Good evening lovlies! Welcome to Chapter 36. It's short, but hey, it's your second chapter of the day and I didn't want to completely ruin your appetite.

Also, extra note. I don't think I have to tell people that are reading a story where teenagers have fire shooting from their palms, but a little suspension of disbelief is required to read this story. Just a tad, really. Although I try to incorporate the show's history in as much as possible, certainly there needs to be a little leeway where Schue's show past is concerned. I know this could be a dealbreaker for some of you, and I'm sorry to disappoint, but Schue has no parents, they died in the 17th century and things with Terri will be explained eventually.

Title Lyric is taken from the Proclaimer's "500 Miles".

Misfit Toy Hero Squad

Chapter 36 – "I Would Live 500 Years, and I Would Walk 500 More"

Every person has that one moment in their life wherein their heart breaks irrevocably due to another person's actions. It's the moment that forever jades your perception of humanity. You doubt yourself and everyone as a result of one person out of billions in the world. Something innocent and beautiful dies inside of you and can never be brought back, no matter how you may try to resuscitate it.

You would think that if every person on Earth has this one moment in common, it would bring about an understanding between humans. It would create solidarity and unity. However, just as love begets love…hate begets hate.

"Noah!"

Rachel's voice was a command, simply saying his name activated something deep within him and before he knew it, there was an explosive fireball leaving the palm of his right hand barreling down the tunnel and sending a dozen government agents diving out of the way to avoid being lit on fire. Rachel gripped Puck's arm tightly and pulled as much energy from him as she could as she forced water down the same path the fire had gone down, and instead of freezing it, the water heated immediately, nearly to the point of boiling, causing their potential attackers to flee in order to avoid being scalded to death.

"Kick ass, Sparky," Puck complimented. He looked around and wondered, "Where do you think Schue's hiding? I mean…you can't get into his brain still?"

"He's either not here or his mind is still totally blank," Rachel acknowledged.

"Shit, then can't we just leave him here?" Puck groaned.

"Half of our team would probably not appreciate that," Rachel reminded him.

"So, let's start blasting doors in," Puck grumbled, doing his best to appear barely enthusiastic as he and Rachel casually strolled down the previously dangerous hallway. Puck threw fireballs at each door, and Rachel immediately brought up a defensive forcefield as they encountered room after empty room.

They had managed to get to the second to last door when Blaine zipped in behind them.

"We need to get the fuck outta here. Po-Po is on the way, well, more reinforcements," Blaine announced blithely. "Where's Quinnie-poo?"

"Quinn? She should have been with everyone else!" Rachel furrowed her brow, closing her eyes in concentration. "Oh God…I can't find her…"

Puck blew the next door in and all three teenagers gasped at what they saw.

The very dead Emma Pillsbury lying in a pool of her own blood.

"I can't believe you kids! We asked you all nicely not to come and rescue us."

"It's a disappointment and we had hoped you were through with disappointing us."

"You all make me sick. I had the situation under control and was about to break us out the very moment before you started your adorable rescue mission which, by the way, only made my work even harder! I don't know what I ever did to all of you to make you hate me so much. You act as if I went around stealing your lollipops and telling you that The Rock is not in fact the tooth fairy."

"You tried to explode us!" Tina reminded a blue in the face and ranting Sue Sylvester.

"And you set a killer robot on us?" Mercedes guffawed as their transport rushed along at a ridiculous speed. She peered out of the tiny screened window and drew in a sigh of relief as she saw Stubbs zooming along behind them. She gripped Finn's hand tighter and worked on keeping their cover of illusions up even as more government vehicles sped towards the Lima Police Station.

"Quinn…"

Everyone's eyes went to the barely conscious Sam as he stirred slightly, his hand going to the huge lump on his head. The kids breathed a sigh of relief in that his interruption by way of rejoining the land of the awake gave the adults something more to focus on than the rescue they HADN'T wanted.

"Sam? You okay kid?" Burt questioned.

"I'm really sorry, Sam. You surprised me," Bieste admitted ruefully.

"Where's Quinn?" he asked quietly, blinking his eyes to regain some measure of focus.

"She went back to help with Schuester," Sue spat bitterly. "I can understand that you wanted to save us, we are the only people on this Earth qualified to take care of you…but Schuester? You should have left him rot."

Blaine zipped back into their underground home with an emotionally distraught Rachel and stunned Puck in tow. He looked between the two in horrified curiosity as he measured their reactions. He flinched at the tears in Rachel's eyes and asked cautiously,

"Did you know that woman?"

"That was our guidance counselor," Puck whispered. "She was…that wasn't a gunshot. Someone smashed her head in."

"Oh God," Rachel sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Both Puck and Blaine went for her at the same time. Puck getting his arms around her first as she buried her head against his chest. Blaine simply wrapped his arms around the both of them as Rachel's harsh sobs muffled between the two boys slightly.

Jesse rushed into the dressing room and furrowed his brow at the sight, "Please tell me that no one died…no one could have died because Rachel's still here. What happened?"

"Uhm…we didn't find Schuester. Quinn is MIA, but obviously still alive, and we just saw their guidance counselor bludgeoned to death before blipping back here," Blaine explained quietly, letting Puck and Rachel go reluctantly. He walked towards Jesse and explained further, "We had to get out of there, reinforcements were on their way. The transport is secure when I brought Kurt and they were heading home. But…Quinn…"

"Quinn!" Rachel sniffled as she turned in Puck's arms. She closed her eyes tightly and pleaded with some higher power for a small glimpse into the girl's mind.

Nothing.

Fuzzy warm blackness.

"She's unconscious," Puck mumbled miserably, seeing exactly what Rachel was seeing as she took him along for the quick and disappointing trip. He squeezed his arms tighter around Rachel's waist and murmured, "Try Schuester again."

Jesse furrowed his brow in confusion but a flicker of understanding settled into Blaine's eyes. Rachel did as requested and she tried as hard as she could to locate Mr. Schuester's mind out of millions of minds out there.

She gasped in horror and looked to Puck with wild and terrified eyes. She couldn't force the words out of her mouth and she simply shook her head slowly as the color completely drained from her face. Puck nodded, not even needing her to zip her thoughts into his brain. He turned to Jesse and Blaine and explained,

"Schuester's our immortal."

Will Schuester looked from the beautiful girl sleeping peacefully on his right to the road stretched out in front of him. He felt the invasion immediately. He hadn't truly felt that connection in such a very long time. He shut it down immediately and smiled gently into the night as he continued to drive down the barren and cold rural road.

"My love, I can't let you into my mind, although it does my heart good to know that you seek me out in your sleep," Will murmured. "You'd relay the news of your whereabouts to the Fire in no time. And really…you've spent eternity with him so far. I think that's enough punishment for one beautiful girl to bear."

He remained quiet for a few minutes as he continued to steal glances Quinn's way as she remained blissfully unconscious to his ramblings. He had always felt a connection to Quinn and now he finally understood. She was the Mind.

"This time…you're truly mine."

Thoughts? Theories? Questions?

pedoWill. Just saying. Have a wonderful evening, everyone! Thanks for the support and love. See you tomorrow with...

Chapter 37 – "Love Me When I'm 389"