Chapter 1: New Arrivals, New Threats

Within a sigh, he took a look at his schedule for the semester. He didn't know why he had to spend the semester here in Colorado. Oh that's right, his little sister had to get Mom and Dad involved with a foreign-exchange student program. It was perfect. His older brother and sister were both gone, leaving only three kids in the house. There was a problem. The house only had four available rooms, each containing a queen-size bed. And with his little sister a part of the JV varsity team and his younger brother apart of the debate team, guess who's the odd sibling out? A lesson learned: Try to be more into school events. Now he would have to stay with his uncle in Middleton. Hopefully when the semester ended he could head home.

He dragged his fingers through his hair done in cornrows, "Well, here goes nothing…" As he opened the double doors, he looked around at the school. For first glance, it did appear to be just like his old school back home. The people seem to be friendly… well… as friendly as most teens were. Although there were some who could be problems. But all he had to do was to stay in the background, and just watch everything and he would be fine. He snickered at the thought, 'Easier said than done…'

As he saw the various types of students in the school, he made sure to keep notes. It was easy to tell who were friendly and who were not by their facial expressions. Then again, some were harder to read than others. One of the things his father has taught him was to always be observant of your surroundings. The simplest answers could always be found in the least likely places. It could even save you one day…

As he continued to walk on, he decided that he should look for his first class. If he needed to go to his locker, he could do it during lunch or something. Better than getting lost on his first day. Speaking of his first class, he had to go to his Psychology class. At least his classes were somewhat similar to those back home. As he continued to walk on he did not notice the person who was about to collide with him.

"Watch where you're going!" He heard a snobbish voice snap at him.

"Sorry…" He simply said, turning no attention to the girl as he walked away. Although, he couldn't help but sniff at the scent that just entered his nostrils.

This didn't sit well with her, "Excuse me!"

"I said I was sorry!" He explained again. "Nice perfume, by the way!"

"What!?"

"You're perfume! It smells nice! What kind is it anyway?" He continued to look around, 'Hmm… Still got a way to go…'

"Of course it does, duh! You think that I'd wear it otherwise?" She never seen him before, and already she's getting an "idiot" vibe from him.

"People do have different tastes. As they say, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure.' I may like your perfume, while another may hate it."

"And why would you think that anyone wouldn't like my perfume? Obviously you're so not into fashion!"

"I never said that I was. I was only making an observa-" He found his schedule snatched from his hand as he turned to see a brunette holding it. "Now that was un-"

"Rude much? Could you at least look at me when I'm talking to you?"

"Okay…" This conversation was going south. It hasn't been an hour and already he was making enemies! Wasn't that wonderful? He had to do something to remedy the situation.

"Just what are you trying to pull?"

"Umm…say what?"

"First you bump into me, then you apologize without looking at me, then you're commenting on my perfume! Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I was just apologizing then I noticed your perfume! I liked it so I said so! It's simple as day!" He checked his watch before snatching back his schedule, "I'd like to stay and chat, but I am in a bit of a hurry!"

She watched as the boy walked away, rolling her eyes. As if the school didn't had enough worthless scrubs… No matter, she shouldn't let that ruin her day.

…

"Class, I would like to introduce to you a new student!" A woman in her mid forties announced, "Please welcome Gregory Jones!"

The students turned towards the new student. His jet-black hair combed back, those beautiful baby-blue eyes, and that smile. That alluring smile that just made all the girls melt… The guys were a bit envious as the girls just swooned. All focus was on him, well… almost…

His head in his folded arms on the desk, he paid no attention to the admiration Gregory was receiving. He didn't even notice there was, given his current situation. There was no crime in sleeping during class, as long as you had a tape recorder to listen to the entire class, let alone when you had a headache no Advil can cure. It's not as if he was passing notes or anything.

"Today class, we will pair up in groups of two for your project." The teacher explained as he continued to sleep. He knew that he had to go the school the day he arrived in Middleton, but he stayed up anyway! He needed to be a bit more responsible. It was understandable why he was tired all the time, but that was no excuse to not even try to stay awake. However, when he finally gained enough strength to stay awake, he found that every person in the class had a partner. All except for him… That's the price one pays for sleeping during class.

"Has everyone found a partner?" The teacher asked as he looked around. He was a bit in a jam here. The teacher then turned towards him, "You don't have a partner Mr…"

"Zach, Zach Asters…"

"Oh right, Zach. Almost forgot you also joined the class today!" She shook her head, introductions could wait. She looked down on her roster. "Well, there's another student who isn't here right now so you'll have to pair with her."

"Works well with me," He nodded. In truth, he wondered how his partner was going to be. He knew it was going to be a girl, but what else? For all he knew he could end up with a smart girl, but then again, that smart girl could be so condescending and controlling he wouldn't have a good time doing the assignment. Well, most assignments were just work for him, but at least he didn't go crazy. At the same time, he could be paired with an optimistic girl who has her heart in the right place, but isn't very bright. But it was his fault for sleeping, and now he'll have to deal.

"Hey Zach?"

He turned to the source of the voice, only to find a young African-American girl, "Yeah, what's up?"

"You have my condolences" was all she said as the redhead girl beside her nodded.

"Good luck!"

"Well thanks, but I don't think I'll need it." After all, Zach thought, how bad could this girl be? Funny how what usually happened the moment one would ask this question, as the sound of the door opening was heard. Either that was his partner, or someone else.

"Trust me, you'll need it." The redhead said again.

"Oh come on Kim, she can't be that bad!" The first girl insisted.

"Monique you do know this is Bonnie we're talking about here!"

"So that's her name…" Zach pondered, this "Bonnie" sounded really friendly. He'd have to watch himself otherwise she'd be riding him throughout the whole project. However, when he saw who entered, his eyes went wide. "Hey, it's-"

"You!" She pointed at him. It's him, the guy who bumped into her! And now he was in her class? This day's just getting better and better!

"Bonnie, welcome back. We were just choosing partners. And since you and Zach here are the only ones without partners, you two will be working together?"

"What!?" This won't do at all! She had to use the restroom and when she got back, she's paired with some weirdo, one who's obsessed with her perfume no less!

Monique tried to defuse the situation, "I take it you guys know each other."

"Let's just say we've bumped into each other." As he looked at his partner for the project, he wasn't sure if he wanted to work with her now. This girl seemed to have a few chips on each shoulder. But he had to made due, 'Let this be my punishment.'

"You are so SOL."

10 Minutes Later…

If there was a word to describe the situation, stressful would be a good word to describe it. She just had to go to the stupid restroom! She couldn't have held it until after class! And now she was stuck with this interesting fellow!

Bonnie couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Out of all people, why the hell did she get stuck with Perfume Boy? Why couldn't she have paired up with Gregory Jones instead? Unfortunately, it was Justine Flanner's destiny to be paired with him. It could be worse, she supposed. She could've been stuck with that red-headed pain in the ass.

Speaking of "pain in the ass," her new "partner" wasn't being cooperative. All he kept doing was clutching his head and barely keeping his eyes open. Looks like she would have to be the brains of this operation! God knew he wouldn't do anything useful.

She poked him, "Don't tell me you can't even stay awake!"

"You try having the same headache I'm having, then ask again." Zach replied.

She waved off as she looked at the roster once again, "Whatever…" It was best to get back to work before he irritated her – again! The assignment was that they were to do a psychological study of a student. The whole project would be semester long and it would be graded throughout the entire term. The best part of the assignment is that they could select any student to study. However, there was a catch: A student who was taking the same class was ineligible to be selected. What could've been the best project she's ever done was now ruined, as she couldn't pick Miss Perfect.

Bonnie thought about all the possibilities she could gain from this, besides an outstanding grade of course. She could learn more of Kim's secrets, beside that Panda Roo thing she has that her mom revealed she owned. It just had to be the tip of the iceberg, she always thought. If she could bring to light the most embarrassing, the most shameful thing in her life, she could finally bring down Miss Perfect once and for all! But sadly, that was not to be.

Or maybe, this could lead to another opportunity. As she turned the page of the roster, she saw one particular name before smiling. If she couldn't get Miss Perfect, common sense state to go after the one who was closest to her: Ron Stoppable. He wasn't taking this class, not that he could with his mediocre intelligence, so he was eligible. Also, for some inane reason that escaped her, he was also Kim's best friend so whatever dirt she could find from him would be perfect. And if it got out, it would be the loser's fault. She turned to her, ugh, partner. As pathetic as he was, he wasn't near as bad as Stoppable. "Hey!"

Zach turned to her, "Eh?"

"We've found our subject. We're studying Ron Stoppable, whether you like it or not! End of discussion!"

"Hm, no problem! Sounds cool to me!" Anyone would be fine to do research on, seeing that he didn't really know anyone save for, in a lesser degree, Bonnie. It would just as well be another opportunity to know a student. "Anyway, who is he anyway?"

"All you need to know that he's a total loser! The less you're around him, the better off you'll be!"

He raised a brow, "Loser… as in…"

"Think of the most pathetic person in the universe, than multiply it by infinity."

Zach wasn't too sure he liked where this was going, "So he's that bad huh?"

Bonnie scoffed, "Please, he's even worse. Why Kim hangs around with him is beyond me, let alone him being her best friend."

"Well apparently we'll find out soon enough with this project."

"Please, I've been trying to figure that out for years…"

"Maybe you haven't looked hard enough. Sometimes the answer you seek is closer than you think."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't tell my you're getting all philosophical on me." More like Full-of-shit-ical…

Zach sighed. Within the first five minutes he's met her, she was already rubbing him the wrong way. After ten minutes of knowing that she was his partner he wasn't sure if he liked her. If you can't get along with your partner, you can't do the job well, if at all! Fortunately, his headache seemed to be gone for the time being. Too bad he may end up getting another from his own partner soon…

Lunch Hour

As he placed away his Algebra II book inside of his locker, Zach wasn't interested in lunch much. From what he's heard from the people at school, the lunch needed a lot left to be desired, and if he really got hungry he could just eat a Pop Tart or two. Anyway, if he was going to get started on his study of Ron Stoppable, he would have to see the kid first before forming an opinion. He wasn't going to take Bonnie's word for it, as it seems to be a bit… Make that a lot biased. He could've been like the ambassador of Goodwill and she'd still slander him, all because he was friends with Kim Possible.

He may've only been at Middleton High for several hours, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that the two girls didn't get along. Actually they hated each other. From what he's seen of Kim so far, he couldn't fathom why Bonnie would be so ill-willed towards her. Probably just female drama that was best to stay out of.

Zach pondered, "If I was a social outcast, where would I be?" Finding the guy shouldn't be that hard, given his reputation. If this guy was as unpopular as she said he was, of course he would be a prime target of a beat down. Of course hardly anyone would do anything about it. That's how sad some schools are. If Stoppable was indeed on the receiving end of a beating, he would not step in. He wanted to see if he could stand on his own two feet. If the situation would reach fatal territory, however…

Within a few steps, he heard a sound of a body colliding hard into a row of lockers. Quickly, Zach rushed over to the source of the sound. Upon arrival, it was what he had expected: A group of jocks were commencing the beat down of a freckled-faced blonde kid. Bonnie's description was "Blonde, scrawny, and pathetic," and this kid was blonde, was scrawny enough, and from where he stood he did look pretty pathetic. Bingo.

After a few more punches to the gut, the jocks taunted him once more before leaving their victim the pathetic mess he was. Once they were gone, Zach decided to make his move. He had to make sure that he was okay. As he looked down at his current form, he looked pretty banged up, but it could've been worse. Nothing but a just a few bumps, scratches, and bruises! "Need a hand?"

The poor kid accepted as he found himself helped up to his feet. "Yeah… Thanks."

"You let those guys beat you up?"

"Yeah, no use running from them! They're bigger and stronger, so there's no way out! But hey, that's not enough to keep the Ron-Man down!"

"So you don't even try to fight back?"

"Against Brick and his crew? Are you kidding?"

Zach was rolling his eyes at this point, "You keep that up and they'll keep hounding you all year!" Clearly he at least knew how to defend himself, right?

"It's no problem! I'm used to this! No biggie! Just don't tell Kim, okay?"

He was already starting to see the likeability of this guy, or lack thereof. Perhaps Bonnie had a point after all. Who wants to respect someone who wouldn't even respect himself, let alone willing to stand up for himself? Which brought up another question: Should he try to help Ron, or just stay out of it? On one hand, he clearly didn't seem to mind the beatings. On the other hand, this was beyond unfair. The fact that he wouldn't defend himself irritated him to no end.

"What did I tell ya… What did I tell ya…"

"You're not really helping…" Zach didn't bother to turn around. He already recognized that gloating sound. "Our friend here seems quite the alpha male!"

"What do you expect from a L-O-S-E-R?" Bonnie examined her nails, "Here's an idea for a topic: 'Why are some people more pathetic than others?'"

"Hmph, isn't that a bit much for you?"

"What? We're just taping the froob, we can also use that as a source for our thesis!"

"Wouldn't want to give you too much work." Zach walked away, "You of all people should know when to realize you've bitten off more than you can chew."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, offended, "Excuse me?"

"I've heard about your work rate… or lack thereof."

She rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulder, her brief run as Squad Captain brought to mind, "Where did you hear that from? Did Kim tell you?"

"Kim doesn't need to tell me anything." Zach calmly moved her hand from his shoulder, "Your behavior is obvious for a girl who expects everything and anything from anyone and everyone. A typical – quote unquote – 'Daddy's little princess.'"

Bonnie wasn't sure if she could do this project. For one thing her partner was a joke. He was lazy, had a huge ego, and was very condescending which would almost be cute if it wasn't so blatant. Plus the way he actually talked to her. Her! Nobody talked to Bonnie Rockwaller the way Zach did. Even Brick knew his place, let alone not to get snippy with her.

The Brendan Inn - Upperton

David Brendan, son of wealthy billionaire mogul Howard Brendan, had the time of his life. He already was invited to Britina's comeback party as well as sneak previewing a new song that would be featured in the Oh Boyz' reunion tour CD. And to top it all off? He now had the upper condominium on the ten-story building. Could it get any better? Actually, yes it could.

As he moved his fingers through her long, silk-like chestnut hair, his lips engulfed with another pair as his tongue massaged another. Slowly, they moved closer to the door as their hands began to move down to their backs, to even lower… In the middle of this session, David managed to slide the key into the slot as within a turn, the door opening nearly lead them to collapse.

The young lady chuckled in an intoxicated manner as she found herself lifted, wrapping her legs around his husky build. She felt his hands underneath her silver dress as they move towards the bed.

"Mmm… You like that?" David asked, having a handful as another giggle was all the incentive he needed to continue as the two collapsed onto the king-sized bed. His hands moving across her back, the fingers soon grip the small zipper as it is slowly pulled down. The young lady's grin widened as she felt her dress pulled down, exposing her breasts. Soon after, he ripped the buttons off his shirt before unzipping his pants. However, as the beautiful young lady watch his jeans dropped, a smile was on her face, but it was for a different reason.

"Shut up, bitch!" David's hard smack caused her head to bounce on the bed…

"What the hell is your problem?" She was in the mood moments ago, but now she had enough. What did he think she was anyway? Just some whore for him to play with? She tried to push him off, but his size was too much for her. "No…"

"What? You were willing a moment ago!" David continued to force himself on this tease, caring less about her cries. She wanted it and she was going to get it. The girl, trying as hard as to break free, felt something escaping her. The hair on her skin began to grow longer and thicker as fangs began to form from her canines. Her muscle mass also increased as her eyes began to change. David finally managed to notice change, however, as she…it…whatever it was roared in pure rage. But it was too late as he let out a bloodied scream…

…

"And he's been like this for hours?" Kim cringed at the sight of the corpse. Even with the blood-covered sheets draped, the wound was still visible. Most of his organs in his midsection were ripped out. The bloodied footprints lead off the door and onto the ground.

"The bellhop who checked on him saw the door was open and bloodied, and when he opened he saw him." A police officer cringed, "I wouldn't wish this on any guy!"

"Uh Kim, I think I gonna be sick." Ron tried to keep himself from hurling. He hasn't ever seen so much blood in his life, even at the hospital. Even some of the pieces of the organs were scattered all over the carpet. Sick and wrong!

Kim walked around the room, trying to avoid doing anything that could disrupt the investigation. Wade told her that there was a hit on the site from Howard Brendan, worried that his son hasn't returned to the ballroom downstairs. He thought that he had gotten drunk and passed out at first, but he got a bad feeling something was wrong, particular of the girl he left with. Speaking of which, she found a shoe. It was a 4-inch stiletto pump, decorated in silver sequin, similar to the rags of the dress that was on the ground. It's a shame that something that most likely cost a good amount of money has to be ruined let alone on someone as slimy as Scummy Monkey over there. That's how Celebutants were, go figure... "I know that this is horrible, but for some reason I feel as if I'm betraying all the decent people out there?"

Ron raised a brow, "Betraying? Why's that KP?"

"Well, I mean I don't really have any respect for someone like David Brendan. I mean he is one of the sleaziest, rotten people in the world. But even then I feel horrible about what happened. It's like I'm feeling sorry for a tyrant!"

"Oh come on Kim, it's not that bad! I mean, yeah Mr. Scummy Monkey's not exactly a good person, but under all that he's still a human being!" Ron smiled at her, "Ne'er-do-wells are people too!"

"I know that. Still…" She pulled out the Kimmunicator, "Wade, find anything from that sample?"

"Well the blood from DNA is definitely David Brendan's, but the hair sample that was within belongs to Quiannon Reese." Wade explained on the screen, sipping a soda.

Kim blinked, "You mean that girl who recently appeared in last night's Agony County?"

"Yeah, but that's not the weird part. Upon further analysis, while the DNA matches, the hair doesn't appear to be human!"

"Oh man, don't tell me we're dealing with werewolves!" Ron began to panic.

"I don't think that it is a werewolf. It's not a full moon. Still, it may be some mutated beast she transformed into. I suggest we look more into this before we jump to conclusions."

Kim nodded, "Good call. Try to look more into it Wade. I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Consider it done Kim!"

As she placed the Kimmunicator away, she turned to Ron. "Do you think that Drakken's behind this?"

"If he was wouldn't you think he would've done it by now?" Ron reminded, "This seems more into DNAmy's territory anyway?" He still had nightmares seeing Barkin and Rufus merged together after that one ski trip.

"We better get back home. I have to get started on my Sociology assignment!"

"It shouldn't be too hard for you KP, I mean you and Monique make one badical team!"

Kim couldn't help but smile at the words of her best friend. He was always there when she needed support, both in and outside of missions. However, not even he could easy the unsettling feeling she had inside. Somehow, a girl who seemed to be victim – vain and judgmentally-challenged perhaps but still a victim – having the curse of some blood-thirsty beast was on the loose, and there was no telling who would be her next victim. Worse of all, she didn't even know where to start…

Asters' Residence - Middleton

Laying on his bed, Zach tossed a tennis ball onto a wall as it bounced back into his hands before repeating. Today was interesting to say the least. He met a kid who not only didn't bother to fight back against the bullying, he's come to terms to accept it. As if he felt it wasn't worth it… That he wasn't worth it… That was not a good sign. From what he had seen on the news and what he read in books (He was bored that day), this was similar to women who were often battered and bruised by their so-called husbands. "What's the point," Each of them would say, "It'll only just make it worse!" "I have nowhere else to go, no one to turn too!" It was all fear and lack of self-worth that often held them back, not the spouse. All it took was one phone call to improve a situation.

And then there was Bonnie "I have on my shoulder a chip the size of Texas" Rockwaller, his partner for his sociology project. Speaking of which, should he start taking notes down on what he has seen of the blonde so far? Of course that was simple enough. Ron Stoppable is the stereotypical unpopular kid who gets picked on and nobody does anything about it. Of course, he wasn't doing himself favors by not doing anything himself, and did Kim even know about this? Normally, he'd tell them to solve their own problems, but they weren't ready to do that anytime soon. If it came down to it, he really would have to step in, even if it means once again sticking his nose into other people's business…

Because he would be damned if another school shooting spawns from something that should've been done a long time ago – again!

"There was another one tonight!"

Hearing her voice through his Bluetooth headset, he closed his eyes. "I know. But that still doesn't prove anything."

"You think that Middleton regularly have werewolves that snap and mutilate their own lovers?"

"If the news reports found on the archives are correct, this wouldn't be out of the ordinary."

"It's true that they're not without their freaks and weirdoes, but still if it's what we both think it is, then it won't be long before more are awakened."

"Are you sure she's the one Celeste saw in her vision?" Zach sighed, "I don't know, I mean I did sense a bit of power, but…"

"Well she did say that she would be in Middleton. And you're still getting used to it. Just need a bit more practice and you'll master it, huh Zacky?"

"I'll just leave the sensing to you, Celeste, and Toya then. Anyway, I really hope it's not what we think it is. Otherwise, we can expect him to show up."

"We'll keep taps on him, and her for that matter. Meanwhile, you concentrate on our golden girl."

Zach nodded, "Then I'll put her to the test! Let's hope we can get this done and fast."

"Believe me. A lot is at stake in this! Good luck, Zach. And good night!"

"You too, Cas. You too…" The connection now broken, he let out a loud sigh. Tomorrow was going to be a busy one. He would have to get started on his project on Stoppable, enduring as much as he could from Bonnie, and most importantly…

He was going to have to fight Kim Possible…