It sure was an interesting morning.

Even when the Chou brothers had opened the gate for them (with quite the scowl, Kai noticed gleefully), the headline still wasn't up.

"The sirens kept me up all night," Otaku complained behind him.

"Sirens are like lullabies to me," Skoochy replied. "The louder they wail, the better the headline. And the better the headline, the better I eat. And the better I eat-"

"The farther away I sleep from you," Kai interrupted, earning a solid whack on the arm from Skoochy's crutch. Kai laughed and gave Skoochy a good shove back when Mako and Bolin came running in.

"Mornin' everybody," Mako said, offering some semblance of a smile. "Sorry we're late, fellas, we had to help our grandma with something."

The envious hush that fell over many of the newsies was almost too much, and Kai tried to fill the silence. "Mornin', fellas!" He waved them over, hoping they didn't notice the very telling sore spot that was common amongst most of them. "Headline still ain't up. First-class operation we've got goin' here, huh?"

Mako smiled slightly. "Well, hopefully it's good."

"So!" Bolin piped up. "How's it goin' for everyone today?"

Skoochy shrugged. "Ask me once the headline's up."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai caught Zhao walking towards the large chalkboard near the gate and nudged Skoochy. "Looks like it's goin' up now."

The group of boys walked over to the chalkboard and read the blocky letters, which didn't seem concise enough to make a headline, but caught their attention all the same. Once it was read, a chorus of indignant shouts rose over the crowd.

On the sign was written, "New newsie price: 60 pieces per 100."

Mako furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that news?"

"It's news to me!" Skoochy exclaimed. "What gives 'em the right to jack up the price of the papes?"

"I could eat two days on ten pieces," Otaku said sadly, bringing a hand to his stomach.

"Like Gyatso and Tarrlok don't make enough already!" another boy scoffed.

"This has gotta be a gag," Kai tried to reassure everyone. "C'mon, let's just go get our papes, Zhao's probably messin' with us for our tangle with the Chous yesterday." The boys grumbled, but they followed Kai to the stand anyway, where Zhao was waiting for them with a simpering smile.

"Mornin', boys," he said. "Line up."

Kai was the first in line. He slapped a gold piece on one of the stacks. "Good joke," he said, not sounding at all amused. "Zhao, you got these fellas goin'. Now I'll take my 100 and be on my way."

Zhao shot him a smug grin. "Better cough up a silver piece on top of that, then."

Kai frowned. "You're kiddin'!"

"Do I look like I'm kiddin'?"

"I ain't payin' no 60!" Kai grumbled.

Zhao gestured to the line behind him. "Then make room for someone who will."

Kai snatched his gold piece away. "Then you bet me and the fellas will hike over to the Journal." He turned to the line behind him, who all gave an affirmative shout.

"Ain't worth the walk," Jun grumbled. "I heard they hiked up their price, too."

"Then we'll go to the Sun," Kai answered, crossing his arms over his chest. Zhao sniggered at them.

"All around town, boys. New day, new price."

Kai stared in disbelief, annoyance bubbling within as he demanded, "Why the jack up?"

Zhao gave him a noncommittal shrug. "For those kinds of answers, you gotta ask the runner of the food chain. So, ya buyin'? Or are you movin' along?"

Kai stared at the newspapers, his messenger bag feeling oddly empty at his side. "Just a moment," he mumbled, turning to the other boys. He gestured to them to gather around one of the wagons.

"They can't just do that, can they?" Otaku asked.

"Why not? It's their paper," replied a boy called Lee.

"Their world," a boy nicknamed Blue grumbled.

"We ain't got no rights," Lee said bitterly.

"We got the right to starve!" Skoochy exclaimed, his voice taking on heights Kai hadn't heard it take on in at least five years. "Let's just get our papes and hit the street while we can."

"At those prices?" Lee asked.

"We've got no choice," Skoochy sighed. He began to hobble back to the stand, but Kai shot out an arm, blocking Skoochy.

"No. No one's payin' no new number." Kai slowly took his arm away, and though Skoochy didn't try to go ahead anyway, it still didn't keep him from giving Kai a pointed look.

"You got an idea?" Lee asked.

"Just keep your shirt on, we can think this through," Kai said.

"Well then, what's your angle?" Skoochy asked. A few more boys began to lean in expectantly, peppering Kai with more questions that he barely caught.

Bolin began waving his arms around, shooing boys away from Kai. "Stop crowding him!" he exclaimed. "Let the man work it out!" Boys left and right held up their hands and stepped back, and Kai was secretly thankful for the room as he crossed his arms and looked up in thought.

If every newspaper in Republic City was raising their prices, that meant every newsie around was feeling its sting. And if every newsie was dealing with it…

"Kai? You still thinking?" Bolin checked. Kai scrunched his eyes closed at the interruption.

"'Course he is," Skoochy said. "Can't you smell smoke?"

Kai opened his eyes and gave Skoochy a small shove before beckoning the other boys closer to him. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do. If we don't sell papes, no one sells papes. No one gets them out there until they put the price back where it belongs."

"You mean like a strike?" Mako's voice cut clear through the clutter in Kai's mind, and he grinned at him.

"You heard Mako!" he called out to the other newsies. "We're on strike!"

The other boys began chattering excitedly, and Kai looked out contentedly at his handiwork when Mako grabbed his arm.

"Kai, I did not say-"

"Mako, it's okay," Kai said. "I got this." He shrugged Mako's hand off and turned back to the crowd. "We're gonna shut down this place, just like the trolleys were shut down because of the workers!"

"Yeah, then the cops'll bust our heads," Skoochy said, frowing. "Halfa them strikers are laid up with broken bones."

"The cops aren't gonna care about a bunch of kids," Kai assured him. "Right, Mako?" He nudged the older boy, and Mako immediately threw up his hands.

"Leave me out of this!" he yelled. "I'm just here trying to feed my family."

"What, like the rest of us are on playtime?" Kai shot back. "Just because we only make copper pieces doesn't give them the right to up and rub our noses in it!"

Mako pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know, but…" He looked back at Kai. "Look, it doesn't even matter. You can't strike. You're not a union."

Kai crossed his arms. "And what if I say we are?" It hardly mattered that Kai barely knew what exactly a Union was; if they needed it, he would make it happen.

Mako shook his head at him. "No, kid, you don't…" He sighed. "There are a lot of things you need in order to be a union. Like membership."

Kai snorted, and gestured to all the boys around them. "What do you call these guys?" They cheered affirmatively.

"Okay, well, you also need officers."

Skoochy raised Kai's hand for him. "I nominate Kai president!" he yelled, and more cheers sounded from the crowd. Kai beamed as he gave them all a few silly, exaggerated bows, but doubt crawled into his throat. Him, president? He'd expected they'd nominate one of the older boys, Mako most likely. Even if he was new, at least he knew what he was doing. What he was talking about. But from the look on his face, Kai figured he wouldn't accept the nomination, and no one else was being nominated. He gulped, avoiding Mako's eyes.

"Fine," Mako said. "But you also need a statement of purpose."

Kai tried not to wince. Mako got him there.

He laughed dismissively. "I must've left it in my other pants," he joked. Mako didn't laugh.

"What's a statement of purpose, anyway?" Skoochy asked. Mako pinched the bridge of his nose again, his jaw tensing as if he was dealing with a particularly stress-inducing child.

"A statement of purpose is a reason for forming the Union," he said.

"Well, what reason did the trolley workers have?" Kai asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"Wages? Work hours? Safety on the job?"

"Yeah, like we don't need that," Kai said. "I bet if your uncle had a union, you wouldn't have to be out here sellin' papes right now."

Mako looked up, the frown on his face softening. "Well… Yeah," he managed.

"So," Kai said, raising his voice, "our union is hereby formed to watch each other's backs! Union, we stand!" He threw up a fist, and as the other boys cheered, Kai smiled to himself. "Hey, that's not half bad… Someone write that down."

"I've got a pencil," Bolin offered. Kai chuckled, clapping Bolin on the back.

"Well then, meet our secretary of state!" Kai exclaimed, giving Bolin's shoulder a squeeze. Another cheer sounded, but Mako just stood there with his arms crossed.

"If you wanna strike, the membership's gotta vote."

Kai shrugged. "So we'll vote." He took a stack of old newspapers off the wagon and stood on it, then looked over the other newsboys, their faces grimy and tired as his. A wave of uncertainty washed over him as he looked at their mugs, but he was also hit with a sense of purpose. These guys were looking to him, whether he liked it or not. He took a deep breath, then called out over the crowd, "Whaddaya say, fellas? The choice is yours. Do we let Tarrlok and Gyatso pick our pockets, or do we strike?"

A strange sense of pride welled up in him as the boys pumped their fists in the air and yelled, "STRIKE!"

Kai turned back to Mako, his chest heaving. "You heard the boys of the membership. The newsies of lower Maozi Hei are officially on strike!"

Whoops and cheers bubbled from the crowd, hats were tossed into the air, and Kai grinned so wide he thought his face might split. This was happening. He wasn't sure how they'd make it, but he knew, somehow, he'd get them through this. He had to get them through this.

"So…if we're strikin'," Skoochy said beside him, "doesn't someone in charge gotta know about it?"

The cheering died down, and sounds of agreement rose from the boys. Kai caught several nodding heads, and he nodded back. "Okay, who tells Tarrlok and Gyatso?" A small smile crept onto his face as he turned back to Mako. "What do you think?"

Mako eyed him carefully, before scanning over the rest of the newsies, his eyes landing on Bolin last. Kai almost couldn't read him for a moment, when Mako smiled – actually smiled – and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder. "I guess you do…Mr. President."

Kai beamed at him. "I guess I do." Then, his smile faltered as he asked, "What…what exactly would I tell 'em?"

"Well, the newspaper owners need to respect your rights as employees," Mako prompted.

"So…Tarrlok and Gyatso have to respect the rights of the kids in this city," Kai tried. Mako smiled and nodded.

"They can't just change the rules when they feel like it."

"That's right!" Kai said, gaining confidence with each word. His voice rose back to its initial volume. "We do the work, so we get a say!"

"YEAH!" The newsies' intermingled voices were like music to Kai's ears, and he felt his spirit soaring.

"We've got a Union, then!" Mako said, his voice light with laughter. He was smiling from ear to ear now, and he gave Kai's shoulder a friendly squeeze. Kai grinned back at Mako, before turning his attention back to the newsies. They were on fire now.

"Tarrlok and Gyatso think we're nothin'!" he bellowed. "Are we nothin'?"

"NO!" The chorus of Newsies' voices would never not be invigorating.

"They need to understand that we're not enslaved to them!" Mako yelled. "We are free agents!"

"Tarrlok and Gyatso think they got us!" Kai cried. "Do they got us?"

"NO!"

"We're a Union now!" Mako yelled. A righteous fury rushed through Kai, and he allowed Mako a place on his makeshift newspaper stand, brimming with camaraderie. "We're the newsboys Union, and we mean business!"

The crowd of boys were roaring now, and Kai almost caught Zhao behind the stand shaking where he stood. He looked straight over all of them, holding his head high. His words flowed freely from his mouth now, each syllable dropping in time with the steady pounding of his heart.

"They may own the World, but they don't own us! They may crack the whip, but they won't whip us! Either they give us our rights, or we give them a war! 'Stead of hawkin' headlines, we'll be makin' em today! If they think they can kick us out, or take away our vote, or keep stuffing this garbage down our throats, they've got another thing comin'! We are done allowin' these bastards to beat us into the ground! We are done lettin' the big guys in charge shove our noses in it! We are gonna meet them toe to toe and we ain't lettin' up until they give us the rights we deserve! The World will know that we are done being stomped on! The World will know that the newsies are here and we're not givin' in!"

Mako let out a cry of affirmation beside him, and Kai almost didn't mind how it nearly deafened him as the others joined in, throwing their fists and hats into the air.

They were a Union. They were going to stand, they were going to kick ass, and they were gonna let the world – yes, the world – just how formidable a bunch of newsboys could be.