I'm back! I hope everyone had a Spook-Tacular Halloween!

This chapter comes with a minor trigger and foul language warning that deals with domestic abuse. (But seriously, all of you wonderful people who have followed me all this time should know by now how I write my fics.) For any newcomers, I welcome you to the insanity!

Things are going to be intense, so buckle up and hang on tight!

Read on, and see me at the bottom!

"You have got to be kidding me. "Trent all but snarled. "You're the principle! Surely you have some influence to remove that pig."

Principle Matthews kept calm though he totally agreed with Trent. "He has tenure, so I can't personally fire him."

"How in the hell did he get through the FBI Vetting? That was hate speech as far as I'm concerned."

The principle held up in hands as if to fend him off. "I agree with you one hundred percent, but all I can really do is report him to the school board and hope that he gets suspended; you can also file a complaint. The other problem is that the security cam doesn't pick up audio and you're going to need audio proof of the incident or Mr. Hatch can claim that it's hearsay. It'll be his word against Katsume's."

Trent nodded. "I can do that. For now, can you at least assign the teens separate detentions. I don't want any more conflicts between them."

Principle Matthews nodded an affirmative. That's possible, but you need to understand that even if we seperate them, it's not going to end the conflict. It's a terrible truth, but once someone labels a student, the name usually sticks. As much as I wish that I could just a wave a wand and make the bullying stop, it's not going to happen. It's only going to stop if those kids stand up for each other and learn to respect each other."

Trent took a deep breath, and finally sat down in the chair.

"You wouldn't know this, but before he came here, he lived in LA and he was being tormented by his probation officer. The day I arrived in LA to retrieve him, he was brought into the ER after attempted suicide. He slit his wrists to escape from his bully and I had to come to his rescue and fend that officer off. If I have to, I'll come in and handle things with Mr. Hatch and it won't be pretty."

Principle Matthews nodded solemnly. "I understand your anger and I won't stand in your way, but you should keep in mind, what could happen if your publicly threaten one of the staff members. He could easily file a suit against you and cause all kinds of trouble. If you're going to act against Mr. Hatche, think it through and choose your course of actions carefully."

Trent nodded. "Ok. So what do I need to next? Is there some slip to sign?"

Principle Matthews nodded and opened the slender file on his desk. He sighed heavily as he pulled out the paper and slid it across the desk.

"Sign on the line. This will unfortunately go on his permanent file."

"I understand." Trent answered with a frown. "Do I need to be here to pick Katsume up afterwards?

"That is up to you guys. Once he's done his time in detention, he's in the wind."

Trent shook his head and signed the slip. He hated this whole thing. Only in this day and age could a kid get in trouble for defending himself.

Katsume walked into study hall and slid into the chair at the same table as his friends.

"So, how much trouble are you in?" Kyle asked in a whisper.

"Just another detention. It's not my first so I should be ok."

Kyle shook his head. "This is so screwed up. You didn't do anything wrong!"

"No worries. I'm not even dreading this."

Ranook gave him a skeptical look. "You're crazy."

"No I'm not. Miss Pauline is overseeing detention today. I think she may be in trouble and this is the perfect opportunity to observe her and see if my suspicions are founded."

Rannok nodded. "That makes sense. But what are you going to do if you're right?"

"I guess we tell someone who can help."

Katsume walked into History class and found that his love interest was sitting in the back of the class keeping to herself. The class hasn't filled up yet, so he chose the desk in front of hers.

"Hey, are you ok?"

She exhaled harshly and then looked up at him. "I just got humiliated by my ex in front of you, and now you probably hate me. I don't even know why you're still talking to me."

Katsume smiled at her. "Because for all I know, he could have just been talking out of his ass and totally lying."

She looked up at him sharply.

Katsume pressed on. "I wasn't there for any of that, so I don't know one way or the other what happened between you two. I just know I want to get to know you more."

"And you're willing to be seen with me?"

Katsume sighed softly. "Look around the room. All these empty desks and I still chose the one next to you."

That was their defining moment.

She looked like she didn't know what to say. So, she only sighed. "Ok, I guess we could do with a reboot." She looked again at him. "I hope you know what you're signing up for."

Katsume grinned at her. "I'm not scared."

In the next moment, the bell rang and they all settled in for the class. They were all careful to pay attention and take notes. Katsume, took notes the best he could, but his eyes kept straying to the pretty girl in front of him.

Thankfully, the teacher didn't seem to notice or if he did, he didn't say anything. When the final bell rang, he said goodbye to Elisa and walked out of the room with his crew.

When they were a ways down the hall, Ranook took off his pendant and handed it over to Katsume. "Here, there's a micro camera on the front. It's wireless and the footage will go to my laptop. It'll record everything. Make sure you get a good spot without any obstruction."

Katsume slipped it over his head. "Got it." He looked up at his friends. "You guys just gonna wait around for me?"

Ranook nodded. "Yeah, well, they are. I'm craving some burgers, so I might go get some fast food while the others wait. What can I pick up for you?"

"Just get me a bacon cheeseburger with extra pickles and some curly fries and a sprite."

"Got it. See 'ya after detention."

They parted ways and he headed to detention which turned out to be homeroom. He slid into his seat and saw that Ms. Pauline wasn't at her desk just yet.

A couple other students were there and were talking amongst themselves, so he chose an open seat and pulled out his drawing pad and pencil.

When Ms Pauline did walk in, she was very quiet and when she looked up, her eyes were puffy. Still in a strong voice, she addressed them all.

"Your detention starts now. I suggest you use this time to study and or do something quiet. Cause trouble in here, you'll be suspended. When an hour is up, you'll be free to go."

After ticking off her list of students, she sat down at her desk and began to do her own quiet work.

The whole time, Katsume sketched and soon realized that it was Elisa's face looking back at him. He looked up at the teacher and saw her flexing her wrist and wincing in pain. He looked back down at his drawing and began adding elf ears and her soft strands of hair. By the time he'd begun to add shadows to his drawing he heard her cellphone go off.

This time Ms. Pauline was looking at her phone with a look of trepidation in her eyes. She sighed heavily and went back to grading papers, though she looked really distracted.

Still Katsume kept sketching, though his gut told him that his suspicions were correct. He couldn't do anything about it. Before he knew it, detention was over and he was released along with the others and he took his time leaving. He walked out the door as Ms. Pauline stood up.

As he walked out, he saw a man waiting in the hallway and alarm bells went off in his head. The man just looked….mean.

He walked around the corner as casually as he could and stopped when he was out of sight. It took a few minutes and then the trouble started.

A loud smack was heard followed by a gasp.

Katsume snuck around the corner and peaked around the door. Ms. Pauline was sitting back in her chair with tears streaming down her face. Fear was etched across her face as he towered over her.

"You stupid little bitch. Where's my lunch woman!"

She cowered lower in her seat. "I left it in the oven. It was already for you, all you had to do was heat it up!"

"You burned it on purpose! Do you want that stupid mutt to die? I have no problem putting it down."

Her eyes widened in fear! "No, don't hurt him. I..I'll make it again if you just let me."

"You better not burn it this time, or it's all over for the dog."

Ok….ok, I'll do whatever you want! Just leave Tanker alone, please!"

"I'll see you at home. Don't make me wait."

Katsume's eyes widened at what he'd heard. Just as he turned to walked away, he was roughly grabbed and thrown to the ground and he momentarily saw stars.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to spy on people, boy?"

God his breath smelled awful.

The older man yanked him to his feet threw him agaisnt the seconds his hands were wrapped around his throat where and he was squeezing hard. It didn't take long for the teen to start blacking out.

Then as suddenly as it had happened, a red blur appeared, and the older man was yanked away. Katsume fell to the floor coughing harshly. In the next second, Ranook was there and helping his friend sit against the wall.

In the meantime, Conner had the jerk against the wall.

"Get off me!" The man snarled.

Conner was relentless. "No! You started this shit when you were choking the life out of Mr. Shen. Now, I'm finishing it. For starters what the fuck are you doing attacking a teacher?"

"She's my bitch and what happens is none of your business."

"No, you're on school property and we have a zero tolerance policy. You attacked a student and that's a big mistake. That also means that you've broken the law." Conner didn't look away from his prey. "Ranook, call 911 and tell them we have a violent criminal threatening the school."

"What a pussy, calling the cops to defend you."

Conner saw red and he could feel the latent power still flowing through his veins. "You have no idea how powerful I am. You're only lucky that I'm doing this the legal way. I could destroy you right now, but I'd like to keep my job."

The man laughed and Conner snapped. He kneed him in the stomach and the man dropped to the floor with the breath knocked out of him.

"I can take it from here." Gabrielle said as she walked up to him with a pair of handcuffs. "You look like you need a moment."

When she had handcuffed him, he walked a short way down the hallway and fought to calm down. It didn't take long for the cops to show up along with an ambulance.

They took him into custody and the paramedics tended to both Ms. Pauline and Katsume.

The teacher was crying softly as every bruise was uncovered.

In the meantime, Officer Tesla who was all lean muscle, was busy taking Conner's statement.

"Mr. True-Heart, is there anything else you want to add?"

Conner shook his head. "No, I'm just a teaching assistant here. I came to check up on Mr. Shen after what happened during lunch and saw this man choking him. Katsume's foster parent is like a brother to me. We're family in all but blood."

During this time, the rest of the crew arrived, and they sat with Katsume. He took off the pendant and handed it to Ranook. "I think we got it all."

"Yeah, we did. It's all on my laptop."

"All of what? The police officer asked as he walked over to them. Kyle tensed up having an officer so close to him.

It didn't go unnoticed. But the cop had more pressing matters.

Ranook stood to his feet. "We got the attack on camera." He pointed to his necklace. We thought something was going on with Ms. Pauline." He went on to explaining in detail what the plan had been.

"So, you set all this up, out of concern for your teacher?" The officer gave them a skeptical look.

"We only thought something might be wrong, but we didn't have any proof. Too many people get away with BS because of lack of evidence. My uncle is a lawyer, he's told me too many stories."

"I can't argue with that. If you want to help your friend, I'll need that recording."

Ranook nodded and held out a black flash drive. "I made my own copy so this can't magically disappear."

Officer Tesla frowned at him. "I know you have your doubts about us, but with the exception of officer Kelmen, we're a whole new police department. It's a clean slate and we're trying to make things better."

"Prove it." Kyle said challengingly.

"I will." The officer said in the same tone. Then he turned back to Conner. "I need you to drive Mr. Shen to the ER for him to be checked out and so we can also gather evidence. You want this case against Mr. Kline to be airtight; evidence is everything."

"Yeah, we'll follow you to the ER."

Angel Grove Hospital

Trent waited tensely with Ethan for Conner to show up with Katsume. It didn't take long for that to happen. By the time Conner showed up, Trent had already filled out the paperwork for his charge and showed them the shiny insurance card.

This made the intake smooth and as soon Conner arrived with Katsume, he was given his medical bracelet and taken into be examined.

Trent stood next to the examination table looking like a concerned parent. The ER doctor looked at the medical record. "It says here that you were listed as suicidal; do you still feel like committing suicide?'

Katsume shook his head. "No, I was only trying to get away from that idiot cop. I have an awesome circle of friends now and they keep me level."

"Good, that's wonderful. Now, let me take a closer look." After gingerly feeling his neck, he stood back. "Other than the bruising on your neck, I don't think there's much to worry about, but I'd like to send you for a CAT scan and an X-Ray, just to make absolutely sure that you're ok."

Katsume nodded and soon was wheeled away in a wheelchair to get those pictures taken. When it was just Trent, he sank into the chair and closed his eyes.

He wouldn't admit it, but getting that call from Conner had frightened him. No one wants to get a call that their kid has been hurt foster or not. When he'd been called, he'd been on the phone with Dr. Oliver. Now on top of his son being targeted by a bigoted teacher, he'd almost been choked to death by a violent criminal.

"Hey, could you use some company?"

Trent looked up to see Connor standing by the curtain.

"Yeah, they're just taking Katsume back for some x-rays." A moment later, his shoulders slumped and he put his head in his hands. "I'm way out of my depth on this. This isn't exactly something that can be destroyed with a bio-zord."

"If only, right?" Conner said as he sat in the other chair.

Thanks for helping Katsume out today."

"Don't mention it. I've got your back; we all do. I think Katsume is going to be okay. That douche bag that was choking him didn't have much strength to it. I barely broke a sweat pinning him against the wall."

"I'd put my money on him being one of those lazy idiots that think makes the woman do all the work." Trent mused.

That's pretty close to it." Officer Tesla said to him as he walked in. "I just interviewed Ms. Pauline. She has a dog at home, and that was the bargaining chip. He kept threatening the dog to keep her in line.

"I'm not surprised." Connor replied. "I've read stories like that online. Women unwilling to go into a shelter for fear the dog will be killed. Most places won't allow women to take shelter if there is a pet in tow."

"And that's the dilemma we have." Officer Tesla replied. "She's freaking out about her dog being taken away. Normally we'd have boarded it at a local shelter, but there's just no room right now and this is something that needs to be dealt with right away. Angel Grove is not that big of a city, and we really don't have the resources to take her dog in right now.

Officer Kelmen speaks highly of you and I know from him that you have a big pack of dogs at your mansion, she has an Australian shepherd and I have no idea what kind of condition the dog is in. I don't think it would fair well at a shelter. They need a lot of exercise to keep from going crazy. We're willing to compensate for this, but we need an answer so that Pauline can settle down."

Trent sighed. "Keep your money." He looked at Conner for confirmation and he was nodding. Yeah, we don't flaunt it, but we have plenty of money in our own rights. I just need permission from the actual owners of the manor."

The officer nodded. "I'll just give you a few minutes."

Thank you officer Tesla. When the officer had left the room, Conner pulled out his cellphone and hit the speed dial.

It didn't take more than a second for Adam to agree.

"Yeah, what's one more dog. Keep us updated."

Ms. Pauline had tears streaming down her face. "I can't believe this? You'll take in my baby?"

"Yeah, he'll be safe with us. Conner reassured her. "We already have a pack of our own, so we're well equipped to care for him until you can take him back home." He pulled out a pen and wrote his number as well as the number to the manor on the memo pad by the bed. "There are always one or two people home, so, he'll never be alone."

"Thank you."

"You just focus on getting better. I'm sure your furry baby will be anxious to get back to you."

"Ok." She said as she laid back and closed her eyes as the morphine took over.

When she was good and asleep, Connor headed back to where the police officer waited.

"Let's get going."

"You got very lucky, Mr. Shen. We didn't see any signs of injury on your x-rays and scans. As soon as we sign the release papers, you can leave; if you start to experience any symptoms, come on back and see me."

It took all of ten minutes for the papers to be signed and then he was walking out the door with Trent next to him. "A lot happened today, are you going to be okay?"

Katsume looked at his foster father. "Yeah, I'm alright. And at least Elisa is still talking to me."

"That girl you defended?" Trent asked him.

"Yeah, after we got done in the councilors office, I talked to her again. We're good now."

Trent smiled to himself. Katsume was going to be just fine.

So, what did y'all think? I want to thank you all in advance for the wonderful reviews you have left. It's very encouraging!