Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned Francis. That would be nice...but alas no.

Chapter Eight: Francis in the Middle

"Do you think he's okay?" Virgil asked for the fifth time, pacing back and forth outside his house. Richie sat on the stoop, watching his best friend's anxiety unleash itself.

"He's fine. He is always fine. Besides, what's Darryl going to do, kill him? I don't think he can." Richie said soothingly, knowing Virgil was still suffering from guilt over Hotstreak's current predicament.

Virgil nodded, although he didn't look convinced. "You're right. This is stupid of me. What can you do to a ghost?"

Richie shrugged and Virgil joined him on the stoop. The two had sat side-by-side on this very same stoop many times over the years. The concrete was stained red and orange from the drippings of their popsicles on lazy summer afternoons and the black scuffs from their tennis shoes could be seen on every surface. Richie scooped up a handful of snow and packed it carefully into a perfect sphere. Virgil watched him do it, knowing the genius wouldn't dare throw his creation at him. It was just a way to pass the time.

The sun was setting and soon it would be too cold to stay outside and wait for Hotstreak. Nobody was still out in the streets and up and down the block porch and street lights flickered to incandescent life.

Rolling the snowball idly, Richie pulled the GhostVision goggles over his glasses and scanned the street before pushing them back up onto his forehead.

"Still nothing?" Virgil asked.

"Nope."


Francis walked slowly to Virgil's house, deciding that that was where the two heroes would wait for him. He was exhausted and looked raggedy. If people had been able to see him, they would have crossed the street when they got close. He looked like a blood-stained bum. The fight with Darryl had not only been taxing on him mentally but physically as well, especially after Francis had actually been wounded. He had seen his own blood for the first time as a ghost and it was jarring. Luckily, his ghostly powers healed the wound. Unluckily, these same ghostly powers were robbing Francis of his human half and his chance to come back from beyond the grave. Spiky red head bowed tiredly, Francis trudged on, biting his lip as thoughts whirled through his mind at a dizzying speed.

He had two and half days now to come up with some way to rejoin his soul and his body and Francis had no idea how he was supposed to do that.

Rounding the corner, Francis saw Virgil and Richie sitting on Virgil's front steps. He raised his hand in a wave. Neither responded. Francis rolled his eyes. "Put on the damn goggles."

As if on cue, Richie slid the goggles over his eyes, looked up and down the street, and saw Francis heading towards the superhero duo. "Hey Hotstreak!" Richie waved enthusiastically. Virgil waved blindly in the same direction.

Francis loped up to the stoop. "Hey."

Virgil took the goggles and looked up at the Spree. "So, was everything alright? What happened?"

Francis sat down and sighed, running a hand through his hair agitatedly. "After you two split, me and Wade fought some more. He used his powers so that a car remained tangible when it hit me."

Virgil felt his hand tighten into a fist. "No way."

"What?" Richie asked curiously.

"I'll explain in a sec. Go on." Virgil waved away his friend's question.

Francis leaned back against the concrete siding and continued. "I got hurt, slashed in the waist by something. Like, actually hurt. There was blood and pain."

Virgil motioned for him to continue, although getting angrier by the minute.

"I didn't know that could happen, and then my side got better. It healed." Francis lifted his shirt for Virgil to see the unblemished skin where, not even an hour ago, had been a gaping, gory hole. There was a tear in the sweatshirt and t-shirt beneath where the metal had pierced Francis as evidence. Virgil sucked in a breath.

"Darryl said that when I used ghost powers like the one that made me heal I was losing my human side. If my ghost half overtakes my human half, I'm done. Darryl wins. I think I lost a big chunk today with that fight." Francis shook his head in frustration. "This sucks."

Virgil quickly relayed the whole story to Richie, who sat back and began pondering their next dilemma.

"I'm sorry we abandoned you like that." Virgil apologized.

Francis waved it off and smirked. "Please, you two were about to get creamed. It would have been stupid to stay."

Virgil shrugged. "Yeah, but still. I hate running away from a fight."

"You didn't use to feel that way." Francis said knowingly, casting a lopsided grin at his rival.

"Things have changed a lot since last year." Virgil agreed.

Francis smirked again. "Yeah, I wasn't dead last year."

Virgil shoved Francis' shoulder jokingly. "That's too morbid."

"Sorry."

"What are you two doing? And what are you wearing?"

Francis and Virgil both looked up and saw Sharon standing at the base of the steps holding shopping bags. Then, they both simultaneously realized she was talking about Virgil and Richie.

"Uh, nothing sis. Need a hand? Don't mind the goggles, science project." Virgil jumped to his feet and took some of the bags from his older sister and carried them into the house. Richie scrambled to his feet, shaken out of his reverie as Sharon shoved two bags into his arms as well.

"Go on." Sharon motioned to the open door and Richie obeyed. She followed them inside. "Dorks." Sharon muttered, but with an amused smirk, and kicked the door shut.

Francis sat on the steps for another few minutes, listening to Virgil's family and Richie unpack groceries and talk. It sounded nice.

"I really should be going." Richie called from just inside the door.

"Don't forget those dorky goggles of yours." Sharon yelled.

"Oh yeah." Richie fumbled for something to say. "I'll need them for ah…science class tomorrow."

The door opened and Richie hurried outside, zipping his coat shut against the biting winter wind. He slid the goggles onto his face and looked at Francis. "Meet after school in the art room. Nobody's ever in there."

Francis nodded and stood. He and Richie trotted off in different directions, eager to get someplace dry and warm for the night.


When Francis returned to the Sprees' sewer hideaway, everyone was asleep. Bernard's rumbling snores echoed alarmingly. Francis crept to his room, not wanting to stir anyone.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of his room was Paige. She was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, and humming softly to herself.

Francis felt his mouth fall open in surprise. "Ummm…"

Paige opened one eye and smiled at Francis. "Welcome back. You don't mind if I use your room for mediation do you? The energy is so positive in here."

"…ummmm."

Paige looked at Francis with both bright blue eyes and grinned at him, breaking her pose to lean back idly, looking more comfortable on cold concrete than anyone Francis had ever seen before. "Very articulate."

Francis scoffed, to recover whatever bravado he had. "Just a little surprised to see you in my room at like, midnight. Meditating."

"It's very relaxing and soothing. Some days I need a little soothing." Paige stood up and walked slowly over to Francis. "Did you want to go to sleep?"

Francis shook his head. He was tired, but he doubted he'd be able to sleep for a few more hours. Adrenaline was still pumping through him.

"Do you want some company?"

Paige was very close to Francis now. He avoided looking down at the ugly laceration marks around her throat, looking instead at her eyes. "Don't you ever sleep?"

Paige smiled serenely. "Not a lot. The night can be used more…productively."

Francis felt a shiver go up his back. It felt good.

Paige stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Francis'. The kiss was soft and sweet. She wasn't pressing into him, but she wasn't pulling away either. Paige was waiting for Francis to make the next move.

He did.

Francis wrapped one hand around Paige's waist, the other twisting into her hair, pulling her to him. Paige's lips broke and hey deepened the kiss. Paige put both her hands on Francis' chest and somehow it was the pyro who ended up pressed against the wall. Paige entwined one of her legs around Francis'. They were so entangled it was impossible to see who was initiating what.

Finally, gasping, they broke for air.

Francis looked down at Paige, whose normally bright eyes looked dark in thought. "Hmm. Interesting." She said suddenly, breathing hard.

"What?" Francis asked.

"Nothing." Paige pulled back. "You're a very sweet boy. I hope you get back to your body." Without another word, Paige sashayed out the door leaving Francis alone.

"Ummmm…"


Francis slept well into the morning. After the "encounter" with Paige, as Francis had taken to calling it in his mind, he had fallen asleep like a rock. For some reason, although he had enjoyed it, Francis felt like he had been used in some way. Why else would Paige leave so abruptly? Unless she hadn't enjoyed it? Francis slapped himself sharply. "Hey brain, there are more important things to worry about."

Francis sat up and stretched, every muscle in his body popped satisfyingly. Out of habit Francis shrugged on the beat-up hoodie and slipped his sneakers back on, careful to keep his mind clear of anything Paige related.

Raking his hands through his hair so that it resembled something like his usual hairstyle and not the half-floppy, half-spiky look he was sporting these days, Francis walked out of his room and into the main room. It was empty. He hadn't seen the other Sprees in a while. Francis didn't miss them.

He climbed out of the sewer and emerged into the late morning sunlight. It was about eleven o' clock. Fresh snowfall during the night was piled on street corners but it was milder out today judging by the large numbers of people getting an early lunch.

Nothing better to do, Francis walked over to Dakota Union High with a sadistic grin on his face. Just because he was dead didn't mean he had to be a saint.

Classes were in session. Francis found Virgil and Richie's classroom easily enough and walked through the door, watching the teacher for a moment. Seemed like a science class. The teacher drone in a monotone so boring, Francis' mind instantly processed it as white noise.

"Okay now kids, break up into lab groups and begin the experiment."

The students moved sluggishly into groups of four. Virgil, Richie, Frieda, and Daisy shuffled to a lab in the corner and they began mixing chemicals. Francis ducked around students and stood opposite the four to watch. They were all vey good science students and were easily the most gifted in the class. Their experiment was in the final stages when a few students were still collecting supplies.

"Yo Hawkins. Our granite bit the dust. Can I snake yours?" A hand shot out between Virgil and Richie and grabbed the piece of granite critical to the experiment.

"No, you can't. We need that." Daisy held out her hand like an impatient mother. No stone was placed in it.

"C'mon Rodriguez, don't do this." Virgil turned to face the smirking Hispanic boy. His group, more like gang, was grinning and nudging each other behind their leader, anticipating a skirmish. Benny Rodriguez was one of a few guys who led small, very ineffective gangs who were looking to take the vacant places Francis and Wade had left at Dakota Union as banger royalty. Benny found delight in hassling the intellectually gifted students who rarely fought back and wouldn't tell on him. He was messing with the wrong group of teenagers today.

"What are you gonna do about it Hawkins? Have your Daddy's cop girl arrest me?" The gang snickered behind Rodriguez. Benny tossed the granite rock from hand to hand. "I can see it now." Benny put his hands over his eyes and began fake sobbing. "He…took…my…rock!" The gang burst into uproarious laughter.

Richie looked around for the teacher, who appeared to have left the room for a few minutes. Benny wouldn't have started his stand-up routine unless the teacher was gone. Several kids in the class were watching and looking apprehensive, wondering what was going to happen.

Francis strode around the table and over to Benny Rodriguez. This was the perfect time to test out his Spree powers. In typical banger fashion, Benny's shorts sagged low and his belt was buckled loosely. Francis grinned and knelt, clutching one of Benny's pant legs in each hand and pulling down.

The effect was immediate.

The class started laughing and Benny's gang fell silent, staring at their leader who was standing in the middle of their science class in his boxers with his shorts around his ankles. Virgil, Richie, Frieda, and Daisy laughed loudest.

Benny hastily pulled his pants back up, blushing furiously.

Francis winced and clapped his hands together a few times to get feeling back into his fingers. Making something tangible left his hands numb. But he wasn't done yet. No one messed with Sparky and Brain Boy but him.

Benny took a furious step forward, looking for a way to vent his humiliation. He cocked his fist, looking dangerously at Virgil who was still laughing and Francis stuck his foot out in front of him.

Francis willed his foot to become tangible for a split second in which Benny's foot collided with it. Benny went sprawling onto Virgil's lab table, chemicals spilling everywhere. The laughter went up a notch. Benny burst away from the table and threw the granite at Virgil. "Take it. I'm outta here." The would-be-banger left the room, his "gang" rushing to follow after.

Daisy and Frieda began cleaning up the mess Benny had left behind, helping themselves to his abandoned supplies to re-start their experiment. Virgil and Richie looked at each other and then at where Francis would be if he were visible.

"Hotstreak?" Richie whispered so no one would hear.

Francis touched his arm and the genius jumped at the cold sensation.

Virgil and Richie both grinned hugely. "Nice job." Virgil whispered.

The teacher walked back into the room, not suspecting anything had happened. The students exchanged knowing looks and snickered.

For the rest of the day, Francis followed the two superheroes around the school, causing mischief whenever he saw an opportunity. In gym, Francis knocked the basketball rack over, sending basketballs flying and the gym teacher crashing to the ground. In history he smudged every other word on the whiteboard, making it impossible for the students to take notes. By the end of the day, most of the juniors were shaking their heads in wonderment over the odd day.

When the bell rang, Francis hung back as droves of students poured out onto the streets of Dakota before heading for the art room.

Virgil and Richie were waiting for him. He tapped Virgil on the shoulder to let him know he was there.

Virgil put on the goggles and looked at Francis. "What were you doing today?"

Francis shrugged. "I was bored."

Virgil grinned. "Thanks for having our backs with Rodriguez. That was funny. And when Mr. Matheson fell…priceless."

Francis took a bow. "I hope you were entertained. So what's up?"

"We were thinking about ways to return you to your body." Virgil explained, transferring the goggles to Richie who had a spiral notebook in his hand. There were indecipherable scribblings all over the pages.

Thumbing through the pages, Richie began listing options. None seemed very plausible, some were impossible, and some might work. Might.

Richie flipped to one page and showed Francis a diagram. "Here's the best way I thought of. In some cases, a strong burst of electricity can keep a body alive after it's already stopped working. Now, there are two bodies in question here. The one you're in right now," Richie pointed at Francis, "and your body back in the morgue."

Francis and Virgil nodded following along to the best of their ability.

"The center point of your human body is the heart. The center point of your Spree body is your soul. Two halves of a whole which separated when you died but worked in sync when you were living. The question is how to reconnect these components."

Richie looked at both his listeners, enjoying himself immensely. "I propose we employ the same shock treatment that doctors use for people who have been dead for a only a few seconds but on much larger scale. We get you and your body and combine them, and then we have our shock." Richie pointed at Virgil. "With any luck the electricity will flow into both your soul and heart and get both moving at the exact same moment, even for a brief moment, and hope that merges them back together."

"I like it." Virgil grinned. "I get to shock Hotstreak."

"Like you've never shocked anyone before." Richie agreed. The blond genius looked at Francis. "What do you think?"

Francis ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I guess. I don't know about resting my future on a 'hope.' But it's the best we got." He looked at the heroes. "We might as well."

Richie smiled. "Great. I'll schedule it for tomorrow morning. We should have the morgue to ourselves so no one will wonder what we're doing."

"Meet us in the morgue at ten." Virgil said to thin air.

Francis nodded. "Sure. Thanks guys."

Richie smiled. "No problem."

Virgil's pocket rang and he pulled out a beeper. "I gotta go. That new playground equipment arrived at the center. Pops needs my help unloading and setting up."

"I'll help." Richie stood up and then leaned over to whisper in Francis' ear. "His dad always buys us ice cream when we do heavy lifting." Virgil took the goggles from Richie.

Francis snickered. "I'll head back to the hideaway. No sense in risking getting caught by Darryl again."

Virgil nodded. "Right. No risks. Stay out of sight and out of trouble until tomorrow."

"The 'out of sight' part shouldn't be too hard." Francis quipped.

"You know what I mean." Virgil waved away Francis' joke and he and Richie walked to the door. "Later."

Francis watched them leave and then stood up too, stretching his back before heading back to the sewers.


Francis was a few blocks away from the entrance to the Sprees' underground home when he heard a struggle in an alley just ahead of him. People were walking by the alley and not responding to the noises. A girl screamed, a guy grunted. Nobody reacted.

Francis frowned. If no one was hearing the noises, maybe they were ghosts?

Cautiously approaching the entrance to the alley, Francis dipped his hand into his pocket, feeling the pistol…just in case. He looked around the corner and clapped a hand over his mouth to stop a gasp from escaping.

Darryl and Paige. Together. Francis felt panicky thoughts rip through his mind before he actually assessed the image.

Darryl had Paige up against a brick wall, one leg in between hers. His horse was no where to be found. His lips were against her neck and they were both breathing heavily.

Paige groaned as Darryl pressed harder against her. "Darryl…I don't…not today please."

"Shut up. You've never argued before. Just do what I say. I'm in charge, remember?" Darryl hissed, his mouth moving up her neck to her jaw line.

"I just don't…another time I promise." Paige's voice faltered as Darryl's hands roamed south.

Francis remembered the feel of Paige's lips on his own and he grimaced, and then realized this wasn't her fault. She wasn't playing him. She had to do what Darryl said. A sick nausea rose in Francis at the thought that the Sprees were virtually helpless before Darryl.

Before another thought could convince him not to, Francis had drawn his pistol and stepped into the alley. Paige's withdrawn eyes met his own and they widened in surprise. Sensing a disturbance Darryl turned.

Francis pulled the trigger.


Author's Note:

Bum...bum...buuuum! Cliffhanger! Do you love it? I do. This is about as raunchy as I can ever write so...enjoy? Once again, chapter title inspired by another of my favorite shows. Coincidentally, my favorite character in that show is also named Francis. Go figure.

PLEASE REVIEW!