Dateline: Saturday, May 30, 1981, 9:23 AM, Pacific Daylight Time.

"Kimberly Lavender, valedictorian."

Dash watched the apple of his eye stride briskly across the stage to accept her diploma. She looked absolutely stunning in her cap and gown. It was odd, how he found her to be so beautiful, even when all their peers called her "Window Face". As he gazed lovingly upon her, something nagged him in back of his mind. Something he had wanted to ask her ever since they had first met. They had known each other so well by now, he figured that question was moot. And yet, he knew he should verbalize it to her.

"Patrick Law."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the students in his row standing up. He took that as his cue to stand up as well.

In the bleachers, Violet sat with her family behind her and her teammates beside her. She scanned the class of '81 for her brother. It was difficult to locate him, because all the students looked identical. But she managed to glimpse his blond mustache, somehow.

Being here again reminded Violet of her own graduation, no more than three years ago. She remembered searching the stands for her family. She was sure they had come, but there were so many spectators that she couldn't locate them. She felt so alone. But later, she was reunited with them, and she felt so much better.

Over to Violet's left, Ashley couldn't shake feeling of uncertainty. She knew full well that Dash loved Kim and she loved him. She had to admit she was jealous of Miss Lavender because of that; she herself had a crush on Dash. But besides that, she wasn't sure what would happen to her as a result of her parents' untimely death. Would she be put into foster care? Could she get emancipated? Would her blindness be a factor?

Ideally, Ashley would want to be placed in Violet's care. She had come to view her benevolent leader more as a mother figure than anything else. She was only five years her junior, but still. Plus, she knew full well that Violet and José were destined to walk down the aisle. She couldn't see these two lovebirds holding on to each other just two inches from her face (or anything else, for that matter), but she could read it in their thought patterns.

The procession continued rather rapidly; there weren't that many students with names in the M's, N's, or O's. Bob was excited. He had never been to any of his son's previous "artificial" graduations, but there wasn't enough money on the planet to keep him away from the real deal. He looked over at his wife, seeing the joy and pride in her eyes. He looked down at Jack-Jack and looked forward to the moment when he would walk the stage. He looked back at the stage, anticipating his eldest son's arrival.

Backstage, Dash was jittery. He wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen. He had never been good on stage. He had ruined three school plays because he had gotten stage fright at the moment of truth. It was only slightly comforting to know that they didn't expect him to do anything. Still, he couldn't feel his legs.

"Jerome Parker, with honors."

He was next. He stepped forward. He was the only one on the stage. He searched the stand for his family and friends, but he couldn't locate them. He felt the eyes of a thousand spectators upon him. He could have sworn they were all thinking, "That guy graduated?"

"Dashell Parr."

He heard applause. He felt so much better. He turned and walked to the academic dean, who handed him a leather folder. She stuck out her hand for Dash to shake.

"Congratulations," she said somberly.

"Thank you," was all Dash could think of to say.

He marched off stage like a man on his way to his execution. Backstage, he peeked inside the folder. It was empty, but that didn't surprise him. He had been told this in advance. He looked up and saw an administrator handing him a smallish piece of paper.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

He took a good long look at his diploma. "Dashell Parr, having completed in a satisfactory manner the regular Course of Study as prescribed for the High School Department is entitled to receive this Diploma by order of The Board of Education of Metroville Independent School District. Date of Award: May 30, 1981," it read.

Dash felt so proud and yet so unworthy at the same time. He somehow willed himself to return to the chair he was sitting in earlier. He almost cried.

"Friends and family, distinguished guests, I give you the class of 1981!"

And a flurry of mortarboards filled the air. One of them beaned Dash right in the back of his head.

"Ow!" he screamed.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," came a female's voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Dash said as he turned to see who it was. He was astonished to see Kim standing there.

"You're sure you're okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, um, I'm okay," he said. "Um, Kim, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What is it, dear?"

At that moment, Bob came up behind him and gripped him in a tight embrace.

"Way to go, slugger!" he said.

"Um, thanks, Dad, but I'm kind of in the…Hi, Mom."

"Dash, I'm so proud of you," said Helen. She kissed him right then and there.

"MOM! Not in front of Kim, please!"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kim said, "I don't mind it at all."

"Listen, Mom, I'm trying to talk to my girlfriend here, about something very important." He said that last part through clenched teeth.

"OH!" Helen exclaimed, finally understanding. "Then by all means, go ahead."

"Thank you." He turned back to Kim. "Honey, you've been with me as long as I can remember. You've been my best friend, and my worst enemy, but through it all, I've always loved you." Kim started to tear up, because she could tell where this was going. Dash got down on his knees as he took her hand in his. "We've had a great time together so far, and I don't want it to end, ever. So, Kimberly Lavender, will you marry me?"

Kim was speechless. She had known all along that Dash wanted to get married, but she never expected he would propose at their graduation. She already knew what the answer would be, but before she could blurt it out, something caught her attention away. Dash looked and he saw it too.

The stage had been invaded by a tallish man in a pin-striped suit. He had jet-black hair that looked like it was held together with glue. He carried a machine gun in one hand and a microphone in the other.

"Hey, folks, how you doin'?" he said with a huge smile on his face. "I'm Dr. Game Show, your master of ceremonies this evening, and welcome to 'Who Wants to Live?' the game where YOU can win the privilege to see another sunrise!" He laughed a laugh somewhere between evil genius and TV personality.

Dash looked back at Kim, but he did not see her there. Instead, he saw Liquegirl, in full costume, ready to show Dr. Game Show the road to cancellation. He looked behind him and saw the rest of them ready to go also.

"A superhero's work is never done," he said to himself. He pulled his mask out of his pocket, put it on, and pulled off his robe, revealing the Rocket suit underneath.

FIN

(A/N: Well, how was it? Great ending if I do say so myself. All right, there are those of you out there who have been reading this story, but not reviewing it. I know who you are, and so do you. I want final reviews for this chapter from all of you. Please rate this story on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being Shakespeare. And please, be honest. Until next time, I'll see you in cyberspace. Good night!)