Thank you all for your patience! Here's the next chapter where things really take a toll ;) Hope you all enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW! Xoxo

TT

Chapter 20

Jade was currently in her dorm in a pair of athletic shorts and a sports bra. She had hand wraps on, her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and sweat glistened her forehead.

She'd been going at the punching bag set up in her room for almost an hour now. It was the middle of a brand new week, and everyday after school, after her extra training sessions, she'd work on her upper body strength in her bedroom.

Jade gave three straight punches to the stiff bag, a kick, and one last powerful punch. The bag still held, but it was clear that all the extra training with Coach Hype was paying off.

Jade was still cold towards Coach Hype, mainly because the woman belittled her in every way she could. But Jade figured it was the best way to discipline herself—and it was.

Ever since learning that Trigon was the person Slade struck such a cold deal with, she's been racking her mind with solutions to end him once and for all. If anyone wanted revenge on Slade, it was her.

She was strong when she left him, but she wanted to be even stronger when they finally crossed paths again. Jade hates Slade with every ounce of blood in her body. She couldn't care less if she saw his head on a stick.

Suddenly, there was a knock on Jade's door. She stopped her workout and grabbed a hand towel from her bathroom real quick. Dabbing her forehead, she opened her door and saw Roy standing there.

"Roy," she breathed. "What are you doing here?"

He stepped in and tried hard not to look at her bare abdomen and toned legs. "I, uh, wanted to see you."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Okay…well is there something on your mind?"

Besides the fact that you look like an incredibly sexy Asian goddess right now, nope, nothing really. Roy's thoughts raced through his head and straight to his heart. His face flushed red.

"Are you okay?" Jade asked suddenly. "You look like you're suffocating or something."

He sat down on her bed and quickly looked down. "What? Me? No, I'm fine. I just wanted to come see how you were doing."

"Okay then," Jade laughed. "I'm good. I only saw you about two hours ago."

"Right, right. I just…" Roy trailed off. His palms began to sweat and he knew anything else that came out of his mouth would be nothing but a jumbled mess.

Truth was, Roy didn't know how to classify him and Jade. They were arch enemies turned to really good friends, and that's where it stopped. He wanted more with her, and he knew she wanted the same. But Jade was stubborn and very protective of herself.

He couldn't blame her. She was practically raised by a psychopath. She was taught to kill—to be a bad guy. Now that Jade was with the good guys, it was a wonder how she didn't have any kind of counseling on the side.

"Jade," Roy said as he looked up at her. "What are we?"

There. He just went right in for it. He didn't even stutter.

"Good friends," she replied.

Well, maybe he should've just held back.

Roy sighed and stood up. "You know that's not true." Wow. He's feeling pretty ballsy today. "People don't go through what we've been through and just classify themselves as 'good friends'."

Jade placed her hands on her hips. "What are you saying Roy? Is it so bad that we're friends?"

"No! Of course not. You're, like, my best friend." He walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "But you and I both know that there's a stronger connection between us."

Jade stared up at him. Their faces were so close; she could practically hear his heartbeat. For a moment, time stood still for them. She wanted to be with him, but it felt like they couldn't be together right now.

There was so much going on, so much they needed to prepare for and stay focused on. A relationship could complicate things. Plus, Jade wasn't ready to put her trust into someone that quickly.

She really liked Roy. But now just wasn't the time.

"Roy, I want you to know that I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Roy smiled and cupped her face in his hands. "Jade, that's great. I feel the exact same way!" He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.

Jade looked down solemnly. "I want to be with you...but with everything going on, it's just...it's not the right time."

Roy's smile disappeared and he dropped his hands at his sides. "Jade, there's never a right or wrong time for anything. Some things are just fate—destiny."

"Well then it's fate that we aren't together right now." Jade turned away from him because she could feel her eyes brimming with tears.

"We've been through a lot together." Roy placed a hand on her arm. "We're going to go through a lot more, but I'd like to be able to call you my girlfriend through it all."

A tear escaped her eye. She knew this talk with Roy would come sooner or later. She was just hoping it would've been later. Way, way later.

Jade turned around to him and shook her head. "I don't want to get any more attached to you than I already am. What if something bad happens? I could never—"

"Jade." Roy stepped forward and brushed her tears away. "You can't think like that. I want to be with you, why is that such a hard concept?"

"Because we can't be together right now!"

"Why not?" Roy stepped back away from her again. "Why can't we? Richard and Kori just got together in this complicated time. What's so different about us?"

Jade laughed out loud. "Richard and Kori? They're the perfect couple. It's a wonder how they just now got together." She stared into his deep green eyes with her own. "But you and I, Roy? What about us makes sense? I was a villain just a month ago. I was a bad guy. You were never that."

Roy shook his head. "But you're good now. Your past doesn't matter to me because I know that even when you were once on the wrong side, there has always been good in you. You have a good heart, Jade."

She turned around and hugged her arms. There was more to it than just that. There were other reasons as to why she wanted to keep her and Roy apart for now. "If-when-we come into battle with Slade, he'll take anything I care about away from me first. I don't want him coming after you."

"Jade," Roy took a step towards her and put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "I would die before I let some psychotic prick come between us. That's a fact. You have to stop worrying about the future, living in the past, and start focusing on right now."

He was right and she knew it. From the moment she first met Roy, she knew there would always be a connection between the two of them-a spark. No matter how hard she tried to keep them apart, it would never work.

For the first time ever, Jade felt something in her heart she's never felt before. All her life this feeling has been missing and right this very moment, standing in front of the only boy who's ever made her feel truly good, she felt it all.

Jade was in love with Roy Harper.

TT

It was about six at night, and the library was half-filled with students cramming in last minute study hours before their big history test tomorrow. Kori, Tula, Gar, Vic, Roy, and Wally were currently at their own table on the upper section of the library. Their books were splayed all out in front of them and there were papers taking up any extra space on the table.

They'd been the only ones out of the group to meet up for study time. Richard and Alain were at the gym preparing themselves for an upcoming fitness test whereas Isaiah and Mal were planning more stuff for the upcoming Halloween party (priorities, right?). Karen didn't want to miss a Skype session with her parents, Toni was eating a late dinner with Rachel, and Jade was with Coach Hype going over next week's training agenda.

It was only Wednesday, and the week has been jam-packed with nothing but homework, pop quizzes, and important tests. The students definitely felt a huge amount of stress weighing down on them. Next up would be sleepless nights and barely-staying-awake mornings.

"Man, I can't take this anymore!" Vic threw down his pencil in frustration.

"It's only been twenty minutes, Vic," Roy said without looking up from his own papers.

Vic shook his head. "That's twenty minutes too damn long."

"I agree," Wally added. "This whole studying thing is lame. I'm just gonna wing it like always."

Across the table Tula snorted. "Oh yeah? How's that been working out for ya?"

Wally crossed his arms in a matter-of-factly way. "Pretty good actually. I have straight C's and one A."

"What's the A in?" Gar asked.

"AT class." Wally smiled. "Coach Santos loves me."

Vic laughed. "No he doesn't. God loves you, he gave you your special talent." He looked up at the ceiling. "And I have no idea why."

They all laughed-except for Wally-and went on about studying for ten more minutes. Then, it was as if they all decided it was time for a break. They all put down their books, pens, and pencils and began to converse with each other.

Vic looked over at Roy and asked, "So, how'd your talk with Jade go earlier today?"

At this, Roy sunk down lower in his chair and his face immediately went sour. He propped his book up so that it would cover his face a little more, but that didn't stop the guys from jumping in with the questions.

"Dude, did she turn you down?" Gar asked.

Wally laughed out loud. "Oh man, the almighty Roy Harper got rejected! How!?"

Roy scowled at them. "It's not like that assholes. Our relationship is just… complicated. That's all."

The guys snorted and failed miserably trying to hide their entertained expressions. It was sad, really, that they were amused at Roy's heartbreak. Jade had ultimately decided for them that even though they were very dear to each other, it would be best to stay friends.

Roy was crushed, to say the least.

Kori reached over and laid a hand on top of his. "It is okay friend Roy. The time you give to Jade will make her heart grow for you even more."

Roy smiled, feeling a little better. "Thanks, Kor."

Suddenly, Tula began sniffing the air. "Um, does anyone smell that?"

Gar was immediate to react. Given he was able to transform into any animal ever, his senses were always on high alert. "It's… smoke?"

Wally quirked an eyebrow. "Smoke? But—"

BOOM!

Debris from the back of the library flew in every which way. Smoke began to rise, and now the bright orange flames were clearly visible. Screams were heard as the fire began to spread rapidly. Students were trapped under all kinds of rubbish.

The six of them immediately began to react. They were on the second floor-which was bound to collapse any minute. The explosion had done a serious amount of damage to the library and the fire was quickly eating up every square inch of it.

"Get everyone out!" Roy called. "We need to make sure everyone is out!"

The six of them quickly acted on Roy's words. They scattered all around, trying to find anyone who might be hurt or trapped. The smoke was getting the best of Roy, who obtained no powers whatsoever. He was completely human.

Roy managed to help a girl out from under a table. He carried her in his arms and out the doorway to safety. He coughed in his elbow and ran back in. Flames were everywhere but he could still hear cries for help.

Suddenly, his vision blurred and he cursed. "Agh! Come on!" he yelled, trying his best to follow the cries for help.

Just then, something picked him up under his arms and flew him out the door back to safety. Roy quickly looked up to see Kori, her face looking determined and serious. "Friend Roy, you must stay away from the fire!"

Before he could protest, she flew back in. He shouted her name out and watched as the library began to crumple. Fire was pouring out of windows, smoke was rising in the air, and almost every student was gathered around watching in horror.

Inside the building, Vic and Gar had taken off their cover-up rings and were transformed into their true selves. Gar was a cheetah and was whipping around the flames with no problem, but even he could hardly handle the smoke.

Gar nabbed the T-shirt of an unconscious boy and dragged him out the nearest exit. He quickly morphed back into human form and coughed into his hand. He was breathing heavily, and wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Gar! Roy!" Richard yelled as he, Alain, and Rachel came running up them.

Rachel crouched down next to Gar, her face washed with worry at the horrible sight before them. Gar shook his head and closed his eyes, "Vic… Kori… our friends… still… there." He was having trouble breathing and leaned back into Rachel.

Richard immediately began to charge for the entrance but was stopped by Roy. Roy looked at him in all seriousness and said, "If you go in there, you won't be coming back out. What good are you to Kori if you're nothing but ashes?"

Richard, with a look of panic, looked back at the flamed building. He knew Roy was right, there was no way he would make it back out alive. But Kori was in there and so were his other friends. He was not one to stand by and watch a horror scene.

Alain knew Tula was in there, and he immediately put his powers to test. He stepped up closer and made a motion with both of his hands. Within seconds, a wave of water came pouring through the first floor of the building. It soothed enough flames to where a few other students and Vic came walking out.

Vic had two students on his shoulders and a guy next to him was carrying a freshman girl. Richard quickly walked up to him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Vic nodded and suddenly saw Karen running towards him with nothing but worry written on her face. She threw her arms around his neck and cried out. "Vic! Vic, are you okay? Is everyone out? Oh my-what happened!?"

Vic, breathless at this point, said nothing and shook his head. Richard began to grow more worried. Kori, Tula, and Wally were still in there along with whoever else. He felt useless.

Jade, Isaiah, Mal, and Toni soon joined the group. They did nothing but stand there and watch the horror of their beloved library burn down-and all who was in it.

"Everyone get back!" Headmaster Weathers came running through. "Get back everyone!"

A firetruck burst onto campus and to the scene. Firefighters swarmed the area and took their stances. They readied their hoses, as did a few teachers and students who obtained the ability to control water.

Within seconds, they began hosing down the enormous fire. There were at least twelve of them altogether. As they watched the flames slowly die down, some firefighters ran into the building to search for other students.

A burst of wind flew past the group's faces and appeared Wally looking exhausted. He panted as he placed his hands on his knees. "I couldn't find anyone. I only managed to save a couple people." He took a few breaths. "When the fire died down, I could see an exit."

"Where's Tula and Kori?" Alain asked urgently.

Wally gave him an apologetic look. Alain looked away and began pacing. The building was still on fire, people were panicking, students were injured, and Tula and Kori were still missing. There was no telling who was still alive in there.

"I can sense them," Rachel said. "They're trapped."

Richard marched up to her. "Transport us there," he demanded. "We need to get them out."

"Richard, that's a huge risk. I don't think you understand-" Rachel was cut off.

"Get us there, Rachel. Please." Alain gave her a pleading look and could hardly wait for her answer.

She sighed and still looked uneasy about it. "Fine. Just you two."

"And me," Isaiah stepped forward. "I'll power up once inside and I can counteract most of it."

Rachel nodded and bowed her head down. She closed her eyes for a few moments and when she opened them, they were beaming white. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Richard, Alain, and Isaiah felt their stomachs drop for a split second and then they were inside the building. There were still flames around them, and debris was still falling.

"This is crazy," Isaiah said as he quickly powered up. "We need to find them-and fast."

Richard scanned all around. Alain did the same and the spotted one girl lying on the ground nearby. They started towards the girl and when a piece of flaming debris began to fall right above her, Isaiah quickly shot out his own fireball, knocking it back from landing on top of the girl.

Richard picked the girl up bridal style and they still searched around for Tula and Kori. Three more minutes passed by and they began to grow frustrated. There was no sign of anyone-not even the firefighters.

"Do you think the firefighters got to them?" Isaiah asked.

Richard shook his head. "Rachel would've transported us back by now."

Alain coughed roughly and shook his head. "Time's running out! We need to hurry!"

They dodged flames and falling debris expertly and listened closely for any cries for help. Another minute passed by and suddenly, Tula's voice rang through their minds.

First floor. Very back. Hurry.

The three of them quickly followed her directions and when they approached the designated scene, they saw Tula and Jason trying to lift a huge concrete slab off of Kori.

Richard was too focused on Kori, who looked exhausted, to be pissed that Jason was here. He quickly handed the girl in his arms over to Alain and began to help lift the heavy object off of his girlfriend.

"How did this happen!?" Richard asked. He grimaced as he saw Kori wince in pain.

Tula looked uneasy at first but then said, "She pushed Jason out of the way and the concrete fell on her instead."

Richard stopped for a split second and shot Jason a death glare. Before he could say anything Jason grunted and heaved up on the slab even more. Richard snapped back to reality and did the same.

When the slab gave a little more leeway, Jason crouched under it and pulled Kori out. She yelled out in pain and Richard immediately ran to her.

"Kori!" He stroked back her hair and went to pick her up. Once she was in his arms he asked Tula, "Is there anyone else in here?"

She shook her head. "Not that I know of."

Around them, the fire was dying down. The seven of them made it out of the building safely. Their friends and paramedics immediately swarmed them.

The paramedics heaved the girl they'd found up on a gurney. Kori was up on her feet already, but leaned onto Richard for support. She coughed a few times and her face was splotched with smoke.

"What the hell happened?" Roy asked. "One minute we were studying and the next an explosion?"

Jade grasped his hand and squeezed it. She said nothing, but Roy could tell she was happy he was safe. He kissed the side of her head and looked at his friends in concern.

Alain was crouched down next to Tula. She had an oxygen mask to her mouth and was breathing steadily into it. He looked up and said, "Something tells me this wasn't an accident."

"You think someone on campus did this?" Toni asked incredulously. "This is nuts, I can't even imagine one of our own doing this!"

Richard shook his head. "Not someone on campus."

"And definitely not one of us." Roy stepped up. "This was just the beginning of what's to come."

Rachel felt chills engulf her body despite the radiating heat. Next to her, Gar wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Jason, who was standing behind all of them, stepped forward to speak. "For once I agree with Dick. This was no accident and it definitely came from the outside."

Richard narrowed his eyes and almost said something but Vic beat him to it. "What makes you think someone broke through our barrier?"

Jason shrugged indifferent. "Dollface over there did it." He motioned over to Jade, who looked down at her feet in shame. "I bet her deranged mentor used the same exact tactic."

Roy got in Jason's face. "How about you shut your mouth Todd or I'll gladly shut it for you."

"How about you back the hell off or I'll—"

"Enough!" Kori shouted, stunning everyone. She coughed and pushed gently away from Richard. "We cannot fight at times like this."

Richard put his hands on Kori's shoulders. "Kori, calm down. It's Jason's fault you're even injured, you shouldn't be getting riled up."

Kori shook her head. "I chose to save Jason. That is what a hero does, is it not? We put others before ourselves." She looked at everyone else. "You all are right, this was someone from the outside."

"How can you be so sure, Kor?" Karen asked.

Kori gulped and her eyes landed on Rachel. She gave Rachel an apologetic look and then held up a slightly charred piece of paper that was enclosed in her hand. She held it up and when everyone read what it said, there wasn't one calm look around.

Their faces were drained of color. Fear had taken over. The sudden realization that their school—and all in it—was not a safe zone anymore.

Written on the paper in black bold letters was something that forever changed the security each one of them felt at their precious school.

Consider this your warning. I'm coming for you and your school.

Rachel gulped and looked at everyone. "We're in trouble."