The next morning Lola awoke shivering and curled in a ball on her side. Wrapping the blankets closer around her petite frame, she poked her head up and turned bleary brown eyes across the room to the large window that she must have forgotten to close before tumbling into bed, a habit she has had since childhood. Letting out a sleepy sigh, the young woman mentally braced herself before rolling out of her bubble of comfort and slid her bare feet into a fluffy pair of rainbow slippers. Grabbing a throw blanket from a cardboard box near her bedroom door, she shuffled out into her kitchen.

She had barely pulled out the cereal before there was a series of knocks on her door. Lola's eyes widened, she straightened out her baggy sweatshirt and pulled down her shorts wear they had ridden up a bit, and wiped the area around her mouth just in case she had drooled a bit while in slumber.

Rising to her tiptoes, she peeked through her little spy lens, and opened the door to Marlene and Jenna-Leigh. Marlene wore a black leather jacket with a thin teal blue scarf wrapped loosely around her slender neck, her dark curls were barely contained in a misshapen bun, but her grin was bright an genuine as she asked Lola to breakfast with the pair.

Allowing the two girls in, and apologizing for the appearance of her apartment as well as herself, Lola dashed off the her room to get ready. Thankful that she had showered before bed the night before, Lola brushed her teeth and pulled on her favorite black leggings, a gray 'Hogwarts' fitted tee, and a worn out pair of black converse, leaving her hair down in their natural waves she line her eyes with the pencil and threw on some black mascara. Nodding, she deemed herself presentable and grabbed her favorite little brown bag and a light jacket, before following her two new friends out the door.

The trio chatted amiably while crossing various streets and walking along cement sidewalks. The April air was perfectly warm except for the occasional breeze that would cause them to shiver. After about 5 blocks the girls reached a small corner restaurant with faded red awnings and a battered wooden sign that read 'Augies'. Escaping from the wind, the girls walked into the near empty restaurant when a man of about 67 years old came out of a back room. His name, Lola discovered later, was Carl.

Carl must know them well because he greeted Marlene and Jenna by name, before stopping at Lola.

"Why Hello there! And who might you be?" with a smile and bright eyes he extended a shaky hand to the new girl. Introducing herself, he asked if she had just moved here. Giving a positive response, he welcomed her.

Carl lead the three to a corner booth that was large enough to fit about 10 people if they squeezed. A bit confused on why he would seat three people at such a large table, Lola slide farther down the leathery cushion. She reached across the table and grabbed a thick menu. After deciding on her order, Lola returned the menu to the center of the table. While waiting for her two companions to find what they want, Lola traced the edges of the odd shaped table with her hands, but stopped abruptly when the smooth wood turned rough, slightly to her right. Ducking her head a bit she read what was carved in to the dark table; DC, JR, JLB, JM, DS, JA, BH, MS, JD and underneath the various initials was a short word phrase, the carving was sloppy but Lola eventually deciphered the words to be 'The Super-Friends!'

The three girls ordered their meals and sat back to talk about where they would start their shopping spree. When a loud call of "Well look who it is!" resounded from the other end of the room.

The three girls' heads turned at the familiar voice, through the doorway they made out the faces of Dasher, Jack, Brandon, and a man with dark unruly curls and green eyes.

Marlene and Jenna let out identical squeals of "Demitri!", their eyes aglow and their arms open for a hug. The man had a huge bright smile on his own handsome face and pulled both the girls in a strong embrace. While the three friends were having their own reunion, Jack Ryder had sidled up to Lola's side in the booth, peering over her shoulder to where she had been studying the inscription on the edge of the table. He let out a low chuckle, breaking her attention from the stranger and her new friends.

She looked over at the crooked-jawed man next to her then down to where he was pointing and as he ran his thumb over each pair of letters he explained; DC, Demitri Cross. JR, Jack Ryder. JLB, Jenna-Leigh Birde. JM, Jason Moore. DS, Desmond Sweeney. JA, Jade Ashwood. BH, Brandon Holt. MS, Marlene Stoop. JD, James Dasher.

She smiled at him, and looked up when the shadows of her friends fell across the two in the booth.

"Demitri, this is Lola. Lola, Demitri!" Dasher introduced the curly haired stranger.

" Hi, Lola, it's nice to meet you. They boys told me all about you on the ride here!" his musical voice hinted at amusement. James slide into the booth on Lola's right, while Demitri pulled up a chair and the girls plus Brandon sat on the other side of Jack. Carl had come around again, receiving a hug from Demitri and taking the late-arrival's orders.

It seemed to Lola that these people were in no way a group of friends. They were so much more than that. These people were a family to each other.

The group ate their breakfasts and there never was a moment of silence; each stealing food off of each other's plates, teasing, laughing, and at one point, mooing all were heard by surrounding diners.

Lola leaned back, letting her head fall onto James' shoulder, while resting her left hand comfortably on her stomach, " I am SO full.." she moaned.

The group chorused in agreement. They all rolled their way out of the booth (or out of the chair, in Demitri's case) and stumbled out of "Augies", into the April air.

"What are we doing tonight?" Jenna asked aloud as the group walked down the street together, going in no particular direction.

"Let's go laser tagging." Lola suggested.

"Yeah!" everyone was in favor; "I knew I liked her!" Demitri stopped walking and said aloud to the group. They all smiled and James threw an arm around Lola playfully. Eventually the girls separated and took a right heading towards forever 21.

"Where is Jade?" Lola asked her friends while she held the glass door open.

"She was making a bunch of calls about her book, she looked really busy" Jenna explained.

Accepting the answer, the girls browsed the large store, their arms brimming with potential selections. After having their own mini-fashion show in the dressing room, the girls finished their spree and made their final purchases.

It was nearing 6 o'clock when the girls stumbled into Lola's apartment, the three of them rosy-cheeked and breathless from laughter. Throwing their manifold of bags down on the floor, the girls collapsed on the couched.

Lola got up and went into the kitchen, preheating her oven and taking a frozen pizza out of her nearly bare freezer.

The girls spent the next two hours chatting some more; this time it was Lola's turn to learn about her friends. She learned that Marlene was a third grade teacher at the local elementary school, she had a brother who was a year younger then her, and she had a knack for standup comedy. Jenna, turns out, was a veterinarian, not surprising with her compassionate nature; she was an only child from NYC.

She also got some dirt on her other new friends, such as the fact that Jack still slept with a teddy bear, Demitri and Jade dated for a year when they first met, and when Demitri moved to California for work, they broke up, claiming that they couldn't have a long-term relationship, and they still love each other, Jason is terrified-beyond-belief of spiders, and she also learned that James Dasher has never been in love.

At seven, Marlene and Jenna-Leigh left to go get dressed for their laser-tag battle. Lola walked back into her bedroom, keeping her leggings on, she pulled out a plain black, long-sleeved t-shirt, she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail, and smeared some of her brother's old football face paint on under her eyes. Taking the money needed for the game and slipping it into her shoe, Lola was ready to go. At 7:30 Lola, Jenna, Marlene, Jade, Jason, James, Desmond, and Brandon all arrived at Jack's apartment (1D), where Demitri also stayed on his frequent returns to Chicago.

Everyone was wearing black; black t-shirts, black basketball shorts, Jack even donned a black superhero mask. The gang all went down to the streets, now dimming with the setting sun, and hailed over two cabs to drive them. Once they arrived the group of friends chose two captains, unanimously voted as Lola and Dasher. The Red Team (Lola's team) was made up of Desmond, Brandon, Jenna, and Demitri, while for the Green Team, Dasher chose; Jade, Jack, Marlene, and Jason. After giving their codenames to the man, who was surprisingly about their age, the two teams entered the darkened room, where they donned their blinking vests and laser guns. Each held a stone cold gaze.

The group of soldiers gathered in front of the large door that would open to the arena. Before the doors opened the two captains turned to each other.

With playful glares the two sized each other up, Dasher stuck out his hand for her to shake, with a "May the best man win…"

The small girl studied it for a second, making eye contact with the man she now saw as her best friend, she smirked, spit into her own tiny hand, and before he could pull away she shook his.

"Don't worry… I will."

James Dasher scrunched his face up a bit, disappointed in himself for not seeing that one coming, the group of friends behind them laughed at the interaction.

It was then that the great door, painted to look like heavy metal, slide open and the two teams rushed into the arena, everyone scattering in the ten seconds before they would open fire.

With a loud and low buzzer, the Red Team, and the Green Team were engaged in a battle of epic proportions. As agreed upon while the teams were originally being formed, each person was allowed five lives, after that they would exit the arena. Last player standing would win for their team.

They were ten minutes into the game when Jade was the first one out. Being hit by Lola three times, and Brandon once, she was a goner when 'The Hobbit' delivered the final shot.

Jenna was knocked out next when Marlene sniped her out from one of the towers.

With an act of heroism, Brandon was the first to fall from the Red team. In an effort to save an enemy (his girlfriend), Marlene from being out of the game, he jumped in front of a laser shot by fellow Red Team-er, Desmond Sweeney. His sacrifice was made in vain, however, because less than a minute later Lola popped out from behind a wall and shot her right in the chest, casting 'Farts' out of the game.

Dasher took up a position in one of the towers and was in pretty good shape, being hit only once by Demitri with a carefully shot beam reflected off a mirror.

James Dasher then saw a flashing Red light through the floor of his base. Peering through the grate, he could make out the strong features of Desmond. Without a moment of hesitation, he let off three repeating pews, casting 'Irishman' out of the game.

Turning on his heel, he walked briskly down the ramp, returning to the ground floor. Taking a few turns to the left he saw Jason let out a frustrated "Fuuuuuuck" and Lola dart around a wall, a triumphant smile in place. Passing by his roommate, Jason gave James an incredulous look, "How can someone so little take out so many people!" He asked him bewildered. James patted him on the back, and gave him a grim smile; he was the last man on the Green Team.

As soon as Jason had exited through the door they all had entered from 39 minutes earlier, a declining trim resonated from Dashers gear, jumping behind the nearest barrier, he looked at the screen on his own laser-gun: 'The Hobbit' hearing more pew-pews, Dasher searched for the laser's origin, tracing it back to behind a thick pole, James dashed across an area of open land, sliding behind a tall barricade, shooting once through a small opening in the wall, he nailed Demitri right in the shoulder.

The teams were even once more.

The final showdown was beginning.

Holding his gun ready, James Dasher crept along the various walls, his sapphire eyes constantly scanning for the tiny competitor. He ascended a ramp leading up to a different tower, first looking in the mirrors to check for any dangers that might be around the corner. Reaching the top he heard a clank as if someone had accidentally knocked a gun into a wall. Jumping out from around the corner, gun pointed and finger on the trigger, James was surprised to find no one there. Then he heard a giggle, and the lights of his vest began flashing, indicating he had been hit. Laughing at the name appearing on his screen, James looked around confused as to where she was. Then he spotted the petite enemy standing directly below him. Eye eyes aglow with merriment, her legs a shoulders width apart, ready for action.

Shooting off a few beams towards 'Unicorn Princess', he missed.

"Come on, Dash! I thought you could do better than this!" She challenged him. She shot twice more, grazing his shoulder both times, registering as two more hits. He only had one life left.

"Oh, Don't worry, Lo. I am just warming up." Shooting once again towards his friend; hitting her in the back when she had turned on her sneaker-clad heel and began to flee. He sprinted down the ramp, trying not to lose sight of her tiny frame.

He heard her feet pitter-patter against the rubbery floors. He was following her footsteps when he heard a dull thud, followed by a hissed "Ow!" Lowering his gun, he raced around the corner when he saw Lola, bent over; one hand on her knee, the other holding her temple. He hurried over to his friend concerned, "Are you okay?"

He crouched down onto his knees in order to look her in the eyes, peeling her hand away from the left side of her face, he saw nasty looking cut, dark red blood starting to drip down close to her hairline.

Grabbing both her hands he straightened the both of them up, still looking concerned at her wound. Keeping a hold on to her right hand, he led them towards the exit. She stopped right before they could leave, tugging on his hand so he was forced to face her. With a weaker version of the determined smirk she wore into the arena, Lola raised her laser gun once more, shooting Dasher right in the chest. Smiling she said a simple, "I win." Dasher rolled his eyes, then gently guided her out the door and into the brightly lit lobby.

Everyone soon crowded around the pair, asking who won, then asking what happened. Demitri jokingly suggested that James had hit her after she won, "He has always been a sore loser, you know!"

After Lola and Jade scampered off to the bathroom so wash the drying blood on Lola's temple. They applied a bandage and the group of friends walked out into the fresh Chicago air. Deciding to go once again to their favorite hang-out, the gang caught Carl just as he was about to lock up the front door. Letting in his favorite customers, the friends took their seats at the large, engraved booth. Ordering a round of milkshakes, Lola and Dasher recounted the entirety of the final battle. AS they finished the story, Dasher spoke up, a bit louder then the tone he had been talking in before.

"Hey Jack, pass me that pen!" Jack tossed an old pen that was lying on the table over the Dasher who was sat in the booth between Lola and Brandon., "I think we can all agree that Lola has proved herself worthy?" He looked around at the faces of the people he cared most about. His blue gaze resting on the tiny brunette on his right, silently asking what was going on. Ignoring the unasked question, James Dasher bent his head and scratched two letters into the wood table. Removing his hand and placing the pen down once more, Lola looked down at the modified inscription that now read:

DC, JR, JLB, JM, DS, JA, BH, MS, JD + LL

The Super-Friends!