Tarsus Middle was small, but there were lots of kids and parents crowded into the main lobby. A little overwhelmed, thirteen-year-old Alex reached behind her and gripped her foster dad's hand. Frank squeezed her palm once in reassurance, and she glanced back with a small smile.
"Remember," he said, gently, "you're allowed to quit anytime you want to. Otherwise, Tarsus told us to take a hands-off approach, so you'll be on your own for the training."
She nodded. "I know. I'm going to become stronger, though. I just hope people like me," the young girl confided.
Adam set a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to him. "You're likable, Alex, I know you'll find some friends."
Frank let go of her hand to give her a hug. "Have a great first day, and we'll see you in the afternoon." She blushed at the fuss her parents made, but allowed her other foster dad a tight hug as well.
When the adults had gone, kids started forming into groups, getting to know each other. Not being used to social situations, Alex hung back, trying to ascertain what to do. She was about to inject herself into a pack at random, when she heard someone being an asshole.
"Ew, what are those?"
"Are you a bull or something?"
Walking over purposefully, she noticed the girl being taunted had a nose piercing.
"You wanna see just how much of a bull I can be?" the girl with the nasal ringshot back, and suddenly headbutted the bully.
The girl screeched as she fell to the floor, and her friend helped her up, both hurrying away with backwards glares.
Laughing, the "victim" shouted after them. "Assholes!" She turned to Alex, who smiled in amusement.
"I like your nose ring. And your neon blue hair. My name's Alex, what's yours?" she extended a hand.
The blue-haired girl gave her a five and grinned. "Name's Billie."
A/N: Thanks for reading my story! I just think Frank and Adam would've been cute parents together, especially softened up by old age, and I wanted to write on what could have happened for them (and Alex) between games. I kind of imagine Billie all punk and badass. It is kind of sad though, that Alex's foster parents were killed in the attack on Chicago at the beginning of Invisible War, but maybe they miraculously survived or something and she just didn't know. How about we just imagine that? And then everyone gets the distributed nanite infusions at the end of IW, so everyone lives forever and ever and humans know peace. They colonize space and stretch across the universe, explorers, friends with everybody and full of happiness. The End.