Kyle gasped, waking suddenly in his bed. His pjs were plastered to his body by a fine layer of sweat. He panted as he laid there staring at the white ceiling. He couldn't hear his roommates moving around. Which meant they were still sleeping. Kyle slowly sat up, peeling himself off the sheets. A quick check to his clock told him it was only three in the morning. This wasn't the first night Kyle had lost sleep.

The dream was pervasive. Aiden was standing there, holding a man and lasering off his arm. Kyle swallowed thickly against the need to vomit. Even in his dreams he could still smell burning flesh. Hear it as it sizzled and parted from bone. Hear the screams of the victim. Consciously he knew it was all simulated. Knew it was fake. But he hadn't been prepared for how real it felt. How it froze him to the bones, unable to do anything.

Kyle barely remembered the session ending as everything blacked out. At first he though he had passed out. But the backup generators had kicked on and they were removed from the A.R.C. building. Classes had all be cancelled due to the damage done by a falling alien of all things. Kyle had returned to his dorm room. But left with his thoughts proved to not be the best idea. Thankfully Julian didn't mind having Kyle hang out with him.

Over the next few days Kieran had even sought out Kyle and the two were friends again. It earned him the ire of his three roomies, but Kyle didn't care. They were terrified of them anyways. Kyle snagged a towel and a change of clothes and headed to the showers. When he returned it was nearly four. Yet he didn't feel like sleeping. Instead he pulled out his journal and began writing.

Kyle was so caught up in his task he jumped when his alarm went off. He returned his journal to it's hiding spot, grabbed his book bag and headed to the mess hall. He wasn't the first to arrive and like always, there was a scene going on.


Mailsi rolled out of bed with a groan. She could hear Sugar in the next room, also getting read. Mailsi was never a morning person. She was nocturnal by nature. Something not even Corrigan could rid her of. The white haired girl tossed her pillow at her phone which continued to buzz obnoxiously. Naturally the pillow didn't have any effect. Other than to make Mailsi's rest less comfortable at it's absence.

When Mailsi finally stumbled out of her dorm room an hour later, she still looked tired though presentable. She was dressed as the "We Can Do It" poster girl from WWII. Sugar had gone ahead. Apparently she was meeting her date and couldn't wait. Mailsi still didn't have a date. Maybe she should ask Amethyst? Would the girl say yes? And if she did, would she think Mailsi wanted her that way? It was never this complicated in Ireland.

Anyways Mailsi shouldered her messenger bag and headed down to the mess hall. As she walked, she thought more about the dance and mentally sighed. She knew she didn't have to go, but she was supposed to be making an effort to be apart of the student body. Or so Aunt Kara had lectured her about. Apparently just hanging out with the Irish was not acceptable. It made sense, having more people was like having more guides on How Not to Turn Evil.

Mailsi had barely made it to the mess hall when she noticed a few people standing and pointing at someone turning gold. The teen heaved a great big sigh and headed over. Do good. She could just hear her mom speak in her head. Right, be a good person. Mailsi grabbed a hold of golden kid's arm and pulled him away from the lookie-loos. He was obviously panicking, which was leading to him losing control of his powers.

"Take a deep breath yeah?" Mailsi told him.

Her voice must have caused him to notice her because his freak out worsened as he began to babble. His tirade ended in Latin, which was what Mailsi used when she spoke next.

"<You're okay. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you. Just breathe. In and out. Focus.>" Up close it wasn't hard for Mailsi to put two and two together. This was the alien that had caused the power outage. Was he really supposed to be running around by himself? Or had he escaped his escort and was now freaking himself out by running wild? Whatever the reason, Mailsi couldn't leave him alone. Not when he was such a wild card.

Casey was up bright and early that morning. Not by choice however. The young green haired teenager had fallen asleep the night before on the branch of one of the school’s many oak trees, where he had just been awoken minutes ago by the untimely arrival of the Martian Manhunter, who wasn’t all too happy to find that the boy hadn’t been in his dorm room like he should have been. After a stern talking to, most of which simply went through one of Casey’s ears and out the other due to his tiredness, the boy made his way through the grounds towards the dorms.

After showering, Casey wandered aimlessly in thought around the centre of his room deep in thought as the water fell free from his naked body. Today was the 31st of October. Or Halloween as the people of Earth referred to it. Back in Alfheim people had never celebrated such a day. Dressing up as ghouls and spirits and roaming the streets for candy? Most would have laughed at such a ludicrous idea. Not Casey though. He loved the thought of it. The costumes, the decorations, the pure incredible atmosphere of it all. In his earlier years here he had spent every Halloween going door to door trick o’ treating, however he was always met with a barrage of insults due to his age. Apparently he was too old for such festivities, but no matter, as this year he had the school dance!

Up until recently Casey had been stuck for choice as to who he should dress up as. His first thoughts had turned to the vast array of supervillains whom he regularly idolised. They may not be ghouls or ghosts, but most of them were still terrifying monsters. Initially Casey had toyed with the idea of dressing as the infamous Joker. He did have the hair for it after all! However that idea had been instantly vetoed when he had brought it up at lunch. Something about it being in bad taste? His second idea had been his all-time hero, Anarky, however that was too obvious! He went from villain to villain for days, although he could never come up with an idea he truly liked. In the end he had decided to settle for a Luigi costume from that popular Nintendo Game, however the costume he had ordered online wasn’t exactly the same as the one fans of moustached brothers had come to love.

Deciding to save the moustache for the dance later this evening, Casey pulled on the rest of his costume before deciding that it was about time that he headed to breakfast. As he headed across the grass, Casey couldn’t help but notice a young couple eating away at each other’s faces against one of the school’s buildings. While his initial reaction was to internally vomit, he couldn’t help but feel…lonely? That’s when it hit him. He stilled hadn’t asked Mailsi to the dance. He swore to himself quietly as he walked, confused as to how he could have forgotten such a task. They had spoken quite a bit since the A.R.C. session the other day had been cut short, although thinking about it, those conversations hadn’t gone too great since Casey had spent most of the time joking that the power outage had just been some elaborate way of John Stewart trying to save the All-Star Squadron from embarrassment. In hindsight that probably hadn’t been the best idea. What is Mailsi now hated him? Had he ruined their friendship forever? Could Casey ever talk to her again? Would she still want to go the dance with him? Casey frowned. He was merely over reacting right? He gave a short laugh to himself as he began to reassure himself that everything was ok. That was when he spotted her.

The faerie screamed internally as he laid eyes on Mailsi. She was stood outside the entrance to the mess hall comforting a student whom Casey honestly couldn’t recall ever seeing before. All the anxiousness and worrying filled his head once more in that moment. Now was his chance. His chance to ask her to the dance. He stepped towards her slightly before pausing. No, he couldn’t. This was all too much harder than he had expected. He couldn’t do this.

Deciding that his best course of action would be to just try and avoid her and head inside, Casey burst forward towards the doors. However in the process of Casey worrying, he had completely forgotten that the glass doors actually existed, resulting in him walking straight into them. He reeled back slightly in pain, rubbing his head as he did so. Turning, he glanced at Mailsi and her new friend, before giving them a short, awkward wave. “Hello…” He muttered before snapping his attention back into focus. Darting forward once more, he quickly opened the door and headed inside, not wishing to make more of an embarrassment of himself than he had already done so. He really need a peppermint mocha. Now.

---

ELIGIUS PLAUTIUS Star City; Corrigan School for

---

The alien calmed down a little more, but was still panic-stricken and alarmed by all the costumes. He didn’t understand what these things were, or where they all came from. The day before he’d identified the group as simply human.

“<What are these creatures? W-why are they here?>” He stammered in Latin, trying to simply focus on the person in front of him; to block out all the other things. Said person was holding onto his arms. Her hazel eyes peered into his as if she was trying to peer into his soul.

“<They aren’t creatures. Well…>” The girl trailed off with a shrug, still speaking in Latin. “<They’re not usually like that. Considering you’re an alien, we’re all aliens. Yeah, they’re aliens. But most look like normal people?>” The last was added as if she wasn’t sure. Either she wasn’t sure they looked like normal people. Or if they were even people.

“<Aliens that look like people… but that’s what Domini are. A-are they Domini?>” He was calming down now, focusing only on the girl. His brain was still riddled with confusion, however. “<And why don’t they usually look like this?>”

The white haired girl made a face. In her mind, if Sam was a mind reader, she was thinking that she had just opened a whole can of worms. Or that she had put her foot into it this time. Had this been what her mother had felt like when she had first tried to explain things to Aunt Kara? But Sam wasn’t a mind reader, so all he got was the face.

“<Look, it’s complicated. Let’s start at the beginning, yeah?>” The girl smiled. “<I’m Mailsi. And you are...?>”

“<Mailsi…>” The word rolled off his tongue effortlessly as he made a mental note of the name in his mind. “<I’m Eligius Plautius.>” He clenched his teeth, before adding. “<Sam.>”

Mailsi tilted her head to the side and looked Sam over. “<Sam’s very different than Eligius Plautius.>” She pointed out.

“<It’s my human name. I learned it as I was growing up. In the fireball.>” He pointed towards the faint remnants of the event that transpired yesterday, just visible through the window. Corrigan were incredibly good at cleaning up messes, it seemed, as there only remained a fairly large patch of ground with not a single bit of grass on it, only mud and faint scorch marks.

There was a slow blink from the girl as Sam looked over at the crater he had made. The silence was accented by the conversations taking place around them. “<Well,>” Mailsi said after a long while. “<Guess I was wrong about how complicated…>” She trailed off, her already murmuring voice becoming silence.

She let out a huff of breath and finally let Eligius go. “<Why Sam?>” She continued on, almost as if the earlier statement wasn’t meant for Eligius to hear. “<Why not Eligius Platius? And why the face of disgust? Don’t like the name Sam?>”

He decided not to ask about her previous questioning of his human name, and rather focus on the ones he was entirely sure were meant for him to hear.

“<I don’t know. I guess my father wanted me to fit in more. And I make that face whenever I’m frustrated. In this case, I’m frustrated that I keep forgetting to introduce myself with my human name.>” He tried to hide his frustration at the fact Mailsi picked up on his previous frustration, though being alive for only a day proved a terrible burden. That only made him more frustrated. “<Earlier, several people raised their hands towards me, as if I were a member of the High Council. So, I try and remember to use only my human name. However, it’s not working as well as I’d hoped.>”

“<Human names aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.>” The girl winked at him. “<If you’re Eligius, you’re Eligius. Don’t let anyone take that away from you. Not even your dad.>” A small, tight smile appeared on her face. It wasn’t a happy smile, but echoed of an old pain.

“<Thank you.>” Sam smiled in return, though intrigued by the slight sadness he saw in her face. His entire attention was now drawn only to Mailsi, and he’d forgotten all about the creatures that were populating the general area. His fear simply melted away, and if it were a physical object, it would’ve pooled at his feet and disappeared into the air. That was, until, the sound of something impacting against the glass drew his attention. There was a boy, dressed in strange blue & green pyjamas, with a cap of the same colour slotted on his head. The Domini noticed that there were tufts of light green hair sticking out at the bottom. He waved in a peculiar fashion, muttering a faint hello, before swiftly running off.

This caused Sam’s eyes to follow the green-haired boy as he ran off, and notice all the other creatures once again. A wave of terror came over his face, before conflicting in an ugly fashion as he tried to calm himself.

Eligius, caught in his terror, missed Mailsi’s look of amusement and recognition of the new kid. The alien also missed her small wave as the figure retreated back into the crowd of people. He also missed Mailsi turning her attention back to him, and her amusement fade away.

“<Oi!>” Mailsi said, trying to catch Eligius’ attention. “<Eligius,>” Mailsi repeated his name a second time. “<Eligius. It’s okay right? You’re okay.>”

“<B-but what are they all? Why are they here?>” He tried to focus on her again, in case his panicking caused a crowd of them to gather around him. All he wanted is for them to all go away; to disappear into nothingness. But they relentlessly stayed - living embodiments of Sam’s fear.

“<Deep breath, yeah?>” The white haired girl smiled. “<Remember when I said they were human under the costumes? Yeah? Well, that’s all it is. Dress up, make pretend.>” Mailsi stepped backwards and did a little twirl. “<Even I’m doing it too.>”

The girl stepped back up to Eligius and laid a hand on his shoulder. “<You said you learned about human culture yeah? Did you learn about Halloween?>”

He did as Mailsi told him, breathing deeply.

They’re just humans in costumes. Dress up. Make pretend. Sam repeated in his mind constantly, like his own personal mantra, focusing simply on Mailsi. “<No, I didn’t. Is this why they’re dress upping?>” He hoped that’s what they called it.

“<Yup.>” Mailsi beamed brightly at Eligius. “<It’s a special occasion that happens once a year. We don’t do this every day.>” Mailsi winked as she said the next part. “<I promise.>” Then the girl frowned at Eligius and looked him over.

“<Gonna panic again?>” She added after the inspection.

“<No, I think I’m fine now. Though I honestly don’t understand why you feel a need to dress up in these ‘costumes’ like this. What’s wrong with the pyjamas you have?>” He gestured to the garments that Corrigan had provided him. “<And what’s sleeping?>”

Mailsi looked blankly at Eligius for a heartbeat before she burst out laughing. Her laugh wasn’t a quiet affair, but loud and boisterous. When she finally caught her breath tears were coming out of her eyes.

“<My Lord.>” The teen chuckled again. “<Costumes are different than sleepwear. Which you are wearing.>” She tugged on Eligius’ sleeve of his pajamas. “<We only wear these to sleep in. The rest of the time we wear studier clothes.>”

Sam retained a raised eyebrow though all of Mailsi’s laughter, and when she spoke afterwards. It eventually dropped, and his brow creased into a frown.

“<But what is sleeping? And why do you wear different ‘clothes’ for different things? Why not the same garments for every activity?>” His face briefly became deep in thought.

“<Because they’d get dirty, silly.>” Mailsi shook her head, still obviously amused. “<I don’t mind explaining, but I’m hungry yeah? Are you?>”

Sam’s face was now 100 shades of confused, but he nodded nonetheless. Nothing could be as bad as Halloween, could it?

“<Great.>” Mailsi beamed as if Eligius had hung the sun in the sky. Without much ado the girl grabbed a hold on Eligius’s arm again and pulled him after her, as if he would get lost without her. Which might possibly be true. “<What sort of food do you like? And that was Casey earlier, he’s a sweetie, don’t tell him I told you. Then again,>” The girl paused, looking thoughtful. “<Nevermind, just don’t.>” She winked before she continued speaking without giving him any chances to respond.

“<Anyways, Casey’ll help explain things too.>” Mailsi apparently had plans to rope Eligius into who knows what. “<He was the guy you saw earlier.>”

The girl’s head swivelled as she looked back and forth, trying to spot the person she was looking for.

“<By the way… what’s food?>” He stared quizzically at the array of what one could only presume were meats, and some orange things he’d never seen before. There was actually a lot of other colourful items, in both bright and dark colours.

The human girl stopped abruptly and turned to face Eligius. Her eyes were wide, as if she had seen something particularly surprising. For a few seconds the only sounds that escaped her lips were a series of sputters. However once she closed her eyes and took a deep breath she actually managed proper words.

“<You, you.>” Mailsi attempted before tossing her head. “<Is this my life?>” Mailsi continued in Gaelic. She might have still been looking at Eligius, but it was apparent she was now speaking to herself when she changed the language she was speaking.

“<Um… hello?>” He recalled the phrase Casey had spoken before. “<I-I think this is your life, Mailsi.>” Sam spoke, understanding what the girl had said, regardless of her language change.

Mailsi continued to stare at Eligius as he spoke. “<You understand Gaelic?>” She asked him in Gaelic, completely ignoring that he had continued to speak in Latin.

He nodded, before adding in Gaelic, “<I speak it, too. Same for all languages. What about you? What languages do you speak?>”

Mailsi waited a few seconds before responding still in Gaelic. She could have been counting, but her next words belied that. “<All of them. From bird song to alien languages. If I hear it, I can speak it.>” The white haired girl shook her head in what Sam could only deduce was amazement. “<That’s so freakin’ awesome!>” She smacked her free hand into Eligius’s free arm before turning back around and tugging him along behind her.

Sam was surprised by the sudden action, but followed nonetheless. “<I-I still don’t know what food is, Mailsi!>”

“<And that is why I’m not going to tell you, I’m going to show you.>” Mailsi tossed the words back over her shoulder. “<Trust me, you are in for a treat.>” Something made the girl laugh as she finished speaking.

“<Is it big? Does it smell? Why are you laughing?>” Eligius’ confusion was only multiplied as the girl cheerily led him along.

As if sensing his confusion and not truly caring she just shrugged and offered, “<Depends really. And I made a pun. He who thinks of it last and all that.>” She finally came to a stop and elbowed another person who was staring out of the way.

“<Food.>” She proudly proclaimed as if it was all her doing. “<I like omelettes.>” Without asking she snagged a plate, what must have been an omelette and a pronged utensil and passed it to Eligius with an expectant look on her face.

He stared down at the omelette, then at the pronged silver item in his hand. “<You want me to kill it?>” He looked at it from all possible angles. “<What is it even made of? Where’s its heart?>”

Mailsi snorted. “<Eat it. It’s kind of already dead. Just try it, stop thinking so much.>” She still looked expectant.

Sam looked around anxiously, before noticing the costumed humans were doing what he could only presume was eating. Looking back at the omelette, he carefully rolled it up with the silver item, before stabbing it in the centre and raising it to his mouth, before clamping his teeth around it. A piece of it came off instantly, and he repeated the motion of his teeth moving up and down, before swallowing.

A great plethora of… he didn’t know what to call them, but whatever they were, a great plethora of them overcame him. His mouth, throat and stomach felt amazing. He advanced on the omelette, repeating the clamping of his teeth, the mechanical movement of his jaw, and the swallowing of its delicious contents. He closed his eyes and smiled with contentment.

Eligius would never know how much he had impressed Mailsi as he scarfed the omelette down with nary a breath. He practically swallowed it whole! Still, the girl laughed as he sighed.

“<See, wasn’t so bad was it?>” Mailsi laughed again. “<Though it’s usually proper to take smaller bites and not inhale your food.>”

The girl then busied herself fetching an omelette of her own and grabbing one of the orange circles before she pointed further down the line. “<Want some orange juice? It’s tasty too.>”

“<YES!>” He yelled, much to the surprise of the students near him, before speeding off down the line to roughly the area where Mailsi had pointed. “Orange juice! Where’s orange juice?” He asked a random student in English. The poor student, unsure, pointed at the juice machine. Satisfied with the student’s response, Eligius practically attacked the machine, throwing all the orange coloured things he could find at it. He then glared daggers at the same random student, noticing that he was holding a cylinder containing orange liquid. “Give me it.” Sam almost growled.

“<Hold it!>” Mailsi interrupted as Eligius nearly lunged, and mauled the bystander. “<Stop.>” She added in a commanding tone. She was frowning, though the image was slightly ruined by the fact she was holding a plate.

“<We do not accost people!>” Mailsi grabbed his pyjamas once more and pulled him away from the student.

“<This is a drink machine. See the word orange juice? You take a cup, put it under and push the button. You do not grab drinks from random people.>” Mailsi demonstrated, then passed the cup to Eligius before getting her own. He took the cup eagerly, sipping the juice and feeling the same great feeling from before come over him.

When Mailsi seemed sure that Sam wasn’t going to go into another animalistic fit of rage, she nodded her head. “<Now, I’m going to eat my food like a normal person. I saw Casey over there.>” She tilted her chin, indicating a direction. “<If you feel like you can behave yourself, we’ll go on over.>”

Eligius had finished slurping down his juice, and set the cup down on a random table, garnering some distasteful looks from the student sat there. He simply glared at them, which managed to stop them. “<Let’s go,>” He said, and Mailsi grabbed his arm and pulled them both over to Casey.

Still attempting to recollect himself after making a mockery of himself in front of both Mailsi and several laughing students, Casey made his way wearily through the mess hall. As he headed towards the queue at the counter, the mint-haired teen glanced back at the doorway nervously. Maybe she hadn’t noticed? Yes that was probably what had happened. She was most likely too busy talking to the kid in his pyjamas. That thought however made Casey’s stomach churn slightly with jealousy. He secretly began to hope that she had seen. He could simply pass it off as yet another hilarious joke of his. That would work right?

The sound of the barista asking him for his order snapped Casey out of his thoughts. After ordering his daily peppermint mocha, he tried to relax, leaning back against the counter as he waited. Everything was going to be fine. He just had to stop worrying all the time.

In an effort to take his mind off Mailsi, he began to gaze around the room, taking in the sights. He was really starting to understand why they referred to it as a mess hall. The room was currently packed with a whole horde of costumed teenagers, resulting on a lot of pain for the eyes, as the majority of them looked ghastly; however, Casey would probably be thinking the same even if they weren’t dressed up. What more was that these costumed hooligans had left the whole room trashed, leaving their rubbish on both the floor and tables. Disgusting. So yes, mess hall was highly appropriate. To make things even worse, unlike the other morning there weren’t any fights currently taking place. Not even any petty squabbles or arguments between peers. He groaned. Why did life have to be so boring?

Taking his drink and paying the bearded barista, Casey slouched away, keeping his eyes out for a spare seat. He initially began heading towards where Mari and Andy were sitting. That was, until he spotted the Martian. Despite how much Casey loved chaos and drama, he tried his best to avoid that guy at all costs. The guy was essentially a monstrous green bastard. So instead, the faerie plonked himself down on his lonesome, before taking his first sip of his beverage.

As the minty freshness hit him, he let out a cool, relaxed smile, before a commotion to his left caught his attention. The pyjama man from outside, whom Mailsi had been talking to, was causing some kind of disruption over by the juice machine. Casey watched curiously as Mailsi seemed to calm him down, pulling him away by the back of his pyjamas, before seemingly showing him how the machine work. Curious. He continued watching until Mailsi seemed to point in his direction. His heart skipped a beat, as he shot his gaze down onto the table in front of him, hoping that they hadn’t caught him spying. Risking a glance, he was shocked to see that the two were coming over.

“Balls.” He murmured, taking another hit of his peppermint mocha.

“<Mailsi, I still don’t see how showing me your friend can help me understand more.>” ‘Pyjama boy’ was still speaking in Latin, eagerly snatching at foods and drinks, with Mailsi trying her best to stop him.

With a resounding glare Mailsi turned around again and glared at Eligius as he tried to grab some food stuff off another poor student’s plate. But she didn’t do much more than that as they finally reached Casey.

“Casey.” Mailsi proclaimed happily. Help me. The teen mouthed so the alien couldn’t see.

Casey’s eyes widened slightly as the two approached, a smile creeping across his lips as she spoke. All previously held feelings of jealousy towards this guy instantly vanished as he waved them both closer.

“Hey, Mailsi. Who’s your friend?” He said, almost mockingly as he looked the guy over. Clearly this guy had never heard of fashion.

Sam started speaking in English, as this friend of Mailsi’s apparently only spoke one language. “Oh, I’m Eligius Plautius. Oh, um, I mean Sam. Wait, no-”

“Eligius.” Mailsi countered with a huff before sitting down next to Casey. She looked up at Eligius and arched an eyebrow as if to say why aren’t you sitting yet? “He’s an alien.” She said to Casey, assuming that Eligius would follow her instructions, even non-verbal ones.

“Just go with it.” The teen said as she picked up her fork and began to eat her breakfast, keeping a steady eye on her new friend just in case.

“An alien?” Casey made a face of fake disgust.

Mailsi paused with a fork full of food halfway to her mouth before she realized her friend was being funny. That ascertained she went back to shoveling food, too busy to respond.

Quickly noticing the absence of his friend’s laugh, Casey frowned slightly. Now he’d blown it. Honestly the faerie often forgot that his humour wasn’t always that tasteful. He glanced between her and Eligius before speaking up quickly, not allowing him to get a word in himself.

“O..only kidding, man. Come and... come and join us!” He stammered slightly gesturing to the seat in front of them, before glancing at Mailsi slightly for her approval like a lost puppy.

Sam blinked. “I thought you said that you were aliens...” He got lost in thought, before shaking it off and sitting down. The boy grabbed a random student’s apple, taking a big bite out of it. He chewed the flavourful sphere, enjoying the juiciness and joy that it brought him. “Mmmmm...” He said, closing his eyes and smiling.

The white-haired girl shovelled the last bite of omelet into her mouth and looked at the two boys. Casey was freaking out, because he’s a moron making moronic jokes. And really? And space cadet was freaking out, because OMG he’s an alien but so is everyone else. Seriously.

Mailsi sighed and placed her fork on her tray and eyeballed the duo. “First.” She said grabbing her orange juice and pointing, with the cup in hand, at Eligius.

“You are an alien to us, like we’re aliens to you. Not that hard if you use your brain to figure it out.” The girl took a sip before turning slightly to Casey.

“Second. Did you know you’re really distracting to talk to dressed up as Luigi?” Mailsi placed the cup down and began to work on peeling her orange. “Third.” She looked Casey in the eye. “Racist jokes are not okay.” She popped a slice of orange in her mouth. “And lastly, I really need to have people stop freaking out on my today. Can you do that for me?”

Casey’s eyes widened once more as she spoke. Her comment to Eligius made the corners of his mouth rise slightly, although as soon as Mailsi turned towards him, it was wiped clean off of his face. He held his breath, before giving out a short sigh of relief. That was before her third comment however. A racist? Him? He opened his mouth to protect. To deny the accusation. However he stopped himself. She was right. About everything. How could he be so stupid?

“I’m…” He began before trying to look her in the eye as he spoke. He couldn’t. “I’m sorry Mailsi. It won’t happen again…” His voice was sincere. Filled with sadness, but sincere.

Mailsi waved him off easily, knowing the route he was going to take. Namely, the shortest spiral down to self flagellation. “Right.” She agreed, still eating. Of course Casey didn’t take into consideration that she was a capital B.I.T.C.H.

“And for me. I understand, too.” Eligius tried his utmost best to gulp down the plethora of confusion that was trying to escape from his mouth, and plaster itself all over his face in the process. The mint-haired boy deferred slightly from the rest of the humans Sam had seen, but he couldn’t place what exactly it was. Appearance, clothes, the tone of voice he used… the poor alien was confused beyond belief. That seemed to be the mode emotion he’d experienced since crashing on this planet. And, now he’d thought about it, he instantly snapped his head towards the remnants of his arrival, before turning back to Casey. “Actually, you might’ve, um, heard of me before.” He gestured to the spot where the fireball landed.

Eligius’ comment briefly halted the pity party that was currently going on inside his head. Before briefly glancing at Mailsi once more, he turned to face the newcomer, nodding as he spoke. He turned to where the kid was gesturing; outside the window, towards the source of all the chaos that had happened the other day.

The faerie’s jaw dropped slightly at the comment. “That was you?” He asked, admiration filling his face. Maybe this guy really wasn’t so bad after all! “You are now honestly, 20% cooler!”

At that comment, he too reach for his drink, raising his peppermint mocha, and tipping it slightly towards Eligius in a weird form of congratulations. Taking a sip, he tried to change the topic the conversation.

“So, uh… You guys going to this dance tonight?” He tried his best not to glance at her as he spoke, fixing his gaze on the drink in front of him.

Eligius looked at him blankly. “What?”

Casey returned the look, before realising that the guy probably had no idea as to what he was talking about. “It’s, uh… Do you know what a party is? Dancing? Getting down? The Jonas Brothers?”

As Mailsi drained the last of her juice she rolled her eyes. Knowing what she did of Eligius, Casey just confused the alien by over nine-thousand percent. She exhaled gustily and waited for the inevitable tirade of confusion.

He shook his head. “But the ‘speakers’ in my room screamed at me today. They were really quiet before, then… boom. I think it was something called Panic Disco. Is that what you mean? I remember the person who gave me the pyjamas said something about ‘music’, then dancing, like you said.”

Casey glanced towards Mailsi as the alien spoke, noting that she too looked as if she was completely done with everything that was going on. Turning back towards Eligius, he thought long and hard on how on earth he would explain such a thing to him. The slight anger he was feeling at the fact that he’d never heard of Joe, Nick, or Kevin didn’t help either.

“So… um… Let me try and put this plainly…” He began, picking his words carefully. “That thing you heard from your speakers? Music. Albeit bad music, but music all the same. Now dancing? You kind of just move your bodies to the music, I guess. It’s hard to explain. Now tonight, since it’s this thing called Halloween…”

“Like walking? I don’t see what’s fun about walking to music, really.”

Casey paused at the comment. “No… it’s, uh. It’s more fun than it sounds, okay?” Shaking his head slightly, he continued. “Anyway, tonight a lot of people are going to gather and dance around in costumes. There’ll be food and refreshments. It’s great.”

As Casey finished his attempt to explain the dance, there was a none too quiet snort from Mailsi.

Sam looked at Mailsi with confusion, before turning back to Casey. “Oh, well, okay then. Do I need a costume, too?” He looked around. “All I have is these pyjamas and the garments that I came down to Earth in.”

“Er…” Casey began, before closing his mouth quickly and biting his lip. This really was much harder than he had expected. He remembered back to when the two had initially approached him minutes earlier and the desperate look for help on Mailsi’s face. He imagined that this must have been how she felt.

“I guess that would be fine?” He said, a questioning tone in his voice.

Looking away, the faerie glanced upwards towards one of the small monitors dotted around the walls of the room. These things tended to just act as notice boards, displaying all kind of information about what was currently going on around Corrigan. At the moment the one Casey’s eyes were fixated on was displaying a short animation of a pumpkin in what Casey could only assume was the school’s method of informing everyone what day it was if they were dumb enough not to realize with everyone dressed up. Ignoring it, he checked the corner of the screen for the time. Seeing it was nearly time for first period, he groaned loudly, before grabbing his cup and attempting to gulp down the remains.

Mess Hall
October 31, 2025

S'tann S'tonn hates many things. It'd be much easier for him to state all everything he liked than for him to list off the many, many things he despised. Andy was one of those things he hated. He had a good reason why, of course. S'tann always had a reason for hating someone or something. Andy, besides being an obnoxious moron, could manipulate and materialize fire. Fire was the principle weakness of every Martian, a race S'tann was a proud part of. Even the most tame of open flames could cause S'tann unimaginable pain. He had to be on constant guard against entering rooms with candles unprepared. If a building had a fireplace, he made note not to enter it during the winter. S'tann also kept track of the locations of every fire extinguisher and source of water on the Corrigan campus, just in case the worst were to occur and he were caught on fire. He was a very careful alien. But Legacy could never acccount for Pyrokinetics like Andy and Nora. He could not control them; they were wildcards. Surprises. S'tann hated surprises.

So when that twat rolled up in his homemade Ghost Rider costume, his head ablaze, S'tann was understandably pissed off.

Like, a lot.

S'tann turned calmly toward Andy as the boy took a seat next to the Martian and placed his tray down on the lunch table. S'tann's face was completely blank and unreadable as he examined the other student. It wasn't until Legacy began to speak that his sheer unadulterated rage reared its ugly head. "I am not a violent man. I tend to turn the other cheek whenever someone brings an offense against me; after all, if I dish it out, I should be able to take it. I've made myself abundantly clear, however, what I will do to anyone who approaches me with an open flame. I have made every new student aware of this rule and I'm not afraid to remind the older ones. Even you, Andy. I've told you. And yet here we are. There are consequences for your actions, boy." Without any prior warning, the Martian Boy backhanded Andy in the chest. The teen superhero was struck with enough force to send him flying across the room and slamming against the opposite wall of the cafeteria. Rest assured, people noticed the commotion S'tann was making. Legacy stood from his seat and slowly floated into the air until Andy was within his sight once more. He made note of the cracked wall where Andy had hit. Perhaps S'tann had hit him too har- No. He had to teach this one a lesson.

"The first of these consequences? I whup your ass to kingdom come."

The Martian flew across the room and landed in front of Andrew Hughes. S'tann's fists were clenched, his fingers digging hard into his jade skin. This was different from the other times S'tann was angry. He usually made quite a scene when then, too. But he hadn't hit anyone. Not in a long, long time. The look on his face was different, too. Not one of disgust or disdain. But a look of pure, unbridled hatred. "On your feet!" S'tann roared. He stretched out one of his arms and backhanded the stunned Australian with enough force to send him sliding across the floor. S'tonn knew what he was doing. Andrew would, without a doubt, respond with his powers. He expected that much; and stood ready to dodge the oncoming cone of flame or fireball or whatever have you.

It was at this point that staff and students alike made their way over. Many told S'tann to stand down. Others cheered, their blood thirsty glee obvious. They wanted a fight. Those people disgusted the Martian. This was not a mere schoolyard brawl for their amusement. This was punishment for an offense that could not be forgiven. Not without violence, at the very least. S'tann had expected people to gather around. It was very likely one or more of them would get in his way. S'tann would try his best not to hurt those would-be heroes. They were only doing what was right. Not just in their own eyes, either. S'tann knew he was in the wrong. But he felt he needed to do this. Something in his blood told him that this was a necessary evil. So S'tann would stomach the punishment from the school. Whether it was another detention, community service or his expulsion from the school. He'd endure being outcasted by his peers, even more so than usual. He'd take it all in the name of justice.

Just like any Manhunter would.

---

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31st October, 2025

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S’tann S’tonn. Martian. Manhunter. Nephew to the Martian Manhunter. Hates everyone. Very competitive. Extremely aggressive. Shares a dorm with Alex Luthor. Totally has the hots for Mari. Has the entire opposite for anything to do with fire. Hates the Earth. Is determined to make the entirety of the school hate him.

Oh, yeah. And a complete and utter dickwad.

Andy’s chest hurt. Something kept stabbing at his lungs every time he took a breath. His back felt like Batman’s after Bane had broken it. His cheek stung, burned, a feeling that was unfamiliar to him, and his vision threatened to give out to the black that spread from the corners of his eyes. Slowly, shakily, he got up onto his feet, staring at the Martian with a shocked rage that threatened to match the hatred his assailant was sending his way. There was no longer fire blazing around his head. His skull mask, a cheap thing he’d bought for five dollars, was torn where S’tann had smacked him. With pained effort, he removed it, tossing it carelessly onto the floor, an afterthought. The crowd that had gathered around them, too, was an afterthought. All of his focus was on S’tann.

“Do you know,” he gasped, “Why I pick on you so much, Stan?” He paused, breathing heavy, painful breaths, each time his lungs getting poked by what he assumed were his ribs. “Why I annoy you? Why I never seem to leave you alone?” He staggered forward, hand clutching his side. “I can tell you… right now… that it’s not because you’re a Martian. It’s not because fire hurts you so much. And believe it… or not, it’s not because I don’t like you. Do you want to hear my secret, Stan? Do you?” His eyes bore into his rival’s. “It’s because you make it so damned easy.

“You’re so caught up with hating everyone, with believing that you’re better than us, that you’ll do everything in your power to maintain that illusion. The tiniest thing gets a rise out of you. All I have to do is raise an eyebrow in your direction and you go apeshit. So, yeah, I may be the ‘bane of your existence’. But only because you’re too busy trying to be everyone else’s.” Andy paused, wincing. It hurt, talking. But he wasn’t about to stop. Not until he was done. “And you know what really pisses me off about you?” A tremor entered his voice. He was but a few inches away from S’tann now. “You could be the best of us. You could be the guy that leads us when we’re Titans. When we’re Leaguers. You keep saying how you’re better than all of us, but you don’t realise that if you just shut it and be, it’ll actually be true. You could be every bit the hero your uncle is. Every bit the hero your cousin is, and Superman is, and Batman is. So why the fuck aren’t you?” Now he was shoving S’tann at the end of every sentence, ignoring the pain in his side. “And now, you pick a fight with me. I have a little joke, nowhere near as bad as ones I’ve had in the past, and you pick a fight with me. You pick. A fight. With me.” He was glowing with heat. His skin was a bright orange, his veins brighter still, his eyes burning as bright as the sun. “And why? Because there’s a little room-temperature fire going on the top of my head. Well, I hate to break it to you, big guy, but that isn’t the furthest I can go. I’m not just another pyrokinetic that can shoot fire from his hands. I control solar energy, S’tann. That bright ball up in the sky? It’s me. I’m it. I am fire.”

With that, he let the bright flame engulf him, an aura of orange, almost golden fire blazing around his figure, incinerating his costume, leaving nothing but bare skin. He reduced it to a tendril, wrapping it around his lower body, covering his privates with the scorching flame. The sweat that tried to trickle down his forehead evaporated upon exiting its pores. The blood that threatened to trickle out of his nose did the same. His well-defined figure glowed magnificently in the mess hall, bright, exhuming a boiling heat that made everyone in the building sweat like pigs.

“But I’m not going to fight you, S’tann. I don’t want to.” He reduced the tendril that covered his vitals’ temperature, as cold as he could make it, trying to lessen the effect it would have on the Martian. “So take your best shot. I hope it’s worth it.”

It was Friday, October 31st, and three days since their interrupted A.R.C. Session. It was still looming on his mind. He wished that it hadn't prematurely ended and that he had gotten the chance to show the others what he had, but he had only been able to show them that he could help with tactics and get a Helicopter destroyed. He couldn't even succeed in the objective he was given. How could he expect them to think of him as good for the team? His sulking was short lived however as he reminded himself that today was the day of the Halloween dance. He also wondered if he'd be able to secure candy around the city while trick-or-treating. It wouldn't even take him long with his super speed. It was honestly his favorite part about the Holiday and he didn't care that he was growing older. He also couldn't wait until the dance since he and Julian had something planned that would surprise everyone.

The mere thought of it caused him to smile. The young Kryptonian had to start looking on the bright side of things. Since the session was interrupted he didn't lose control. He also didn't have to fight a weakened S'tann. That fight wouldn't have even been exciting. The fight with Rita on the other hand... Kieran shook the thought out of his head and immediately got dressed and ready for class. He took a shower the night before so he didn't need to take one this morning. He made his way out of his room and immediately took in all of the costumes in the hall. The kids here really put in the work for their costumes. Some of them really looked like the characters they were imitating. This was such an amazing Holiday. Nothing could ruin this day.

He continued to walk until he made his way to the cafeteria. Maybe he'd actually eat this morning. Yeah... probably not. He entered the area to see a flying Andy hit the wall. He knew that had to hurt. He didn't even have to wonder who sent him there. It wasn't a secret that he and S'tann didn't like each other. This was the first time that their interactions turned into this. You'd think S'tann would try and get into less fights considering that his uncle worked here, but nope. The guy just didn't seem to care. Maybe he thought that he'd be saved by the Manhunter if things ended up going bad for him. If that was the case then it was pretty cowardly.

Kieran planned to interfere, but stopped himself when Andrew stood up. He made his closer to the fight while lightly shoving others aside to get through. He didn't need to put strength behind it. He wasn't in a mosh pit. When the solar manipulator started to talk he knew that S'tann needed to hear this. He couldn't get in between this... Not now. He was at the front of the gathered crowd now and listened to Andy as he told S'tann that he could be as great a hero as the greats... including Superman.

His eyes widened and he stood there amazed as Andy started glowing a bright orange, even more so than a Tamaranean. He watched as he engulfed himself in flames and then the feeling was gone. The speech was more than great, but to prove his point did he really have to streak?

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"I'd hope the teams would be reassigned." Mari began. "I honestly feel like they were weighed against us. It's like John wanted us to fuckin' lose." Mari added looking up as Andy sat down. Mari could only shake her head as she looked at his costume. It was obvious he had chosen his seat in order to purposely aggravate S'Tann, something that was never a good idea to do. No sooner than she had the thought than Mari was proven right as S'Tann used what had to be a considerable amount of his strength to launch Andy across the room. He impacted with the opposite wall, dust floating into the air as fractures appeared on both the wall and to Mari's assumption, Andy's ribs as well. Kieran started to stand to interfere but it was obvious he believed that Andy's words would persuade S'Tann to stand down. Mari could only scoff.

"Well if you aren't going to do anything." She snapped, launching herself from her seat in the middle of Andy's appeal to diplomacy. Mari was a lot of things, but a believing in diplomacy was not one of them. She instead preferred aggressive negotiations.

"Hey!" She bellowed, hooking the side of S'Tann's face with a glowing fist before coming to a slide halt in the air between Andy and S'tann. "Why don't you try me on for size you insufferable ass."

Her eyes glowed green along with her fists as Mari stood ready to go toe to toe with the school's third most obnoxious asshole. The only thing that could have made this better was if it was the rest of Mars' teeth she was about to knock out.

Mess Hall
October 31, 2025

S'tann hesitated. What? He thought, utterly confused. Andrew had just complimented the Martian, while at the same time tearing him apart. What was the pyro's game? He was wrong about all of it, of course, but Andy's little speech had caused S'tann S'tonn to doubt himself and his actions. He could see the boy was hurting. From the sound of his thoughts, Hughes' ribs were likely broken. That would need to be addressed swiftly. At the same time, Legacy couldn't telepathically sense any deceit in Andy's words. It would seem he believed every word. Is that what he really thinks? Is that what they all think? Impossible. Inconceivable. In Martian Boy's eyes, he was the weakest of them all. He was flawed and broken. And he thought they could all see that. The truth. But Andy proved that theory wrong. There was at least one person on the face of this earth that believed in the Martian. But if Andrew truly thought that S'tann could be one of the greats...What was the point of all this? Why antagonize S'tann? The alien's fragile psyche couldn't grasp what was going on. His face remained blank as Andy drew closer and continued to speak. His words stung worse than any sword. When the pyrokinetic began to shove at the Martian, he didn't move. He didn't budge. He just looked down at the Australian with the slightest hint of confusion on his face. S'tann tried to hide his true feelings; whatever they might be. He wasn't quite sure. It was working, too, somehow.

Until Andy caught fire.

As soon as the student began to glow, S'tann collapsed. His knees felt like gelatin. The Martian's vision blurred. His ears rung with the sound of...bells? What was- No. He recognized- No. Unfathomable. Unreasonable. Totally and complete insanity. S'tann sniffed the air and he could spell it. Burning flesh. Screams echoed from behind him. S'tann's vision slowly cleared and his worst fears were realized. It was happening again. He was surrounded by a sea of red, covered in broken green and white shapes. Shadows danced all around him. Great crimson monoliths crumbled in the distance. Packs of dark things filled the skies. The sun was blotted out by smoke. Huge structure blasting their eternal infernos into the air were erected by armies of horrific monsters. Demons roamed the streets, dragging bodies behind them. This wasn't...This wasn't happening. This couldn't be real. It wasn't until S'tann noticed the boots a few feet in front of him that true terror gripped his heart. He knew those boots. He'd seen them, ever so briefly, in person. And he had witnessed recordings and artists' rendering of their owner. Legacy's eyes traced the armored feet up to the face of the horrific being before him. S'tann's face was filled with fright as he crawled backwards, desperate to escape his presence. The giant figure was draped in fire. Yet he stood unmoving. Unfeeling. As still as a statue. It couldn't be him. S'tann couldn't be here. This was all so...so impossible! But he looked so real. It all looked real.

Mars was burning.

"<Darkseid.>" S'tann muttered. He reverted to Martian in his fear, unable to recall any English words. There was a pack of parademons standing behind the Dark Lord. They were chomping at the bit, licking their sharp tongues in anticipation of the coming bloodshed. "<J-J'onn?>" S'tann whispered. His back had touched the wall. There was no where to escape to. He was completely surrounded. "<M'gann?>" He rasped in desperation. "<Help me.>" He mouthed, unable to form words. His throat was too dry for words. Sweat raced down his green face and stained his robes. Panic caused his muscles to stiffen. He couldn't move now. It was a struggle just to breathe. Anxiety ate away at the Martian, threatening to tear him away from consciousness. There was no escape. No help was coming. This was it. This was S'tann's end, as strange as it was. "<Mars is burning.>" He said aloud, louder than the rest of his words. S'tann pushed himself to a standing position, using the wall behind him as a prop. Blood dripped from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes. The fire around Darkseid had weakened him greatly. It was killing him, in fact. But he had to stand and fight. S'tann had to remember his pledge. He was to protect Mars. He would be its Manhunter.

"<S-top. I will sto-p you.>" One of Darkseid's Furies, his all-female hit squad, flew in from behind him. She flew straight at S'tann and struck him, sending the Martian Boy falling to the ground once more. He wanted to give up. He wanted to crawl up into a ball and die. But something inside S'tann drove him to pick himself up again. A voice, silent yet more powerful than any S'tann had heard before, told him to fight. For himself. For his family. For Mars. "<Try to...To destroy my people? K-kill my..family? I'll..Kill you. Kill you. DIE!>" Suddenly, S'tann burst forward and slammed his forehead into Mari's nose. Before she could even stumble backwards, he wrapped a hand around her throat and slammed her into the ground. Chunks of tile were tossed into the air and at the watching crowd, sharp, quick and deadly. "<DIE!>" He spouted mindlessly, unleashed a torrent of blows to the Fury's head. He pulled back and prepared to stomp the girl's head in half, but one of the Parademons leaped from the crowd and tackled him to the ground before he could. S'tann wrapped his elongated arm around the demon and chucked it across the room before turning to Darkeid. "<KILL YOU!>" He screamed at Andy.

Rage buried instinct. Every part of his body told him to avoid the fire. But S'tann wouldn't bow to Darkseid. Not until he was dead. The Martian shot forward, fist reeled back and prepared to punch a hole in Andy's chest. "<DIE DIE DIE!>"

---

High school is like a game of Chinese Checkers. There all of these little cliques with many trying to rule the school. Corrigan is little different in this respect. Throw out the superpowers and the lineages and it's just another high school. You have the popular kids, be they the beautiful and/or the athletic such as Kieran, Mari and Molly. You have your brains such as Julian and Freddie. You have the clowns like Rick Allen, Casey (that lil' green-haired troll), and Andy. Of course, there are the loners such as S'tann and Rita.

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Halloween was not Nora's favorite holiday. She chose not to celebrate it. After all, when know that monsters are real dressing up as as monsters seems to lose it's appeal. Silly decorations. Stupid costumes. Annoying pranks. Nora was long over it.

This morning the girl wore no costume like so many of her classmates. Instead she opted for normalcy. Lavender Chuck Taylors worn over little white ankle socks stepped softly along the cement as she made her way towards the cafeteria. Faded blue demin covered her long legs, curves of her hips and cute derriere. A purple and black long-sleeved flannel with the bottom few buttons fastened to hide the last couple of words of her black graphic tee so she wouldn't get reprimanded by teachers for wearing something offense on campus completed the bulk of her outfit. Nora wore little jewelry. This morning simple gold studs pierced her tiny ears hidden under long red tresses of hair.

All the students were backed up against the walls and doors of the mess hall when Nora entered the building. From their shouting hollering there was obviously a fight taking place somewhere in the center of the crowd. The slender teen did her best to push her way through the crowd to see what was going. There was a radiant light, a golden orange emitting in the center. And then, she saw the fire. And the sheer heat! It didn't have an effect on her, but Nora could see the other student wincing, pulling back while futilely shielding their faces with their arms.

---

Each group vies for a place in the hierarchy. Even the loners and rejects. Whether it be for our knowledge. Our talents and skills. Our looks or our heart. We need to know that we have something to give. We need to know that we matter.

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And, then she heard his voice above all the others. "S'tann!" Of course Nora recognized the boy's voice. She'd been crushing on the martian since she first saw him. Still having trouble getting through the wall of bodies Nora scrambled to the right, pushing and pulling her way around classmates. She didn't know what was going on. She couldn't see over the people. But, if there was fire involved Nora was sure that S'tann was in serious distress.

Fearing for the martian, flames began to rise from Nora's body, engulfing her figure in a violet aura. The flames flickered and wavered as she frantically tried to get to the center of the lunch room. Of course, once she was generating fire the students eagerly moved away from the girl as they did not wish to be burned. The sea of teenagers parted just as S'tann smashed the floor with Mari's face. The green-skinned alien was besserk. His words made no sense. A little more than an arm's distance away from Nora stood Andrew Hughes. Golden flames covered the lower half of his form as he stood there staring down the martian. The fire-starter also seemed to be rather naked.

"What are you doing?" Nora yelled at Andy. "What did you do?!" It was his fault. Of course, it was Andy's fault! The purple blaze roared around the girl. Lanoleum bubbled and melted beneath her feet as the did the rubber soles of her shoes. Her fear for the alien morphing into hatred towards the Australian.

S'tann exploded from the opposite wall. It happened so fast. Too fast for Nora to see, too fast for her to react....

---

Because if we can't survive high school, how can we hope to make it in the real world?

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There was something Kieran never understood about this school. There were quite the number of superhero faculty members who had powers of flight and super speed, but they were always the last ones to a situation. The entire student body would get there before they did. You'd think they'd have a bit more pep in their step to stop fights between students who were learning how to control their powers. It didn't entirely bother him though. As long as things didn't get too out of hand things were going to be fine. Things don't end up being fine at Corrigan.

It all happened pretty fast. S'tann fell to the ground and looked pretty freaked out. This was expected after Andy decided to flame on. But then S'tann started speaking in a language that Kieran didn't understand. He guessed that it was native Martian or whatever they named their language. He started to regret that he didn't try to learn anymore languages. Mari then came out of nowhere and attacked S'tann which made things worse. Kieran even winced when S'tann headbutt Mari. After that it was an onslaught of attacks before it finally stopped.

The Martian finally set his eyes back on Andy. There was no way that he'd survive another attack from him. Especially not in this state. Kieran couldn't even let Nora and her flames distract him this time. He launched himself forward as S'tann pulled back his fist. He wasn't going to let anyone die... Not on his watch. He should have stopped this sooner... Before Mari got involved... Before Andy gave his speech... And even before the crowd surrounded them. He couldn't let that stop him or slow him now.

He stopped right between S'tann and Andy with his right hand holding onto S'tann's fist. The force from the colliding forces caused a small wave and rush of wind to burst outwards using their hands as its epicenter. A second later and he was sure that Andy would be dead with a hole in his chest. He could feel it from the force and momentum S'tann had put into the strike. This was no longer just a school fight. That was clear when Mari was used as a punching bag. He glanced down at her held back a sigh. Kieran then glanced back over to Nora and shook his head as a way to tell her not to interfere. He returned his attention to the Martian in front of him and didn't let go of his hand. Just what was he thinking? He wasn't thinking, was he? This would have been the moment that he wished he could read minds. S'tann wreaked of fear and anger. His heart was racing and it was clear that something was wrong. Could this have been the result of the flames? If he was scared then that enough should have caused him to back down.

"What the Hell is wrong with you, S'tann? You would have killed him and probably yourself the moment you struck him again. Look at you. Look around you. They're scared. This went too far. I oughta smack the shit out of you. Figuratively and literally. Do you think this is what your uncle would want you to do? This very well could be the last straw." Kieran didn't want to lecture him and he didn't want to beat him unconscious either, but he'd do both if he needed to.

_{A collaboration between @Tyler and @Blacksam3091}

The individual whom Freddie had crashed into was now crouched before him, waving his finger and asking for a name in a tongue that was indiscernibly Scottish. Freddie smiled meekly and fixed his eyes upon the Scot's fingertips, following it back and forth for a few seconds as the boy checked for concussion or whatever other head injuries he might be cautious of.

"Frederick James Michael Blackwell," he muttered, reciting his lengthy birthname as he rose to his feet with the help of his improvised medic. "But you can call me Freddie." he said, mustering a smile as he met eyes with the helpful Scot. He had interesting features; a wave of dirty blonde hair sitting wherever it pleased and framing his angular features in a way that didn't quite complement either of the otherwise quite attractive elements of his appearance. A light dusting of stubble speckled his sharp chin.

Well, Frederick James Michael Blackwell could remember his own name and didn't seem to be having any trouble following the finger. Tommy allowed himself a small sigh of relief as it began to look like a crisis avoided. Still, looks can be deceiving, and there ain't nothing to say that Freddie is outta the woods yet. Tommy reckoned he'd better stick close to his patient for a while. It was the least he could do, after clocking him like he had.

Freddie snapped back to attention, and extended a grazed hand to the boy, who was slightly taller than himself. Tommy grasped it and half shook it, half used it to yank the smaller boy to his feet.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, "Though I didn't quite catch your name." He said, typically British in his introduction. He couldn't remember ever laying eyes on the Scot before; and he was certain he'd have remembered someone who looked so... distinctive. But surely... They couldn't be accepting new students this late into the term? He decided not to broach it.

“It's Tommy. Tommy Springsteen.” The Scot replied, a small grin worming it's way onto his features at Freddie's incredibly formal manners. He'd never met a teen who spoke like that in his life. Figured that he'd be English, with enunciation like that, though Tommy wasn't the type of person to hold that against him. He'd never held much stock by that stereotype of the 'Auld Enemies'.

"Well, Tommy, I won't lie, it's rather wonderful to hear a familiar accent around here." he said, somewhat sheepishly. "Have you met Mailsi? I hear she's supposed to be Irish." He paused briefly. "Not that I have much to do with her." 'Accents?' Freddie questioned himself himself, 'Really? You're gonna resort to that to make conversation?' He almost scowled at his own poor effort; he would snarl in disdain at the Americans who would bring up his own accent as a conversation starter, and yet here he was.

Tommy chuckled at Freddie's pained expression. If he had to put money on it then he woulda guessed that the guy wasn't all that impressed with his own choice of conversation topic. Tommy didn't mind all that much. In fact he'd half-expected for half the student body to point out his unusual accent to him. Londoners were certainly keen enough to do it, so why not the yanks?

“Aye, I get that. It's nice tae be reminded of home. And nah, I haven't even heard of her. You're the first person I've met, excepting Gordon.”

"Well, in that event, I suppose I'm rather lucky you were here for me to bump into!" he joked, though he wondered what matutinal activities would bring someone out to the Liberal Arts wing. It was ultimately none of his business, he supposed, but that didn't stop his curiosity from prodding him. "What are you doing out here, anyway?" he inevitably asked. "Classes don't start for a while."

As secretive as his double life had taught him to be, Tommy had never quite mastered the art of telling someone to mind their own business. He'd just never had the balls to be that blunt. Which was a damn shame, seeing as how he dearly didn't want to admit that the only reason he was outside the Liberal Arts Wing was on account of him going and getting himself lost. Nobody liked admitting to their shortcomings, and he was no different. It was especially embarrassing, considering where he was. Ye think yer Corrigan School for Advanced Learning and Development material, but yer too stupid to even stop yersell getting lost. Aye, Tommy-boy, you got some real potential right enough. Might as well just own up to it though, and hope that Freddie would take pity on him and steer him back on the right path.

“I'm no really much of a sleeper,” In fact he hadn't slept a wink since his powers awakened, but Freddie didn't need to know that. [color=deepskyblue]“So I stepped out for a nigh-time promenade, take in the sights, as it were. Only genius here went and got himsell' lost. Was just trying to figure my way out when I met you.”

Freddie smirked knowingly. "Rough night?" he jibed, assuming the Scot's lack of sleep was due to a night on the town. He winked playfully. "You'll fit right in. You simply must meet my friend Mari, she's..." Freddie paused, thinking of a kind way to describe the alien. "Well, she's a character, for sure. Hey, she's over in the canteen right now." he recalled in the moment, getting carried away with the notion as he so often tended to. "Did you get chance to eat yet?"

Tommy chuckled at Freddie's joke, his warm smile going a long way to lighten his usually severe features. Rough night? It was the first one in weeks where he hadn't been dressed up in tights, patrolling dimly lit London streets with a brisk British breeze blowing up his nethers. Rough didn't even come into it.

"Aye, that's me. A real party animal," He replied, although that claim couldn't be further from the truth. Ever since everything that had happened with Daniel and Sharpe, the urge to party, celebrate, carouse, rave it up, make merry, or just generally 'sesh' had abandoned him completely. Not that he was gonna say that out loud though. Who admits to being an outright party pooper?

Freddie went on to mention his friend, Mari, but seemed to struggle to find a way to describe her. Tommy didn't press him, not all that desperate to have to chit-chat with anyone else so soon. He'd never been the most social of animals, not since. . . Well, the obvious. That said, he was starting to get a touch peckish, and it sounded like 'Mari' was where the food was at.

An really, wid it really be so terrible tae be on first name basis wi two people on the entire continent, Tommy-boy?

"Nae yet, though I wouldnae say no if that's you offering tae show me the way to the scran hall?"

Freddie smiled and nodded affirmatively, before beginning to walk Tommy back in the direction of the cafeteria. "I mean, I'd hate to give you false hope," he confessed to the Scot, his jocular tone accompanied by a wry grin. "Corrigan has a standard to uphold, and it carries these virtues into its kitchen," he explained. "It's just a shame that standard happens to be a rather low one!" he joked, before pointing out several of the academic buildings to the new student and explaining what went on within their steely walls.

"At least, their vegertarian options certainly leave much to be desired," he said, darting back to his earlier point of discussion as the pair rounded a corner.

Nae worries there, Freddie-boy. This lightning-slinger is near strictly carnivorous, garnish non-withstanding. Although, again, he kept that to himself. He'd found that Veggie's could be awful precious about how many cows he'd gone and devoured.

"I can't say I've tasted the meat but..." he grimaced, a mischievous glimmer in his eye as he recalled the... Unappealing nature of the meat produce on offer. He often wondered if the mystery proteins on offer could even be classified as meat at all. Snapping his focus back to Tommy, he pointed up ahead.

"That's the canteen." he explained, before mentally kicking himself. The large lettering above the door meant that the building was easily identifiable to anyone with a pair of eyes. Tommy, like everyone else at this damn school, was going to identify Freddie as a class-A idiot. He managed not to sigh.

Tommy arched a blonde eyebrow at his guide pointing out the obvious, but stopped himself from making any other comment. Nobody ever got to be on the 'most popular' list by being a smug prick to the guy trying to be helpful. Not that he was all that fussed for being popular, but as his old da used to say, 'it's nice to be nice.'

"Shall we?" He held the canteen door open for Freddie, gentleman that he was, and the two entered. The smell of cooking breakfasts foods was thick in the air, bacon and eggs most prominent, Tommy's stomach growling in anticipation.

Getting breakfast cooked fer me every morning? That I can get used tae.

That said, it was quickly apparent that delicous aromas wasn't the only thing on the air. Sounded like there was a riot in progress, a lot of screaming, chanting and shouting coming from the main hall. Surely that wasn't the norm for these kids? Hi-Voltage senses tingling. . . . Shite am I glad I didna say that out loud. Without waiting on much ado he headed for the commotion, pushing open the inner doors and seeing. . .

An orange skined angel, radiant as a summer morning, fly across the mess and smash some guy in the face with all the force of a runaway truck. He took it like a champ, but still, it looked like he'd have one hell of a shiner in the morning. Tommy took a step forward, ready to intervene, until he realized nobody else seemed all that non-plussed. Surely these kids were all here to be training as heroes, they wouldn't just stand back and watch this go down. Would they? Maybe this was some kinda weird Corrigan's morning ritual, practicing for super-villain showdowns maybe. Christ, he was confused. He glanced over to Freddie, looking for some sorta guidance.

"Is this. . . Normal?"

Freddie rolled his eyes as they stepped into the canteen and his gaze absorbed the chaos that unfurled before him. 'Not this shit again,' he cursed under his breath. His lips quickly twisted into a slight grin as he watched Marian'dr punch S'tann square in the face, her energised first throwing the martian across the cafeteria. It was at this moment that Tommy seemed tempted by the ruckus, and for a split second Freddie was certain the school's newest arrival would cave and be sucked into the violent maelstrom that raged on.

Fortunately, it seemed Tommy had better sense, turning to Freddie with a look that was perplexed, to say the least. Freddie, his face still plastered with an odd sense of pride in seeing his friend pull of such brutish behaviour in a way only she could manage, simply smiled.

"Well, usually we save it for the ARC," he said, smirking. "I've never been much of a boxer, so I tend to just observe," he joked, taking a seat and kicking his feet up on the table, leaning back as his hands clasped the back of his head. "Don't worry, it'll blow over soon. Mari can handle herself--"

As the words left his mouth, it was as if he'd temporarily borrowed Amethyst's powers and directed them at his friend, as the Martian headbutted her violently and threw her to the ground with such force that the tiles shattered and scattered upon her impact. Instinctively, Freddie leapt into action, almost tripping over himself as he sped to Mari's side.

"Mari!" he yelled, crouching beside her on the ruined floor. "Are you OK?"

"Definitely not normal then," Tommy muttered to himself, vaulting to his feet after Freddie and following him to Mari's side, hovering awkwardly and feeling very much like the spare prick at the wedding.

Welcome to Corrigan's school for Advanced Learning and Development, Tommy-Boy, where we learn how to rattle the Jesus outta each other.

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31st October, 2025

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It happened fast, faster than he could register. S’tann had fallen in pain when Andy flared up, his eyes wide in pain; that much was to be expected. But then he’d started speaking in a language unfamiliar to Andy’s ears, fear adding to his agony, backing up against the mess hall’s wall as he tried to regain his footing – the first sign of diplomacy gone wrong. Then Mari flew in, as impulsive as ever, hooking the Martian to the ground, and for a moment, Andy thought that he would stay there.

He was wrong.

The way S’tann fought back was brutal, fuelled by an animalistic rage that Andy had never seen in the Martian before. In two swift moves he took her down, unleashing blow after blow of destructive power. Just when it looked like he was going to kill her – just when Andy had the thought of doing something – someone from the crowd leapt into the fray, tackling S’tann to the ground, only to be thrown away like a ragdoll by a child throwing a tantrum.

Before he could feel sorry for Mari’s saviour, before he could be thankful, a voice he knew erupted from him behind him. Its owner was engulfed in purple flame, a stark contrast to his golden-orange glow, and her gaze told of nothing but blame and contempt. “What are you doing?” yelled Nora Norwich, “What did you do?!”

She was angry at him. Why was she angry at him? He’d done nothing to her. She should be focusing on S’tann, who had battered Mari like she was nothing but a punching bag, S'tann, who had just moments before tried to – S’tann. Andy’s eyes widened in realisation. “Nora, I – ”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, though. A blast of wind, strong and forceful, pushed him backwards, forcing him to take a step to regain his balance. In front him stood Kieran, S’tann’s fist in his hand, the Kryptonian lecturing him, just as Andy had but a few moments ago. He had no doubt that if Kieran hadn’t been there to stop S’tann, he would be dead meat – the hole in his chest making his punctured lungs look like a scrape on his shins.

Eyes sweeping over the cafeteria, he said, “Kieran, thank you,” just loud enough for the Kryptonian to hear, before he caught sight of Mari, now joined by Freddie. Oh, thank god, Freddie, you beautiful Brit, he thought, walking over to him with painful steps. Kieran had this. He didn’t need any help. “Freddie,” Andy called out, wheezing. As he arrived he took notice of an unfamiliar face, blond and undisputedly lost. A new guy. Great. Of all the times... “Uh – sup,” he managed to say, little more than a gasp, the pain now invading his body. Heatless fire still covering his lower body, he collapsed onto his knees, kneeling next to Mari. “Don’t mind me,” he wheezed, “I’ll just stay here.” He closed his eyes. “Goddammit, I’m sorry. This is my fault.” Then he opened them, looking at Freddie, his mouth shaped into a weak smirk. “So… How’s your morning been?”

Mess Hall
October 31, 2025

There was a whisper through the flames. The Martian struggled to hear it over the roar of the parademons, but he thought he heard his name. A fellow Martian lives? His family? The voice was female. M'gann? He thought. No. His cousin didn't sound like that. Someone he knew, then? From school? Or a neighbor? Whoever it was, it didn't matter. Their voice was lost in the commotion. Any semblance of hope was gone now. He'd failed to kill Darkseid. He'd failed to escape. He'd failed to protect Mars.

Darkseid was too strong. His armies too numerous to combat. For every Fury he beat without mercy, it a dozen more of Apokolips's elite appeared. He'd been so close, too. Moments from engaging Darkseid himself. But now some powerful figure had stopped the Martian in his tracks. His green fist suspended in the air by his foes own hand.

There was something...familiar about him. S'tann couldn't recognize his face; but the symbol he wore on his chest. There was just something about it that forced S'tann to hesitate. To think. He'd seen it somewhere. It was...important. Powerful. It meant the wearer was a force of...nature?

No.

Good.

S'tann's memories slowly leaked through the blind rage. The fog that enveloped his mind parted for but a moment. That moment was long enough, however, for S'tann to realize that this was all wrong. Dreadfully wrong. Why would a force of good stop Legacy on his sacred mission? He only wished to defend Mars. To protect it from this tyrant. The man began to speak, but S'tann couldn't understand a word he was saying. His lips did not form words he recognized. What was going on? Why did he feel so out of place? His anger subsided, and a wave of unbearable pain overcame the jade skinned alien. S'tann S'tonn went limp and collapsed against the cold, hard ground. He felt so many things. Confusion. Frustration. Even a bit of joy, now that it was over. So many emotions vied for control as consciousness threatened to leave him. But one stood above all the others: Despair.

"<I have failed you, Mars.>" S'tann gasped, struggling for air. "<I'm sorry.>"

Then the darkness overcame S'tann, and he was still.

It wouldn't be long before J'onn and some of the staff appeared. Commotions such as this one were rarely self-contained events. In fact, one had to wonder how the teachers hadn't arrived sooner. But whatever their reason, whatever their excuse, they were there now. J'onn J'onzz lifted his unconscious, bleeding nephew off the ground and wordlessly exited the cafeteria. The Martian made a beeline for the Medical office of the Administration Building, moving as quickly as his telekinesis could carry him. He wasn't worried about S'tann physical trauma. Fire poisoning was a serious problem for Martians, yes, but the medical staff on hand could handle that with J'onn's guidance. From what J'onn had telepathically assessed the moment he entered the mess hall, the flame S'tann had been exposed to (which was almost entirely his own fault, J'onn noted) had been relatively minor.

No, his real worry lied inside S'tann's mind. The young Martian's disorder hadn't been triggered so severely in years. There must have been something very specific that had occurred that caused the hallucinations to begin. Some set of actions and reactions in a very specific order must have subconsciously reminded him of the burning of Mars. This troubled J'onn a great deal. He'd sat both his nephew and his niece down and cleansed their minds as best he could of that day; they had been so young, yet they recalled it all so vividly. He couldn't erase everything. Not without risking damage to their brains. M'gann had learned some time ago how to control and manipulate her own subconscious, allowing her to scrub out the more sensitive areas of the mind herself. But S'tann had never bothered with mastering telepathy. He was such a violent boy; he only ever wanted to enhance his body. If J'onn had half a mind he would have allowed Barbara to expel him months ago. But he knew that wasn't an option. This was the only place J'onn could keep on eye on him, just in case...well. Just in case this happened again.

J'onn placed S'tann S'tonn's body on the bed as gently as he could. The staff got to work hooking S'tann up to the monitoring machines and J'onn took a seat, plunging his fingers into S'tann's skull and entering his mind telepathically. He prayed to whatever deity would listen that it wasn't too late.

He couldn't lose another.

“I guess that would be fine?” He said, a questioning tone in his voice.

Mailsi resisted a snort at her friend's discomfort. Instead she settled for a smirk. A quick lives smirk. It died a horrible death when Andy hit the wall. The teenage superhero turned her head around and gaped at the spectacle. She had looked just in time to see Mar'i punch S'tann in the face, and get head butted in return.

Mailsi found herself on her feet as Kieran blocked S'tann's punch. Her heart leapt into her throat as the idiot rocked back with the force of the punch, but remained standing. The force of the punch was enough to ruffle her 'kerchiefed hair. The wind also signaled to her just how dangerous this was. And what she needed to do next.

"Casey." Mailsi snapped out, still staring at the fight. "Get Eligius out of here."

Without waiting to see if Casey would do as she told him. With a deep breath the teenager shoved students out of her way and made it to where the fight was still going on.

"S'tann!" Mailsi bellowed, using the full force of her lung capacity. It probably wasn't the brightest move. After all she couldn't take S'tann on. Ever. In fact the one person who stood a chance was Kieran, and he was in the best position to keep S'tann occupied while the Mess Hall evacuated. Thankfully, the martian didn't do so much as even respond. Which was actually worrying.

"S'tann?" Mailsi question as she moved closer, and into punching range. Of course that's when the alien crumpled to the ground. She was next to him almost before he finished falling. As she knelt down she barely heard S'tann speak.

"<I have failed you, Mars. I'm sorry.>"

The Irish girl blinked as she processed the words. "S'tann." She licked her lips before trying something in Martian. "<You're not on Mars. You didn't fail. You're okay.>"

Without a word Mailsi felt herself pushed aside as Professor J'onzz finally arrived. Without any fan fare he picked up his nephew and vanished out of the building. Mailsi just sat there a little punch drunk, blinking at Kieran as she tried to process.

"Hey. You okay?" Mailsi managed after a few seconds. Then she attempted a smile which felt more like a grimace. "I think this whole school needs therapy." Mailsi felt like she needed therapy. After Eligius and now S'tann. This school was almost as messed up as her family. And that was saying something.

Infirmary
October 31, 2025

<You're not on Mars. You didn't fail. You're okay.>

Those were the last words S'tann S'tonn could recall hearing. Since then, there has been only darkness. The Martian was busy enjoying the bliss of dreamless sleep; losing it was almost too much to bear. But S'tann felt himself compelled toward consciousness at breakneck speeds, unable to stop or slow down. So he braced himself for the crushing weight of reality. He feared awakening. He knew there would be consequences for what he had done. S'tann wasn't aware of what had occurred outside of his hallucination but he knew, based on his previous experiences like this one, that what came next sucked ass. S'tann wondered what had happened; what he was responsible for. He'd snapped. Probably at Andy. He could still picture the pyrokinetic as his body began to glow bright orange. He recalled in vivid detail the horrific pain Andrew had caused him. In any other context, S'tann would be pissed. But Andy had every right to defend himself. Legacy could have killed him with that blow. And it was partly S'tann's own fault that he was in this mess; he knew what fire could- would do to him. But S'tann S'tonn had convinced himself that it was all necessary.

But none of it was necessary.

The alien recalled his uncle's many teachings over the years. If only he'd applied a tenth of what J'onn had told his nephew over the years, S'tann wouldn't be the third most hated student on campus. He wouldn't be attacking the closest people he had to friends every time they jabbed at him. And he wouldn't be lying on this hospital bed, wired to a plethora of machines that monitored his foreign life signs. The Martian stirred. The light temporarily blinded him as he forced his eyelids open. S'tann glanced around the room and his initial suspicions were confirmed. This was, indeed, the infirmary. Something in the back of his mind wondered how many students he'd put in here with him. S'tann pushed the thought away as soon as it surfaced, determined to ignore the inevitable for as long as possible. His head felt like shit. He hadn't imagined getting punched in the face, that was for sure. S'tann attempted to sit up but his ribs' protests forbade movement for the time being. A sighed escaped his green lips as S'tann turned his head to the right. He was greeted by the sight of a floral wallpaper. The Martian adjusted his position and turned to the left and was immediately greeted by one of Andy's stupid smirks.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty," he said, his accent as grating as ever. "Good to see you're back in the land of the living."

That moron had ruined everything. S'tann didn't doubt that it had been Andy's fire that triggered the hallucinations. That was the only logical explanation for all of this. He'd made the Martian go berserk. He must have looked like a psychopath. Or an animal. Or both. Not that it mattered what S'tann looked like; if they hadn't all thought he was crazy before, they sure as hell would now. Any shred of credibility the Martian Boy had built up since the last incident was completely erased and now he was back at square one. Where the cosmos thought he belonged. Perhaps the universe was right. Perhaps he did belong here. Outcast, alone and totally out of his mind.

The Martian gave the most half-assed "I hate you." he could manage before looking away from the Australian. If Andy was paying attention to S'tann's eyes, he would've seen that S'tann was looking right past him. As if he was addressing someone else and not the candlestick who was to blame. "I hope you realize now why I don't like fire." S'tann said after awhile, his eyes glued to the ceiling fan. "You had to go and make it fucking difficult, didn't you? Couldn't leave good enough alone." He said quietly. "For the record, I didn't enjoy hitting you." S'tann looked back at Andy now. "I don't like punching down." The Martian allowed himself the briefest of smiles.

"Yeah, well, not everyone can stand at the towering height of five foot seven, dickhead," drawled Andy, laughing. "Those were some pretty good hits, y'know. You broke, like, four of my ribs. I'm lucky I didn't break my back, too." He reached up to rub the back of his head, winced from the pain, then gave up, resting his arm at his side. His eyes met S'tann's as he said, "I meant what I said, you know. Every bit of it. And for what it's worth... I'm sorry. It's my fault this ever happened. I shouldn't have provoked you."

"We both know that's bullshit." S'tann growled. "I'm as far from 'the best of us' as it can get." The Martian wrinkled in nose in disgust. As much as he hated to admit it, Andrew's words gave him pause. If he had half a mind to, S'tann would've pried the truth from Andy's putrid brain. But he didn't want to. He feared that Andy might, in fact, believe his own lies. "Don't be sorry. I'm the one who needs to apologize. I shouldn't of hit you; that would have killed a lesser man. Lucky for me, you humans are tougher than you let on."

"Now that you mention it, I am pretty tough," said Andy, his smirk ever present. With a lengthy grimace, he tried once more to place his hand behind his head. Succeeding, he moved on to his other hand, relaxing into his new position with a small groan. His smirk was now gone, replaced by a thoughtful expression, his eyes gazing up towards the ceiling. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You could easily be one of the greats if you just pull your finger out. I mean, I don't get it. Why bother with this 'I'm so much better than you' act if you don't actually believe it?"

"There's an old Martian proverb that was commonly called the 'Creed of the Manhunters.' It doesn't translate perfectly into English, but it basically says:

'My armor is contempt,
My shield isolation,
My sword is hatred."

S'tann paused to collect his thoughts before proceeding. "Ever since...Well. Ever since I left Mars, I've always wanted to be a Manhunter. I devoted my life to following the creed; even before I met J'onn, I was training myself to be one of them." The Martian chuckled. "Uncle J'onzz was nothing like I pictured a Manhunter to be. He was kind, loyal and forgiving. Just dripping with wisdom, ya know? He puzzled me for years. I had this desire so ingrained in my mind and then he comes along and screws with everything I believed. With every notion I'd ever had about Mars' finest. So one day I go up to J'onn and ask him about the creed. He tells me it isn't even authentic. The thing's a fuckin' fake! But I'd never been so convinced someone was wrong in my entire life. I decided to put the proverb before anything J'onn J'onzz, an actual, honest to God Manhunter, told me. Being the absolute dickhead that I am, I've kept with it. No idea why. But I have.

"And look where its gotten me. I'm basically the king of the world." S'tann spat sarcastically, his every word dripping with contempt and hatred."No doubt that doesn't answer your question. But its the best I've got."

"No, no, that just about explains it." Andy's eyes remained fixed to the ceiling. "You know, I get it. For as long as I can remember I've looked up to the Justice League. When I was little, I didn't want to be an astronaut, or a fireman, or a police officer, like most five year-olds do. I wanted to be a superhero." He sighed. "This was before my powers activated, mind you.

"I followed the League's adventures religiously. Where Mr. Perkins down the street was going on about our Lord and Saviour, I was preaching about the Big Seven. In my eyes, they were our saviours. I mean, where was this Jesus guy when Braniac came to invade us?

"So when I accidentally shot fire out of my hands and burned down my school's library (it was empty), I was ecstatic. I could finally take the next step in following my dreams. I was fourteen, and I took to the streets, only to realise that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was useless. No matter how hard I tried, how many boxing lessons I took, all I did every time I pulled on a hoodie was nearly get myself, and other people, killed. My parents found out, and before I knew what was happening I was here... at the Justice League Academy. I found myself desperately trying to live up to the names of the people I'd spent so long worshipping like gods. It didn't take long for crushing disappointment to crash down on top of me when I realised that I wouldn't be able to do that. I guess that's when I figured there's no harm in being a clown. I mean, if you can't hope to be the hero you've always dreamt of becoming, why bother taking it seriously?

"I think that's why you frustrated me so much. You have everything going for you, and yet it kept looking like you were happy to just throw it all away."

"I was following my dream." S'tann explained. "No matter who or what stood in my way. Something you could learn from." The comment held no scorn for Andrew; in fact, The Martian appeared sympathetic. "What makes you think you can't become one of the best? The only thing stopping you is yourself. Your powers are just as amazing as mine, Andy. Perhaps even greater; but you can only learn to harness them if you commit to it. It won't be easy. In fact, it will be the hardest thing you'll ever choose to do. But if you train? If you dedicate your time and energy to becoming something more than some clown? It will be worth it. I can promise you that. If you don't, though..." S'tann paused, his visage becoming grim. "There's no point in staying at Corrigan. You'd be better off going home and spending the rest of your life moping on your mom's couch."

"I believe we can help each other, Andrew. I'll show you how to live up to your potential; how to become something more. And you can teach me to be less of an asshole." The Martian extended his hand across the room using his powers, offering it to Andy. "Deal?"

Andy spent a good while looking at S'tann, as if trying to figure him out. Eventually he smiled, satisfied, extending his hand with grunt, clasping the Martian's. "Deal."

Julian Luthor:

Since the passing of his biological template, his father. Julian had been splitting his time equally between metropolis and the academy. He had more than enough loose ends to tie up at Lexcorp, and the phone calls, video chats and dinners with politicians who were looking to find out if Julian was planning on following in President Luthor's footsteps. He was exhausted, barely having any time for himself. But what time he had, he spent in the workshop. The ARC session had been cut short, but he did find himself being outgunned by just about everyone. He might have a higher IQ than the entirety of MENSA combined, but that didn't help him particularly much against the likes of Stan and Mrs. Rexen. He had to come up with something new if he would be serious about the whole Superhero thing.

In the workshop, he was working on a few different projects. Modifications to his arms being pretty high on the list, but he was also experimenting with NTH metal that Lexcorp had scourged over the years. It was the biggest benefit of being in charge of the shadiest organization on the planet - they had a whole lot of stuff. He was making a belt, one that would in theory allow him to fly, at the very least levitate. Ideally, it would be used to make a energy less alternative to the rocket boots and power armor Lex wore, more reliable, no risk of Kryptonite Cancer.

Leaning over his shoulder, he looked at the white piece of cloth being thrown over two glass cases, inside were his surprise for the dress-up at the dance. Even with the weight of Lexcorp on his shoulders, Julian still had to find time to relax and be a teenager, and not just the second coming of Anti-Christ.

Rita Rexen

Furious, aggrevated and completely fucking pissed off. That was how Rita had felt since the ARC session, all of that pent up anger boiling inside of her. She was close to snapping someone's neck, and when some poor kid bumped into her in the hallway, she purposely pushed her shoulder against his, sending the poor guy to the floor with a dislocated arm. To make matters worse, she was out of cigarettes, nicotine withdrawal was making her even more ticked off.

She was in the gym area, dressed in her white tanktop, punching the ultra-durable punching bag, suspended in the air with energy particles, the bag capable of handling hits from Superman, tech possible thanks to the combined genius of Ray Palmer and Michael Holt, Rita had been told. They struck her as just run off the mill nerds, they never had interested her particularly much.

She hit the bag harder. Each hit making the apparatus shake, and with each hit, she imagined her fists weren't hitting the unknown alloy, but the face of the youngest member of the Superman dynasty. The newest person to bear the shield on their chest. Thinking he's larger than life, better than everyone else just because of said shield.

It pissed her off so damn much.

Coward.

Kyle could almost hear the word as he slipped out of the Mess Hall. As soon as S'tann had stood up and tossed Andy, he was up and heading out. He couldn't stand up to the Martian, and had no inclination to do so. Instead he crammed the rest of his toast in his mouth, feeling a little like an anime character, and hustled off. As he fled the scene of the crime, he heard yelling, but didn't stop to discover the source.

When the bell rang from class the young teen was already in his set, ready for the day. His paper and pencil on his desk, a sharp contrast from everyone's tablets or phones. As the teacher droned on Kyle focused. He didn't want to day dream. Since most of them were centered around the ARC session or when he made Rita Rexen have a seizure. Yes, he knew her name now. He had done research on her, mainly asking other students who weren't too afraid of him.

As he wrote he also listened to the students around him eagerly discuss the school dance. Kyle made a small face. He was not going to the dance. Just the principle of it was enough to make him sweat. Dancing involved contact. Ipso Facto, he was never ever going to do it. Not even one of Julain's stunts could get him to change his mind. Anti-social, meet Kyle and learn a thing or two.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Kyle. When he emerged in the afternoon, he stretched out his back. For once in his life he voluntarily headed to the Rec Center.

This was the second time this week that Kieran had to step in and stop S'tann from killing someone. It was almost like he was his babysitter or handler now. He was glad that his uncle had arrived and took him out of there. Things should be settling down after that. He looked over at Mari who was now joined by Freddie and Andy. The fact that the latter was still able to move showed his resilience. Kieran's main focus was Mari. She took quite the beating and it made him believe that S'tann's days at Corrigan were now numbered. There's no way that the Bat Family would let this stand after it hit so close to home. He expected that he'd be kicked out before he got the chance to go to the dance.

He heard a familiar voice and turned to see Mailsi. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. The guy packs quite the punch." He then clearly forced a laugh before looking around the cafeteria. "I think we're way past therapy. I'm going to go ahead to class. I don't want to be late again." He started to walk over to Mari and the others and said, "Sorry." before walking away again. He really felt bad about not stepping in sooner than he did. He was there. He let the situation escalate like it did. He wanted to believe that it was because he initially believed that Andy and Mari could handle it, but he knew that S'tann was stubborn and that the difference in power between him and Mari had a pretty big gap. At least a big gap at their current levels.

Maybe there was something wrong with him. He didn't like seeing them in distress like that or at least he didn't think he did. What other excuse could he give for not stepping in sooner? Maybe the nightmares were getting to him more than he originally thought. Maybe class and the dance could help him clear his mind of it. At least temporarily.