A/N: Wow, whats it been, 6 months, I'm sorry to have kept everyone waiting. As I said on my profile, I had been under a lot of stress, but I'm back now and I'm really excited to be working this story again.

The other students always had given A.T.O.M. weary looks before, but it was worse now. They watched him, fear glittering their eyes, now truly aware of the danger him presented. During spars, it wasn't just A.T.O.M. shying away. His opponents approached him more cautiously.

It would've been easier with Mark. The Maximoff boys may have been the terrors of the school now, but at least they'd be together. After his meltdown, though, their parents felt it best that Mark go home with them.

A.T.O.M. wished they took him too. He didn't want to be at the school, especially not alone. His teammates barely talked to him. The other students avoided him at all costs.

After another dinner with conspicuous glances and hushed conversations that he could still hear perfectly well, A.T.O.M. decided he couldn't take it anymore, he wanted to go home.

None of his teammates questioned when he broke away from the group. He walked down to the principal's office.

The secretary sat behind her desk, going through paper work. She lifted her head when A.T.O.M. walked in.

"Can I help you?" She asked. There was a smile on her face, but a hint of fear in her voice.

"I...umm..is Principal Al-Abbas in? I want to talk to her."

"Sure, one moment." The secretary pushed down a button on her comm. "There's a student here that wants to see you."

"Send them in," Principal Al-Abbas said through the comm.

A.T.O.M. walked into her office.

"Oh, A.T.O.M.," Al-Abbas said as he walked in. "Take a seat."

A.T.O.M. did just that.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"I want to go home," A.T.O.M. said. "I don't belong here, I'm a danger to the other students."

"You're not a danger, A.T.O.M." She seemed genuinely calm over him. That wasn't something A.T.O.M. was use to.

"You saw what happened during Mark's meltdown."

"I did. You've been holding back this whole time. Why?"

"I didn't want to scare anyone," A.T.O.M. said.

"You want to be a hero, right?" The principle asked.

"Yes," A.T.O.M. replied.

"Then don't hold back."

"But the others-"

"If they can't handle their fears, then they don't have what it takes to be heroes." A.T.O.M. stayed quiet, he didn't know how to respond. "You can talk to your parents about leaving if you want, but the heroes need you on our side. You and your brother could make a great team one day, though Mark needs more time to gain control of his powers."

"Will the others ever stop fearing me?" A.T.O.M. asked.

"I don't know," Al-Abbas said. "So, will I be making a phone call to your parents?"

A.T.O.M. thought it over. He wanted to be a hero, but he also wanted be around people who weren't constantly scared of him. He was still unsure of his answer when the words came out.

"I'll stay."

"I'm glad to hear it."

A.T.O.M. got up from his chair and walk towards the door. He looked back before walking out.

"One more thing," he said. "Who's joining Zeta? It's been a few days, I assume the placement will be soon."

"None of Gamma will be joining Zeta," Al-Abbas said.

"Oh," A.T.O.M. said.

"When we brought up reassigning them, they requested to stay together. They said since they've already spent months training and living together, they feel they would be stronger sticking together, even with just three people. Can't say I disagree. They're a strong team, even without your brother."

A.T.O.M. wished his team was like that as left the principal's office, but he knew they'd all take the chance to dissolve Zeta if they could. They weren't a team, not like Gamma, not like any of the others.

He could here the whispers of his teammates in their room before he even reached the elevator. It was nothing new, just talk of how nervous they were, reminding each other to keep an eye on him. It wasn't just his teammates, it came from everyone at some point or another, but it always hurt worse coming from the people who were supposed to always be by his side.

He walked into the room and everyone went silent.

"Everything alright?" Alexander asked.

"Yeah, I just needed to talk to Principal Al-Abbas, but everything's alright," A.T.O.M. said as he walked to his bed.

"That's good," T'Chakek said.

"We were going to head down to the rec room," Alexander said.

A.T.O.M. took a seat on his bed. "Go without me, I want to work on my homework."

"Alright," Alexander said.

Alexander, T'Chakek, and Amanda left the room and headed towards the rec room.

"You know he doesn't have homework to do," Amanda said as they entered the elevator.

"He's a robot, he got it done seconds after class," T'Chakek said.

"If he wants to be alone, that's fine with me." Amanda hit the button for the first floor. "I'm going to the computer lab. I got some...stuff I want to work on."

"Whatever, I just want to get some fresh air. I feel like I've been stuck in classes for centuries," T'Chakek said.

The doors to the elevator opened and everyone walked out, going their separate ways.

A/N: This isn't really what I wanted to give you guys after such a long wait, but it was a necessary chapter. The next one should be better.