Happy Harbor

September 13, 8:03 (ET)

"Did you get enough sleep last night, sweetie?"

Marvin stifled a yawn. The last thing he needed was his mom finding out about his late night activities and promptly putting an end to them. This must be how vigilantes feel all the time, he thought. At least, the one's still living with their mothers. Shaking his head to stay awake, Marvin gave his mother the widest smile he could manage.

"Yup, nine whole hours!"

Marvin's mother frowned, and Marvin swore internally. Of course the woman who raised him would know that Marvin White never went to bed before 1:00 am. Dialing his act down a bit, Marvin tried again.

"Well, y'know," he yawned. "I was gaming all night. By 10 o'clock, I just sorta collapsed."

Marvin's mom nodded behind the wheel of her car. That was more like her son. Still, she was obligated to give him a bit of parental guidance. Not that it would do much, though, as she knew from experience.

"Now, son, you've got to watch how much you're on those devices. You know, just the other day I was reading about how screens before bed can really affect your sleep. That nine hours must be feeling like three!"

Probably because it was, Marvin thought. In truth, the boy had stayed up all night. And the night before. Maybe even Friday night. But that was a given- Who goes to bed early on a Friday?

Marvin had a very valid reason for defying his usual 1:00 am bedtime. Since Friday, he had kept his vow to find the Justice Squad in his school. To the teen's surprise, tracking down a covert, possibly nonexistent group of superheroes was not as easy as expected.

Nonetheless, Marvin gave chase. He first had to choose which superhero to look for. Between the Superteen and Happy's strange green heroine, Marvin had chosen the Superteen. If the emerald girl did turn out to be a Martian, then Marvin had zero chance of finding her. Martians were a fairly mysterious species, but the Martian Manhunter had helped make their power set known; telekinesis, telepathy and shapeshifting. That last ability in particular ensured that searching for the green girl in a school of children with unique and differing appearances was as effective as looking for a needle in a hay factory. The Superteen, on the other hand, was an easier case.

Kryptonians can't (As far as Marvin knows) shapeshift. That gave the young detective a few key things to look for in his illusive prey; 15-18 years old, average height, jet black hair, and an unquenching thirst for truth, righteousness, and justice. How hard could it be to find someone in Happy Harbor High who fit that description?

Pretty damn easy- And that was the problem.

As the best (And only) high school for miles, Happy was home to over 1200 teenagers. Even cutting that in half to account for the Superteen's presumably male gender and eliminating almost all of the freshmen, there was still plenty of contestants to search through. That didn't stop Marvin, though. Mrs. White had raised her son to be many things, but a quitter was certainly not high on that list. It was obscured by his lazy, indecent, and absent-minded tendencies. A quitter, though? Not on your life.

Using his school's student directory, Marvin ruled out kids who were obviously not the Superteen. Different hair color, skin color, builds, weights; anyone who didn't fit the description was scrapped off of his list. Within just a few short days, Marvin managed to construct a group of athletes, school leaders, and academic achievers who were all likely candidates. They were the strongest, most tactical kids in Happy Harbor. The only problem was; Marvin was now left with 40-something kids who all fit the Superteen's description. And, though he knew he should be determinedly trying to narrow down all possible culprits, Marvin was just struggling to keep his eyes open.

"… So remember, an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight. Understand, son?"

"Uh huh, yup," Marvin said, pretending to have paid attention to his mother's speech. "Sleep before midnight, I'll make sure to do that. You can just drop me off here."

"Are you sure?" They were still a block away from Happy Harbor High.

"Yeah," Marvin confirmed. "All the parents do it." In reality, Marvin needed to get to school early for his little side project. That was why he accepted his mom's offer to drive him over his usual skateboard transportation. If he could see the remaining 40-something boys in person, he would be able to eliminate them from his list. Sure, 4:00 am speculation can get you pretty far, but Marvin needed a more hands on approach to narrow down who the Superteen was. Oh yeah, and prove his friends wrong in the process. Marvin hadn't forgotten the real reason he was doing this.

"Honey, look," Marvin's mom said. "There's Karen and Wendy." The two girls were a little ahead of the spot Marvin had planned to get off at. "Why don't I drop you off with them?"

Now, if Marvin was being honest, he'd tell his mom how much of a horrible idea that was. He couldn't exactly analyze suspects around Karen and Wendy. They would definitely suspect that he's a little off after Friday's disaster of a lunch. However, Marvin couldn't find a sane sounding argument against his mother's idea, so he reluctantly agreed.

Soon enough, the Whites rolled up to Wendy and Karen. Marvin gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek, thanked her for the drive, then shooed her away.

"Bye Mrs. White!" Karen waved to the minivan before turning to Marvin. "Well, you're here early. Do any more late night research over the weekend, Sherlock?"

Karen was a surprisingly good guesser. Not that Marvin was going to give her any credit.

"Hardy-har. Are you gonna drop that anytime soon?"

Marvin had gotten a variety of teasing texts from his friends over the weekend. His absolute favourite was the one Mal sent to their group chat; "Guys! Just spotted Black Canary at Happy Harbor Mall," accompanied by a picture of an 80 year old woman in a black leather jacket.

"We'll stop teasing as soon as it stops being funny," Karen said.

"In other words," Wendy began. "We're never letting this go." Marvin rolled his eyes and his friends chuckled as they approached Happy Harbor's schoolyard. From their vantage point near the building's entrance, the small group could spot kids coming from the parking lot, several sports teams practicing on the field, and even Mr. Carr's classroom through a nearby window. The young teacher was preparing for that day's civics lesson.

It was early in the morning, which Marvin was unaccustomed to. Rain had poured the night before, leaving a heavy layer of fog over Happy Harbor's grounds. Though he disliked the dreary atmosphere, Marvin knew it was all worth it when he spotted a sea of athletic kids running laps; exactly the crowd he was looking for. Everyone but the football team had arrived early for their morning practices. Now, like a lion hunting a gazelle, Marvin was ready to stalk his quarry before rushing in for the kill.

Except, Marvin wasn't going to be that harsh. He doubted his teeth would do much against the Superteen's impenetrably skin, anyways.

Hyper focused on his mission, Marvin searched for anyone on his list. He first spotted Eric Chang, a senior, and his eyes narrowed as he racked his brain for information. Chang was one of Marvin's most likely candidates. The track and field star fit every requirement; he was athletic, black haired, had a slim but muscular build, and he led his track team to victory every year. Complete Justice League material! Only one… issue, per se; Eric also happened to be Asian.

Wow, that came out wrong, Marvin thought. It wasn't like he had a problem with that or anything! Marvin just assumed that the Superteen, who's likely related to Superman in some way, would logically be a little more… How you say… Caucasian. Emphasis on the 'Cauc'. Still, as he watched Eric outrun his teammates on the track field, Marvin began to think that maybe Mr. Chang did have some Kryptonian blood running through his veins.

"Hey, look at Eric go," Wendy said.

"Yeah," Karen agreed. "He's on fi- Oh my God!"

As they spoke, Eric slipped on a patch of dirt, still wet from the previous night's rainfall. Luckily, the runner landed on his arm rather than one of his prized legs. Unfortunately, that landing occurred on the sharp edge of some nearby bleachers. To save on the gory details, Marvin quickly learned that Mr. Chang does, in fact, bleed. And judging by the abundance of blood, Marvin could safely guess that Chang was not invulnerable.

As Karen ran over to help the panicked track team call an ambulance, Marvin swore under his breath. His search was prolonged. But on the bright side, at least Eric's accident meant one less candidate on his list. Yippee.

Alright, time to move on. If it wasn't Eric, then who else fit the Kryptonian sized tights? Over at the bike racks, Marvin witnessed his next candidate waltz in; Lance Kindrid. Lance was talking intently to a guy at the side of the school. Though Marvin couldn't hear their conversation, he got a grasp of it when Kindrid's friend laughed heartily and gave Lance a fist bump. The two had probably just discussed their next little get together at the Kindrid house.

Lance was the definition of confidence. It oozed off of him like the pounds of gel spilling out of his hair. He wasn't the most popular or influential kid at their school, but that didn't bother him. Lance Kindrid was a party animal, and tales of his seclusive gatherings were well known throughout Happy Harbor.

While a party goer such as Lance didn't seem like the ideal Superteen, it made some sense to Marvin. Kindrid wasn't your traditional leader, but he certainly had the influence and swagger that the protégé of Superman would require. Plus, a hero with a secret identity has got to separate themselves from their hero persona. So, it was easy to think that a larger than life celebrity like the Superteen would adopt the disguise of an unruly socialite.

Honestly, Marvin just wanted to find out what the hell is up with Lance Kindrid. That kid freaked him out.

He turned to Wendy. "What do you know about Lance Kindrid?"

Wendy wrinkled her nose. "Why do you care about that guy? I've heard he's bad news."

"How so?"

"Well…" Wendy made sure no one was watching them gossip. "After school ended last year, Lance took a bunch of his friends to party at his parent's house in California. Let's just say that, by the time the cops found them, they were lucky they hadn't died of alcohol poisoning. Or of chandelier swinging. Lance has been in juvie all Summer."

"Should I be concerned that you know so much about Happy's party goers?"

"Possibly," Wendy said, feigning a tough expression.

Marvin laughed and internally crossed Lance off of his list. No way Lance was getting in and out of juvie to go fight crime in Metropolis. At some point, Marvin was hoping to actually find some likely suspects. What about Eddie Coltrane? No, too short. Phil Harrington? No, he's still dealing with that drug scandal. James Prince? The school president had the boy scout ideals that a Superteen would, but he had also been in Happy Harbor since pre-school. There was no chance that "Paste eating Prince" grew up to be the Superteen. Ugh, who could it be?

"You alright, Marvin?"

Wendy was staring at Marvin. How long had he been standing there, internally debating Superteen candidates? Had she been watching him gaze off into space this whole time?

"Is something wrong?" Wendy's concern for Marvin was sweet, but there was no way he would reveal his investigation to any of his friends. He had tried that already, and it hadn't gone well for the ridiculed boy. Still, maybe Wendy would believe him when he had some more proof… Well, Marvin would cross that bridge when he got to it. Right now, he was a bit preoccupied with Wendy's inquisitive eyes boring into his soul.

"Uhh… Well…" Before Marvin could come up with what he knew would be a sly, clever response to quell Wendy's worries, Karen rushed back to the group.

"Guys," she said. "Look who it is!"

Luckily for Marvin, Wendy's moral priorities overcame her curiosity. "Is Eric okay?"

Karen blinked. Then realization dawned on the distracted Bumblebee. "Oh! Yeah, Eric's fine. We called an ambulance. But that isn't important now. Look!" Karen pointed to two figures leaving the parking lot.

Conner Kent and Megan Morse had arrived on the back of a motorcycle. The two were in the middle of what seemed to be a pleasant conversation. Something Conner said made Megan giggle, and he smiled at her response.

Marvin didn't know what to make of Happy's newcomers. On the first day of school, they had a rather weird encounter. To save on details, Marvin learned about Conner's distinct hate of superhero shirts. Since that incident, Marvin had barely seen Conner outside of Civics (Which Conner was already acing with his Wikipedia-like knowledge of Middle Eastern countries). He was a little more familiar with Megan, who was the definition of perky and upbeat. She introduced herself to everyone, and Marvin had talked to her once or twice after going to see Wendy and Karen at their Bumblebee practice. Still, Megan was like a social butterfly. She moved around so much that it was hard to get a hold of her and figure out what she was really like. Anyone who tried usually butted heads with Conner; aka Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding.

"Now's the perfect opportunity to go talk to Megan," Karen said.

"I don't know, K." Wendy gave Marvin a suspicious look from the corner of her eye. Dammit. She still wanted to know what he was up to, didn't she?

Kyle, of all people, came to Marvin's rescue. Popping out of nowhere, as he often did, the trio's comrade wove his way into their conversation.

"Karen's right," he said. "There's no other people around them. Megan won't get distracted easily. And without Mal around, you'll be able to hold a conversation with Conner that doesn't end in a glaring contest."

"See?" Karen addressed the group. "Smart kid is on my side. C'mon!" Before Wendy could protest, Karen grabbed Marvin and her, dragging them towards Conner and Megan. Kyle followed suit. Wendy gave Marvin a look that said This isn't over, but Marvin would, again, deal with that issue when the time came.

Karen and her two hostages butted in front of Megan and Conner mid conversation, startling the two. The look on Conner's surprised face was comical compared to his usual scowl. He sported his regular outfit of jeans and brown leather jacket covering his black shirt. Marvin thought Conner resembled Wendy with the pair's jet black hair and bright blue eyes. They both wore their appearances very differently, however; one with a smile, and one… less so. Megan also wore her usual pink sweater, now done up in the cold weather. The bright bubblegum colour complimented her upbeat personality and auburn hair.

"Hi!" Karen spoke with a bit too much enthusiasm. Toning it down, she said, "Wendy and I wanted to, you know, formally introduce you guys to Happy Harbor. We keep missing you after practice." Wendy gave a wave from behind Karen.

That simple introduction lit Megan up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh, hello Megan! I've been meaning to talk to you girls as well!" Then Megan turned pale. "I hope you didn't think I was avoiding you. Conner and I have just been a little… busy lately. New school stuff to work out." She laughed nervously. "Plus moving in and getting settled, picking the right colour for my room. It's all… overwhelming." Megan's rambled on while Conner seemed to zone out of the conversation.

"Yeah, don't sweat it!" Karen reassured Megan.

"Last year, when my family was still moving in, I was so busy," Wendy said. "I don't think I handed in a single assignment till' November!" Wendy earned herself a few laughs.

Just like that, any initial awkwardness between the three girls disappeared. They bunched together and talked about anything that was on their minds; Megan's difficulty but subsequent enjoyment of the Bumblebee routines the squad had been tasked to learn over the weekend, Wendy's love for their new outfits, Karen's ideas that would give the costumes "A bit more sting". Needless to say, the conversation never got dull.

The boys, on the other hand, experienced a lot of dull. Between a distracted Marvin, a bored Kyle, and a disinterested Conner, there wasn't a lot of talking going on. Silence echoed between the three.

But as Marvin scanned the school yard, he couldn't find anyone on his list. How convenient of that stupid list to fail him now of all times. Without any investigating to be done, Marvin decided that there was nothing keeping him from interacting with Conner. He looked the brooding teen up and down. It's at least worth a shot… Right?

"So…" Marvin began. "It was pretty cool how you stared down Mal Duncan, y'know." Conner's vacant expression turned into a glare aimed at Marvin, who's confidence suddenly wavered. "Last guy who tried that… well…" Conner seemed to be challenging Marvin solely through his piercing blue eyes. "It… didn't end well." Marvin coughed, and Conner grunted. The silence returned.

Kyle snorted at the interaction, and made his own attempt at small talk. "Read any good books lately, Conner?"

Marvin rolled his eyes. Conner seemed like the type of guy to work out at the gym while listening to heavy metal about everything being horrible. Books didn't fit into that equation very well. But to Marvin's surprise, Conner's scowl disappeared. He paused for a moment, then spoke uncertainly.

"I, uh…" Conner's voice was raw. "I read Lord of the Flies recently," he said after clearing his throat. "It was… okay."

The book must be pretty short, Marvin thought, considering that was all Conner had to say about it. Marvin vaguely remembered reading Lord of the Flies in grade 5 with Ms. Hollywopper. Just thinking about that year made him cringe.

"Were you reading it for a book report?" Marvin made a second attempt at appeasing Conner. This time, he was met with confusion instead of scorn.

"No," Conner said bluntly.

"Oh." Man, how hard was it to please this guy? That probably would have ended the conversation, had Kyle not kept it going.

"That's cool," he said. "I read that one a while ago. It seems like an easy read at first, but there's a lot of hidden meaning behind it." Conner nodded, and regarded Kyle with an expression that almost resembled respect. Who knew books were such a sacred art form? Marvin had always personally favored mystery comic books. Ironic, considering he was living a detective story right now. Speaking of which, why hadn't the football players arrived at school yet? Marvin had a bunch of those guys to check off his list.

"I just started reading this one," Kyle said, gesturing to the book in his arms. Conner raised an eyebrow at the cover of a father and son playing catch. Though he gave no prompting for Kyle to elaborate, the skinny teen needed none.

"It's about a son constantly flashing back to when he was a kid, and coming to grips with how his dad raised him." Kyle shrugged. "The father son relationship is done pretty well. It's not half bad."

"I'll pass," Conner said defensively. Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Not my type of book," Conner said simply.

Kyle accepted this, but Marvin seemed a little more interested. Maybe it was the whole paranoid streak he had going, or the fact that Conner was becoming increasingly difficult to figure out.

"Not your type of book? What, you don't like books about father and sons?"

The way Conner tensed up and looked at Marvin like he wanted to bite his head off seemed to imply that the young detective's assumption had been on the nose. He would have celebrated his first successful investigation, had it not been for the look of rage on the teen before him. Conner's fists clenched, highlighting the veins on his muscles. Though he wasn't the size of Mal or anything, Marvin was still pretty sure Conner could strangle Marvin with his ample sized arms. Luckily for Marvin and his scrawny, chokeable neck, the moment passed as quickly as it had came.

"No," Conner said with an edge to his voice. "I don't."

Marvin gulped. "Noted."

Silence fell over the group again. Even Kyle seemed unsure how to react. Marvin sighed. Despite a full conversation with Conner, he still knew nothing about the kid. Except maybe his obvious need for anger management class, meditation, and some calming jasmine tea. Alright, admittedly Marvin could tell that he had struck a nerve with his personal question. Besides, Conner didn't seem to be angry at Marvin anymore. The boy just seemed... Angry. A small voice in the back of Marvin's head that sounded suspiciously like his mother's told him to put himself in Conner's shoes.

Being a new kid can't be easy. Everything you say and do is put under a microscope and analyzed, deciding if you fit in or not. Marvin thought of a time when Wendy Harris had been the new kid at Happy Harbor. She was the same Wendy; funny, caring, and clever. But she was also afraid of making a bad first impression. Once Marvin's group took her in, Wendy finally had the chance to open up. At the very least, Marvin owed Conner a similar opportunity.

"So," Marvin began. "You like books."

Confusion trumped Conner's aggression. "I guess so."

Maybe that wasn't the best opening line. Perhaps he should have formed a plan before letting words leap out of his mouth. Fortunately, an idea popped into Marvin's head.

"Kyle!" Marvin caught his friend by surprise. "You're starting a book club, aren't you?"

"Our first meeting was actually Sunday. I invited you, remember? You said you were 'occupied'."

Marvin cringed a bit. Even he was getting tired of his horrible excuses. But how could he have told his friend the truth? "Hey Kyle, sorry I can't make it. I'm googling '10 signs that someone in your school is a superhero'"?

"Hehe, yeah, my bad," Marvin said. "But you know who would love to go to those meetings?" Kyle and Conner shared a curious glance.

"Conner!" Marvin explained after they didn't clue in. "You two can be book bros!"

Realization dawned on the two. Kyle thought for a moment before turning to Conner with a smile plastered across his face.

"Sounds good to me. Are you up for it? We meet every Sunday and Thursday at Happy Harbor public library. 4 o'clock."

Conner hesitated. "My schedule isn't very... flexible." He shifted uncomfortably. "I can't promise I'll make every meeting."

Kyle laughed. "People aren't exactly lining up for a book club. Come when you can. Trust me, it'll be enough."

Conner smiled, but for a brief moment he seemed to doubt himself. He glanced at Megan, who was discussing how to land a "Warrior Shuffle", or whatever that meant in cheerleader talk. Conner's face softened when he looked at Megan. Even after just a few interactions, Marvin could tell those two had a connection. Finally, Conner turned back to the boys, now knowing exactly what to say.

"Eh. Why not."

Marvin's cheer rang loudly through the schoolyard, catching more than a few people's attention. Sheepishly, Marvin celebrated quieter.

A scowl twisted Conner's face. "On one condition," he growled.

Marvin stopped mid celebration and Kyle froze. The world around the three was muted as Conner spoke.

"You guys better not have stupid uniforms. I already can't stand everyone's wardrobe here."

It took Marvin and Kyle a solid five seconds to realize that Conner was joking, and their laughter was equally as long. So there is a sense of humour inside that turtle shell of angst after all, Marvin mused.

A brief pause followed the boys' laughter. With it, they were able to catch a tidbit of the girls' conversation to their right.

"You sure do know a lot about these routines, Megan. Have you ever been in any cheerleading competitions?"

Megan laughed. "Oh, there's no cheerleading where I'm from."

The others laughed politely. "Really? Where are you from?"

Conner tensed up. He turned to the girls, concern etched on his face. Marvin wondered why, then followed Conner's eyes. The raven haired boy was staring at Megan, who had a 'deer caught in headlights' look to her. Marvin couldn't figure out why. It seemed like a fairly straightforward question, right along the lines of "What's your name" or "What day is it".

Nonetheless, Megan barely stammered an answer out. "Well... er... a little West of here."

Wendy and Karen nodded, accepting Megan's answer. But Marvin wasn't buying the act.

"How far West?" Marvin's question merged both groups. Now all eyes were focused on Megan. If she was nervous before, then this attention had her completely paralyzed.

"I... uh, well-"

"Metropolis!" Conner moved to Megan's side. "We're both from Metropolis."

"Oh," Karen said. "Metropolis? You've got to take me sometime! Mal and I went there this Summer, and it was a-MAZE-ing. They sell the best food. Lots of apple pie, for some reason."

Marvin remained skeptical. "You two came from Metropolis together? Are you two, like, brother and sister or something?"

"No!" They spoke in tandem, red spreading onto Megan's cheeks. She shared a glance with Conner. It was brief, but Marvin felt like it encompassed an entire conversation. The two rotated through a series of emotions, until they finally wore an identical set of determined looks.

"Our very separate set of parents are... close," Conner began.

"They work in... law enforcement, so we grew up together in Metropolis," Megan said.

Conner spoke, as if it were his turn. "But last year, our parents' got an offer to work here in Happy Harbor."

"So we moved over the Summer," Megan continued.

"In very separate houses."

"And that's... That!"

Megan strained a smile while Conner wore a dark expression. Again, maybe it was all the investigating he had been doing lately, but Marvin thought there was something fishy about the awkward, broken story Megan and Conner had told. His friends definitely wouldn't believe whatever lie the two so called Metropolis natives were telling. As Karen started to talk, Marvin prepared for her to debunk the story.

"Hm... I thought Metropolis was pretty well known for their cheerleading."

Exactly, Marvin thought.

Megan laughed. "Yeah, well, we went to a pretty small school. You could fit ten of them in this place!"

Almost everyone laughed. Marvin frowned. Wait, they bought that? One bad joke and everything is back to normal? It can't be that easy.

"You should have seen my old school. Our mascot was a naked mole rat." Wendy struck a pose. "Gooo Midtown Mole Rats!"

Wendy's silly demeanour had even Conner smiling. But not Marvin. Megan and Conner are obviously not from Metropolis! Not only is their story unconvincing, but Conner has made it pretty clear that he isn't a fan of Mal or his Superman shirt. What kid from Metropolis doesn't like Superman? Well, maybe Conner was just pretending to hate Superman... No, that didn't make sense. Who would need to put on an act like that?

Unless...

Marvin studied Conner closer. He had originally ruled him out of his Superteen investigation because he was too new, and Marvin didn't know much about him. Now that he thought about it, though...

Conner had shown up only a couple months after the first Superteen sighting. He fit the bill appearance wise, sporting the same raven hair and even a similar outfit that Superman's sidekick had worn on Metropolis bridge so many months ago. The way he spoke about his past was unconvincing, and even laughable, like the 9th graders trying to recite Shakespeare in Ms. Beecher's spring plays. Plus, he never left Megan's side. Megan; a redhead closely connected to Conner. Just like the red headed Martian girl working with the Superteen. Martians' ability to shape shift explained Megan's tan skin. Plus, Conner and Megan certainly shared a special connection. Almost like they could hold entire conversations without saying a word...

Could it be possible... Well it's silly to even think about... but... Marvin couldn't deny the rather damning evidence. Alright; he would give Conner one final test.

"Hey, Conner. What-"

Marvin was cut off by the RIIIIIING of the morning bell. As the group had conversed, the rest of Happy Harbor's kids had arrived and were entering the brick building. Megan grabbed Conner's arm.

"Well, Conner and I better get going. See you guys later!" The two suspicious teens ran off to class before anyone could get a word in.

"Damnit," Karen said. "I wanted to invite Megan to the mall on Saturday. Isn't she so sweet, Wendy?"

Wendy nodded, then turned to Kyle. "What was Conner like?"

"Imagine a cross between a rottweiler and a bucket of angst," Kyle said.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Hey, I'm not saying that's a bad thing! He was interesting. Like a-"

"Let me guess. You're going to say 'Like a good book'?"

Kyle reddened. "Perhaps." Wendy rolled her eyes and Kyle gave a sheepish laugh. "Anyways, I think he took a liking to Marvin."

Snapping out of his trance, Marvin blanched. "You call that 'liking'? I'd hate to be his enemy."

"Don't worry. I could see you were wearing him down. Keep it up and you might get him to laugh by April." Kyle pointed to the flood of students entering their school. "C'mon. You don't want to be late... again."

Marvin's friends joined the crowd, meeting up with Mal and some of his football friends along the way. The mousy haired teen himself didn't dare move. He was having another one of his epiphanies, which was becoming a fairly common occurrence. Nothing was for sure but, at the very least, the young detective had a lead. More specifically; he had two, 16 year old, possibly alien leads to follow, and Marvin was ready to give chase.

Speaking of chase, Marvin started to run to class. Kyle was right; he really had to get a watch or something.

Hey y'all! Sooo yeah, didn't expect this to take so long. But life gets in the way and stuff happens so, *shrugs* what're ya gonna do. Hope you enjoy this chapter, make sure to leave reviews (That I'll make sure I respond to this time!), and stayed tuned for more! Until next time, peace out.