and Christmas-like. If you got any money, peachfuzz, I'd suggest you hand it over. Just tell yourself you're supporting the charity of meek minded people."

"No." Nova had pulled himself up, wings half unfurling even though there wasn't really that much room for them. Stasis tried to look back to spot how big this Lenny was but her view was blocked by white. "You can just get out of our way and then maybe I don't have to hurt you."

"Kid, you don't want to do that." The answering laugh from behind them did not have a nice quality to it. "I don't care how hopped up you think you are, if you want us not to mess up your girlfriend, you put the wallet on the ground and Lenny there will let you back out without plucking every feather you have, right down to the ones in your underwear."

"Stasis?" The whisper was so soft she barely heard it, ruffling the fine down at her temple. She blew out a trembling breath.

"There's only two." She clenched her fists, not so much calling power as simply letting go of the control that kept it from flooding in.

"Oh, we got us a pair of wannabe heroes, do we?" The guy in front of them hadn't gotten any taller, he still didn't look all that tough. But something in his voice sent a frisson down Stasis' spine. Something was wrong. She checked over her shoulder. "Lenny, I think we got us some baby capes! How about that."

She finally got a look over Nova's shoulder as his wings tried to flex. Lenny was as solid a mass as anything she'd ever seen. He outweighed both of them by a factor of something significant but it was the five shadows behind him that made her swallow. Even as she looked, a sixth drifted across the street to join the rest. She looked back and there was still just the one guy in front.

It didn't fill her with any sense of comfort. Why six, why the gang to keep them from running? Or was it just to force them forward into whatever this guy was made of? Which way out?

She looked up but there was no way Nova could fly. Too cramped, too narrow. She steadfastly refused to look backwards again. Lenny and his buddies would still be there. It was the guy talking that was dangerous. She could feel Nova vibrating at her shoulder, warmth starting to pulse in rising waves.

She could taste it starting. Her vision was starting to narrow, darken. Her fingers flexed. She saw her breath mist for the first time all day and it felt awfully good. Yes? Yes.

"Ready on?"

"Stasi?"

She was up on the balls of her feet, almost at flashover point. So easy. Always so easy. "Ready on, dayball? I got dibs." It was getting hard to think. She wanted him to just hurry up and say yes so she could start.

He must have caught it. She thought she felt fingers ghosting over the back of her neck. Excited. Warm. It might have been her imagination. "Ready on."

___________


Cold snapped and she whirled, pulling it as fast as she could, trying not to choke on it. Again the walls frosted over in rime. She dodged but there was nowhere to go as lightning ripped up her side. She could smell her hair burning.

Nova was holding his own, the same as she was, but just barely. Lenny was some sort of juggernaut, seemly impossible to hurt. He just kept getting up and wading back in. Out of the corner of her eye, the blonde boy fell to one knee as a vicious baseball bat connected to his ribs, one hand outraised to fend off the next blow.

"Nova!" she screamed, whirling. She started to pull.

Too late. The weapon rose up, fell, intent on breaking.

Only Nova wasn't there. In, under, inside the swing and there was an explosion of soundless light. The body flew backwards to land in a crumpled heap near the entrance to the alley. She'd have cheered if she could.

Something hit her shoulderblade, sudden pain as the bone snapped in half. It was instant retaliation for the loss of concentration and she cried out, hitting the wall. She scrambled back up, saying something she never said as she whirled back, arm dangling useless. The guy smirked at her, reeling in the fist sized metal ball. "Did that hurt, sweetheart?" The next one lashed out and she dodged again.

"Not as much as this is going to!" Something flew over her shoulder and then it was his turn to flinch out of the way as whatever it was missed his head by a crackling margin. Nova grabbed her upper arm and life punched down through her throat, stomach, lower places. She healed, tight and sweet and instantaneous. His eyes were full of glowing light but she knew she was grinning.

"Told you I don't like that," she spit out.

"Yeah? Take it up with me later. Duck!" They both hit the ground as lightning arced. She shot up again and went for speed instead of power, pulling and releasing, forcing concussive waves at her attacker, trying to push him back.

"Got any bright ideas, dayball?" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Yeah!" was the answer. "Time travel back and we give him the money." Light flared behind her, casting a hard edged shadow down the alley.

She was able to grab the chain the next time it lashed out and she had the satisfaction of freezing the links before it got yanked out of her fingers. Hopefully it conducted all the way up. Time. Time travel.

"Can you summon a portal?" she asked. Ouroboros. Nova'd taken her there once. It had been beautiful. It would be really beautiful right now. Awesomely beautiful.

"If you can give me three minutes of uninterrupted concentration!"

She blew out breath and charged forward, building ice and momentum. No dice, she had to retreat again as a wall of lightning ate through her shields. "I can't even give you three seconds. Got any other ideas?"

"Complain to city hall in a letter?"

He hit the ground almost at her feet, wings incongruously cupped forward so that for a second her legs disappeared into froth. She spun on one heel and socked the leaping gang member with enough kinetic force that he flipped away almost as far as Nova could have done it. And with the dayball on the ground she had a clear line of fire for the first time.

Ice exploded out from her body, armor shed in a killing wind of slivers. She grabbed his hand and hauled him up in the three seconds of respite she'd just bought.

"Funny boy."

They were nearly eye to eye, her fingers burning warm in his. His eyes were washed gold, the tight skin over his cheekbones infinitely fascinating. She could feel the heat of his body against her side where they were almost touching.

Her mouth was on his, fingers sliding up the back of his neck. He tasted sharp, like ozone or metal. As plush as any cat. She kissed him, realised she was kissing him when she hadn't meant to do any such thing.

She pulled back. His eyes were suddenly human normal, blue, startled. She licked her lips and watched in fascination as his tongue mirrored the motion.

Something flashed almost out of vision and she snapped ice up, made enough of a wall to keep from being pulverised. She raised both fists and started to turn back.

Nova said something in a language she didn't understand, rumbling soft. He switched back to english. "Stasi, need you to launch me up."

"What?" Lenny nearly on them again, she watched the mutant push his way back to the front. Nova half growled, half laughed in her ear.

"Up! I can't fly, I need you to toss me. You used to be a cheerleader. Up, Stas!"

She looked up, confused then got the idea of it. Arguing about relative cheerleaderhood was not a great idea at the moment. "Right." She went down to one knee and laced her fingers together for the foot rest. She'd seen Rooster do this about a hundred times. Nova braced his hands on her shoulders and she could feel the charge building. The urge to strip it and use it for herself was something she swallowed.

"Go!"

She thrust up even as Nova snapped his wings out as far as he could. At the top of the arc, he twisted. She just had time to figure out what was coming and turned her eyes away.

The concussive force of the strike knocked her to the ground but at least she wasn't entirely blinded. She heard him land. Then arms scooped her up and then they were up in the air, down again. Another leap and they were out of the alley entirely. Nova whooped and she had about a half second to grab onto his neck, bury her face in his shoulder.

Sweet Atlas on a stick, she hated flying.

__________

Nothing, she decided, tasted as good as this hotdog.

"Nova, this is best hotdog I think I've ever had."

He made a noise of likely agreement and swallowed his own bite. There was mustard at the corner of his mouth. "They don't make them like this back home."

"They have hot dogs on the dayball planet?" she asked, curious.

He took a long time answering. "Nope," was the eventual response. He took another bite.

She found herself smiling, wider and wider for no apparent reason. She quirked an eyebrow, looking up. "Then I guess they don't make them like anything at all then, do they?"

"Nope. Hey, Stas?"

"Yeah?"

He chewed and then swallowed. "The next time you say 'ready on?' you know what I'm going to say?"

She thought about it. There were a half a dozen likely responses. "Nope."

"I'm going to say," he replied, "that there's got to be an easier way to get a kiss."

She hit him in the shoulder, hard enough to hurt. It seemed the thing to do.

[Kalie Kitten]

Kalie sat on the top of the tallest building in Atlas Park. Her thoughts kept skipping from Gabriel to Rocco and Sara. What a tangled web she had in front of her.
“How do I get myself into these messes” Kalie was talking to herself again, that’s never a good sign, although the instances of the voices in her head talking back had slowed significantly sense Gabe had helped her open up some of the locked away feelings she was having, sense Kalie had confronted Sara the voices had come back with a vengeance.

Kalie was crying and trying to convince herself that she was not crazy. That the thoughts in her head where merely just a manifestation of her own inner thoughts but there was this nagging laughing whisper of a voice saying “you know you are nuts, ever sense your inner kitten came out I have been here lingering waiting for the right moment to come out and play.” Kalie chanted to herself “go away go away” but it was no use the voices where there.

The kitten was small,l young, naive and playful this was who Kalie was most of the time when she wasn’t fighting battles or feeling down about her parents or angry about Gabriel and Sara or feeling guilty about Rocco, the one in love with Gabriel. The time Kalie spent as the kitten was always nice and pleasant, it was very unfortunate that the kitten hadn’t come to play in so very long.

The human girl was who Kalie longed to be, the way she was raised and demonstrated all the characteristics that Kalie’s warped sense of perfection had convinced her she would be better off as. The first inner struggle for Kalie the one who thought licking her paw and chasing flies was disgusting. The one that thought everything Kalie was brought disgrace to her father and his family. The one that thinks Gabriel is sick and wrong for loving Kalie, the one in love with Rocco.
The Tigress is the fierce fighter the one that protects Kalie no matter the cost or consequence. The Tigress is the cat that shielded Kalie from her father’s death the one that steps in when Kathy and Kalie are fighting, the one that convinced Gabriel to remove Katherine (the grown up version of Kathy the tigress viewed as a threat) even though Kalie wasn’t ready, the one that confronted Sara.

Kalie looked out over the city of Atlas Park longing to be normal. Kalie sighed in her realization that normal was never going to be a term used to describe her. Her body was shaking her breath was ragged. Kalie and Kathy knew what they wanted and it was one step away. Kalie stood up and walked to the edge of the building. Looking down at all the people the kitten and the child agreeing finally on something her foot stepped off the edge and Kalie plunged.
Time seemed to slow and then there was that laughing teasing whisper of a voice again. You stupid girl you know this will at most make you a little dazed. You think you can get rid of this nightmare you call a life simply by walking of a building. Kalie’s body shifted into a more feline form and the tigress was in control finally having quieted the other two. She landed on her feet and stood there for moment having fallen so far did knock the wind out of even the sturdiest of cats. Then she cackled to herself as she walked off to find Sara again.

[Nova]

There had been so many things he had wanted to try, so many firsts that came along with this strange and frozen season. Some, more unexpected than others as he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. For the months he had known her he could have counted the times she had said yes to his ideas on maybe one hand. It wasn’t like many of them were great ideas in the first place, but now that they were whatever they were, he'd gotten two in less than a week.


Only what were they doing? A date seemed to be the way to describe it but was it? He felt like he should go ask a panel of experts, so they could come up with a term that would make very little sense to him, yet would be the proper description so he wouldn’t get into trouble.

Trouble was something he could see coming. “Do you like Stasis?” That had been the serpentine voice of Val, shot like an arrow across the water at him. “Heck yes I do!” had been his immediate answer. And he had, probably since the day he met her yet how many times had he stuck a tongue out at the human notion of love at first sight? She was different from the others, when he first saw what he saw, but how many people really saw things like he did? To see through the eyes of a dayball, a whole world of dayballs, it was too funny.

Only this wasn’t funny and he tried to laugh in protest as it went on. “That’s not how it is guys, for sure!”

The teasing was half curiosity, half interested cruelty. He hadn't conquered the ice princess, he'd done nothing like that. First off, what had he accomplished? Getting a bit closer to her than others maybe, in retrospect that was something. But they way they said it he didn’t like. Other people knew he liked her, he'd never tried to hide that. But most them said that they knew she'd liked him back. That was a surprise. It had all but turned his world upside down just under a week ago, but everyone talked about it like it was common knowledge.

Rumors were bad, he wished she was here. She would show them. Do something, say something. He really didn't want to get into trouble with her because he didn't know the right way to describe it.

She had shown him something amazing, something he had never felt before. Something different even as lightning arced by his head as one of them, their names already dissolved in his memory, came at him at him with the bat. The force brought him to a knee, what was he doing? What were they doing? This was not the time to think about this… Strike! The white light from his fist landed square in his attacker's chest, thrusting him back as he heard her cry out. Despite the pain in his side, he was having the time of his life, was she too?

He had fought beside her before, though it was different…when they were different. Were they different?

-------

“What’s the difference?!” He replied, holding up a single ski. "The difference is, its not a thin blade of metal on a very slippery piece of ice! Plus you get to go fast instead of me wrapped around you trying to stand. Snow is softer than ice.”

She shook her head. “Dayball, have you actually ever skied before?”

“Sure. Well, not really” he had to admit. There was a half smile in the corner of his mouth. He walked over, arms loaded with gear. “Look, I was watching people and they can go really fast, and I figure with these things,” he said, rustling his wings, “I can show you non dayballs how its done!”

“You're a featherhead,” she groaned. He gave her a bright, coaxing smile. It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t the yes that had started to almost frighten him so recently.

It made him think… but the half formed thought didn't have time to coalesce. She'd already turned on an economical heel and was heading to the lift. “Wait!” He called, dragging his skis and poles along with him in the snow.

After the run, they stood at the bottom of the hill. She was laughing as he tried to get snow out from the neck of his jacket, half his face covered in white crystals.. “Heyla, not bad! You're doing better than I figured.”

“Hey look that was a practice run! My wings were still getting used to my feet, it isn’t often they get to work together like this.” He flexed his wings, spreading the pinions. People stopped, looked because they couldn't not. There was usually a soft glow about him, feathers pure white, along the edge highlighted as if they'd been dipped in pale gold. It might have been a trick of the light. It might simply have been because he was happy.

“Round two, lets go!” he called to no one in particular. She shook her head as they made their way to the lift.

By round five he was really getting the hang of it. He was getting better and knew it. Each time they made their way to the bottom, his wings arced back deeper pushing him faster, getting a bit more attention in his direction.

Round six had him finally in the lead. “Holy, Dayball! Slow down, if you wipe its going to be a mess.”

“Stasis, I am not going to....” He made the mistake of looking back as suddenly he saw her, then sky, then white, then a blur of both. It looked terrible, a ball of feathers, powder, and a contorted body finally came to a stop a loud “oomph” escaping the pile.

“Nova, you idiot!” she yelled. It felt like she was talking to him from some distance away. "You alright?" He felt hands pushing snow away. The blurry echo in her voice, as if she'd been talking in a drum, began to fade as his eyes opened. She was crouched over him, expression worried. "Don't move. Your face is cut up and you got a major dent in your forehead." Her fingers brushed over the red mark.

About the only thing he could feel was the cold snow that had managed to get inside his jacket again.

“C'mon Nova, snap out of it."

It seemed like the thing to do. She was so close, he could see the crystalline core of her flaring red as his hand cupped the back of her neck. That feeling, it came again. He wished he had a name for it. She tasted of snow and cold and copper. As his lips touched hers… connected, a gold shimmer crawled over his skin, touched the scrape on his cheek and it was gone.

He had a crooked smile on his face somewhere between pain and elation. She pulled back with eyes of no color at all, looking just about as odd as he felt. She shook her head, returning a half smile of her own and the moment, whatever it was, was over. She helped scrape him off the ground and he leaned heavily against her, both knee and ankle twisted in his left leg. The damage had probably healed but stiff and sore seemed to be part of the deal.

“Stasis,” he half groaned, his arm growing tight around her shoulder “I don't think I can walk.”

-----

They sat up in the ski lodge, him with a bandaged head where the bump was, as well as his leg. She sat on a comfortably warm couch next to him, looking around. Most everyone else managed to make it this far without the bandages he noticed sourly, though after looking it seemed only a few were sitting alone. It was a strange thing to notice. To be in a place like this, like he was one of them in more ways than he had ever been. He wasn't alone either.
Bandaged and bruised didn’t keep him from smiling as he leaned over.

He whispered something and actually managed to get most of it out before she punched his shoulder.

[Lamierine Gemellate]

Mieri’s night had been so horrible. Stasis had been very mean yet truthful in the Pocket D, the entire school knows now that she had been caught in a compromising position with Nova. It didn’t matter that nothing had happened or that they were just friends. It didn’t’ matter that she had suggested to Nova to speak to Stasis about a relationship before the two of them moved any farther into things. All that seemed to matter to Stasis was that before there was anything official Mieri might have had laps of judgment with a boy.

Then just as she was starting to forget about things and relax, having a good time at the beach party with Dominic; Ty showed up and asked to have a conversation with her. Mieri should have waited for another day and her Italian temper to have enough time to calm down. However poor judgment over came her and she excused herself and went down the hill to talk with Ty.

Ty started in with her about Dominic and he being a better choice for her and he wouldn’t let her sit around and choose which boy to be with. Mieri sat there flabbergasted unable to speak clearly not understanding what was being said. She asked him what he meant and again he said things like she needed to choose. Mieri tried to explain that she was not in a position to choose but Ty was not really listening, then things went really downhill when Dominic came down to talk to them.

Mieri lost all sense of normalcy here and blew up at them both. Confessed that she liked them both and that she didn’t think it was prudent to choose a single boy after only 2 weeks. She was trying hard to maintain some sense of decorum but she blew up at the two of them calling them boys and walking back up the hill. The two boys came up the hill a little later talking and chatting. She looked between the two of them and hung her head.

Now Mieri sat in the chapel silently praying for guidance. Her father warned her not to date and Mieri was trying hard to follow that. Making sure it was more than one boy with her and going places in groups nothing official but somehow she didn’t think her father would agree with her. She wanted to talk to her mother so bad. She wanted her mother and her to have the kind of relationship where she could call and talk to her about boys and have her mother actually care what she was saying, But deep in her heart she new everything Alex had said the night before was true. Her parents really didn’t care and Mieri had no one to really talk too.

Mieri looked at the clock and it was 3 am that made it 10 am at home, sighing heavily she took out her phone and dialed the number to her father’s office. It was New Years Day but he would be there he always worked.

“Hello” her father said. Mieri spoke softly “Hello Dad I wanted to call and wish you a pleasant La Festa di San Silvestro” her father was not dense he spoke to her like a father to a small child “Mieri I know that is not your only reason for calling. Now is it? You should tell me what the matter is?”

Mieri sighed and took a deep breath and told her father everything. It took her a long time to get it all out it had only been two weeks but it was so much to say. Her father sat quietly threw the entire tale that Mieri had told him and at the end when she said I know I am not to date till I am 16 he choose that moment to interrupt her “Mieri, you have proven to me that you are not a normal girl of 15. You may be young in some ways but you are older in others. Your mother and I we didn’t want you to date till we thought you would be old enough to handle the stress and tribulations that you are experiencing now. Dating and boy‘s is a rough job. Finding the right boy is not always easy and your heart it may get broken one too many times. You will learn how to protect yourself from boys like this Nova and you will learn to watch out for boys like this Ty and in the end I will hope you will find a good Italian boy catholic and you will marry and have children. But I cannot help you with this. These are lessons you have to learn for yourself. It also seems that you are going to learn them when you choose no matter what your mother or I say.” “Father “Mieri started but was interrupted.

“Miri Alcee De Luca I will grant you the freedom you seek. You may find you a boy. But you keep your vows to god and you do not disgrace me or your mother or a daughter we will not have.”

Mieri Started to say something but she heard the phone go dead on the other line. She was even more confused now having talked to her father then not. She fell asleep there in the chapel contemplating the meaning of her father’s words and the formality of which he stated them.
It was nearly 5:30 with the Father Robert Montoya woke her up. It is nice to see such a woman devoted to her prayers that she falls asleep in the chapel but you should be off to bed before the nuns send out a search party. Mieri wiped the sleep out of her eyes and walked into her new dorm room finding Kylie asleep and her bed without even a blanket on it yet. Mieri sighed heavily as she untied the strap to her trunk and pulled out her favourite blanket and pillow she was fast asleep before her hair even settled.

[Nova]

The glow around the angelic figure had vanished earlier that night, the rim of pale energy that seemed to vibrate out from him was gone, there was nothing, simply a still silence.

"Its a New Year" his voice had spoke to her, but he didn't recall asking it to speak.

It took but two steps, and there was nothing the rush of cold air, a free fall. Wings spread moments before he would smash into the ground, part of him wished they would have failed him just this once, maybe he could go home. Where could he go? His mind produced images of what he called friends down here, they were twisted. The girl who wanted to change him so she could speak to him as an equal. The one... the two once looking to him with warming smiles, now holding their chest eyes forced to look away. He couldn't even think of her, say her name, remember, wish, or hope for, it was already there, but twisted.

His mind traced back to the holy day, to some at least. To others a celebration. Months he had been planning some of them, putting them together piece by piece. A thank you was all he needed. He had gotten it from some. Did she? She did before she opened it. He couldn't recall if she had said anything after, it really didn't matter.

The bridge appeared on the horizon, it was far, but not far enough. He flew higher.

It had been a while since he had been this high, he could see the Talos Islands, he closed his eyes fighting back that memory. Founders, Eden, the Hive, Skyway, the Port, he could see them all. Not far enough away, it hurt to breathe as he went higher. It wasn't far enough.

Distance, he needed more, he could still feel that warm crystalline pulse. Something clicked.

He stood in the Portal Corp yard. The celebration had died, as did the vigilance of many guards.

Stealth was easy to see through, for their security, he would have a few extra moments at best because of the nature of things. He opened his eyes again standing in front of a giant howling gate.

It had been a long time since he verbally spoke to his other half. "I need a destination, one without a return gate" the silent retort "Nova, you could be...."

"Do it now" There was an understanding, an uneasy one, as his palm lay flat onto the controls white energy pouring out onto it. What happened to things that were sent through with no return gate translated to horrible things with living tissue.

"Nova, don't" was the last thing he heard before he stepped through. He was free of that.. thing which seemed to attract so many people to him, what was a body? Flesh bone blood nerves... Junk? That worked. The pain was brief, but it was a distant memory now as he floated there no rustle of wind behind him.

How fitting, a world shattered ripped apart by some force greater than it one a great gravity at its center, now so weak it could not pull itself back together. Maybe he could.

"A night with no Consequences? " He had liked how she put it only a few hours earlier.

Maybe he wouldn't be the only one to not make it back to his room that night. The thought never came to him.

He couldn't feel it, he couldn't feel her. Part of that gave him peace as he simply existed there. There was nothing but, that was after all what it meant to be a star.

- - - - -

It was a new year, what more could be said as a very tired looking Nova drug himself back to the dorms, it was near noon now, eyes red and heavy, dark rings even starting to form underneath them.

"No consequences?" Part of that was right.

"Nova you never weren't in for bed check last night" a familiar voice of authority came as he rounded the corner, a sigh soon following it.

"I know, I'm sorry, I will see you after school" his voice cracked, but it instead of a changing pitch it just faded silent a moment.

She took a moment to look him over, shaking her head. He didn't have any clothes again, just the bare minimum pair of shorts. It hadn't happen in a while, but over the past six months it had something she had grown used to it seemed.

It wasn't that he wouldn't smile, or didn't want to as she told him good night and happy new years. He couldn't there was nothing left, no extra glow, no energy, no nothing. Whatever he had been doing the night before had drained him so completely. No party would do that to anyone, so she could only guess at what the once angelic looking kid from another world could have been doing. Having spent this much time around students she knew better to ask some days, or at least save it for a time more fitting if he would want to talk about it.

The sun was shining in bright into his room, snow fell but not enough to cover the ground. It was quiet, it probably wouldn't have mattered if a band was playing at this point though.

In truth the last few steps were a blur of the window, the wall, and then pillow. His last thought, the last time the world had blurred for him like this, the last thing he saw was her, she was also the first when he came to. Would it be that way this time? Probably not. That was okay though, nothing had changed. He didn't forget it was a night without consequences, maybe, he hoped, she would feel the same way.

For now though, sleep.

[Eddie Amplitude]

The day was finally here, Eddie nudged the glasses up the bridge of his nose as he sat in a chair outside of Ms. Atwood’s office. The time had come around for his psych evaluation. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, almost dreading going through the door.

So many secrets, so many things nobody should know. Random stray thoughts from other students, friends that had confided in him. They were all there in his mind, cycling a thousand times a second. “I can’t do this.” Eddie thought.

The door to the councilors office creaked open, another student walked out with a dumbfounded look. “Eddie?”, he looked up to see Ms. Atwood’s head sticking out of the door, “Are you ready?” she asked politely. “No…Yes.” Eddie stammered in his projected thoughts. “Ok then, come in and have a seat.”


-----


It had been nearly an hour with nothing but the sound of graphite scratching furiously on paper.. Eddie noticed that Ms. Atwood finally opened her eyes and observed the sheet. “What’s on the sheet, what got out?” he thought to himself, imagining what horrible image would be on that piece of paper.

He watched her eyes shift across the page, Ms. Atwood actually smiled a bit on reaching the bottom of the page.

She flipped her sketch book around as she asked, “Does this mean anything to you?”

Eddie squinted at several sketches on the page. The center piece was a vault door, there were two more in the top corners, a slightly distorted shadowy figure in one corner, and a pair of half melted sunglasses with a small phoenix behind it. The rest didn’t seem to matter when he got to the bottom. It was a detailed sketch of an older woman with a halo kissing a rough looking man on the cheek with his arms wrapped around her.

“Eddie?” Atwood asked after several seconds. “Those are…my parents.” he projected, smirking ear to ear.

“So, what does it mean?” Valerie asked again. “It means that I’m fine.” Eddie thought back to her, getting up to leave. “If I can think of anything else I’ll let you know?”

She smiled and gave a nod, “My door is always open.”


( I know, it’s a little dry. But cut me some slack, I’m out of practice. )

[Frank Argillo]

"SUSPENDED!" Frank shouted, his silent lips not moving as his voice boomed.

"Frank, if you do not control your temper then the school is going to have to turn you back over to the authorities," Doctor Conrads' voice stayed even and calm as he spoke, "The simple fact is that you were involved in a physical altercation with another student..."

"That as... kid, hit me first! There were like twenty people there." Frank interrupted.

"Frank. I do not believe for one minute that you did not provoke that boy into hitting you first." The doctor sat back down behind his desk. "Beyond that, the students I have spoken to about this have said that he merely smacked you and that you retaliated with two closed hand punches. You outweigh that boy by nearly one hundred pounds and are almost a foot taller, you could have hurt him."

Under his breath, Frank mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "I wish I would have." His eyes burned as his counselor, set down the details of his punishment. No extra curricular activities, no passes to the city, dorm confinement for anything beyond classes and church services.

"I knew this place was a joke. He starts stuff with me and I get punished. Typical."

Frank stood up from the chair, turning it over as he rose and stormed out the office door.

"I hate this damn place," Frank rolled the non-existent muscles in his neck, more out of habit than any physical need to, "They'll be sorry for this."

[Erika Raeder]

It took less than twenty minutes, but to Erika it felt like at least an hour. There was a lot of documents being handed out, all with dry names consisting of incomprehensible sequences of numbers and letters. She almost smiled at one point when it turned out there actually was an "Exhibit A", but was disappointed when it proved to be yet another bland legal document.

It was the quiet that kept her on edge. Her life was typically filled with noise. Shouting, music, gunfire, screams of pain, and even occasionally joy. It was easy to hide in the noise. In the chaos. In combat, she was just one more pinball, bouncing from bumper to bumper, foe to foe, striking and pushing off, screaming and burning and trying so hard not to look at the carnage in her wake. Seeing only what remained to be done.

There was nowhere to hide in this cold, sterile, and quiet room. She was afraid to breathe even. Every so often, someone would cough, and it would be more jarring, more attention-grabbing than a burst of auto-fire from a Council chain-gunner. Those directly involved in the proceedings spoke only when they had to, using technical terms and legal jargon. Their voices heard clearly even though they too, seemed to speak quietly.

On television, courtrooms always seemed so well appointed, nicely decorated with wood panelling and warm, subdued lighting. Judges would appear almost regal, sitting at the head of the room, hearing the pleas of the supplicants. The lawyers would speak passionately, using arguments fueled by both logic and emotion to sway the juries to their point of view, dealing with weighty questions of right and wrong.

Looking at the bland white-stucco walls of East District Courtroom #7, Erika simply couldn't imagine anyone here leaping to their feet and yelling "I object!". No judge in this tiny room would ever be required to bang their gavel while shouting "Order! Order! Order in the court!". It wasn't going to happen. She supposed that was a good thing. Better that legal matters be conducted in a brisk, business-like fashion. Even if it was boring as hell.

Looking over at the Assistant District Attorney representing the City, Erika tried to remember if he'd been at any of the previous hearings. Her own lawyer Kevin, working solo since his partner's disappearance, had assured her that today would be the final ruling at last, but the girl whose fate was being decided today was still paranoid. She still expected the D.A. to file one more motion to stay proceedings, as had been done so many times before. There were no representatives from Hollindale present, but their influence had clearly been felt at all seven prior hearings. Was it possible that they'd given up? Or that the new D.A. on the case was somehow immune to their pressure and influence?

If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that no one on either side was arguing anything passionately. It was almost infuriating. Her entire future hung on the outcome of this hearing, and they were just standing there calling out numbers and referring to documents, sounding more bored than a cashier at El Super Mexicano.

Then, suddenly, it was over. The judge and the D.A. were both on their feet and half-way out the room, likely in search of coffee or cigarettes or both, before Erika even realized the hearing had ended.

"That's it," Kevin said, looking down with a half-smile, finally showing some kind of emotion. "Your record has been cleared. Clean slate. No more restrictions. Congratulations, Erika."

[Lagomorph]

The lilting sound of the dulcimer echoed through the cavernous, ornate room. Everyone was dressed in their finest, the boys in tuxedos and the girls in flowing gowns. In the center of the floor, they danced, moving regally about the space in perfect synchronization, like a flower unfolding before him.

Matt watched from the side, taking a glass of carrot juice from the tray proffered by one of the servers as they passed through.

"That's Wrongway for you."

The voice came from beside him, down and to his left. He turned to see Vesper gesturing out at the floor, so he turned his gaze towards where she pointed. Bryan was break dancing in the center of the floor. Everyone had gathered around him to cheer him on.

"He's a spy, y'know."

Matt blinked. "What? No! He couldn't be!"

Smirking, Ves turned toward him. "No? He doesn't know he's a spy, but he is. He's so undercover that even he doesn't know. But he has a fake tooth, and if he ever swallows it, he'll remember everything."

"Woah! Really?" He turned back to the dance floor and watched Bryan break dance in awe. "What's he spying on?"

"Snipes, of course." Sam's voice cut in from his right. Hadn't there been a wall to his right a moment ago? "That's why you can't find any."

He turned to her, eyes widening in joy. "Then that means he'll know where I can find them!"

"Yeah, but doesn't matter much, bud." Sam shrugged.

"But... But why not?"

"Because the Circle hate snipe." She pointed.

Matt turned just in time to duck the cybernetic blade of a Circle of Thorns Earth Caster. The ground turned to mud beneath him, his feet sinking sludgily into the muck. He swung his fist, trying to send the mage flying, but the mage's armor deflected it easily.

"It's your fault, Matt! I told you they'd hear you!" To his right, Dominic dodged a burst of electricity. "They went and got those fake Crey's armor, and the Freakshow body parts too. Now see what you've done?"

"But I didn't know they could hear me! Honest!" Matt dodged a flying boulder, hurled at him by another cybernetically enhanced armored mage. "I didn't mean to make them unstoppable!"

"Give me a break." Portia strode calmly into the fray, stomping casually on the mages' toes. They all shrieked in pain, hopping off in writhing agony. "Can't you boys handle anything on your own?"

"Portia! Be careful!"

"Don't tell her that." He turned to see Layla glaring at Portia from across the cavern. "Don't let her even talk to you. She needs to apologize to me for stealing Bobby before she can talk to you."

"But she didn't steal Bobby!"

"Don't you start now too!" She pointed a finger forcefully at him, putting her other hand on her hip irritably. "Bobby's bad enough without you doing it too."

"Doing what?"

"You know what." This time it was Portia speaking. He turned, planning to tell her that he really didn't know what.

Unfortunately, a giant foot crunched down on top of her.

"PORTIA!!!"

He looked up, up, way up in the air, blocking the sunlight with his hand.

"Oh no! It's the giant bunny gnome of Croatoa!"

And thus it was. The hideous rabbit-gnome creature hefted its club, preparing to bring it down on Matt's head. Matt stumbled backwards, tripping and landing on his butt in fear.

"Celestial Art : Spirit Armor!"

Light blazed behind him, and then Nova flew in, glowing in his resplendent armor. The foul monster swung his club, but Nova deflected it effortlessly before sending a gleaming blast of energy at the beast. It howled, then fled in mortal terror.

"Are you okay, Matt?"

He descended, his wings spread wide as he landed softly in front of Matt. He extended a hand to help him up. Matt took the hand, eyes wide in admiration.

"You have to be careful out here. It's dangerous."

"I was being careful, but he came out of nowhere!" Matt was back on his feet again, but he didn't let go of his hand. "And he killed Portia!"

"Portia will be okay." He smiled, a bright dazzlingly warm smile. "She's too dense for something like that to hurt her."

"Oh! I'm glad." Matt smiled back, a dopey look upon his face.

"MATTHEW RYAN LAMPORT!!!"

Matt and Nova both jumped at the terrible roar. Nova's eyes went wide in fear, and then he bolted. Matt turned around with dread fear.

It was Sister Moltar, and she was coming for him.

Matt sat up in bed with a gasp, his heart racing for a moment before reaching over to fumble his alarm off. It was only a dream. Sister Moltar wasn't really coming for him.

Except... he had a book report due for her class this afternoon. And he hadn't started it yet.

He was surely doomed.