This only contains spoilers if you haven't read the first book. And if you haven't, what are you doing here?

*Trigger warning: Mentions of explosions, dead bodies, body limbs, etc. May not be suitable for all. Please take caution when reading this*

*This takes place before the First Battle of Gatlon, when there was still no clear leader and the anarchists and renegades were still new and still fighting with each other, years before Nova and Adrian were even born. I imagine, from the information the book gave, that the two teams fighting started long before Nova was born, when David Artino and Alec Artino were young adults*

Gina smiled at Leroy as he delivered the medicine he made.

"Hi, Leroy," She said, putting a clipboard down.

"Oh, hi, Gina," He said.

He knew Gina from high school. She was one of the first people to run to his side when the jocks covered him in chemicals.

"I see you got that job you wanted," He said.

"Yep! First week!" Gina exclaimed.

"Are you still..." She looked to both sides. "With the anarchists?"

He nodded.

"You better watch out. Kelly wil kick your butt if she found out. She's a hardcore renegade supporter and spends every minute trying to become one. She's willingly tried to get herself traumatized before. She's ridiculous," Gina said, shaking her head.

"I know, and I know what Kelly is capable of. I'm keeping my distance. I don't want my butt kicked by someone like her."

"So, I see business is booming," She said, nodding at the box in Leroy's arms.

"Actually, I'm looking for the Chief of Staff. She needs to sign off on this stuff."

"She's in her office. I have vitals to take." Gina said, walking off.

Leroy delivered the boxes.

He still remembered the first time he saw her.

Gina did not have powers, not even healing powers, but she loved helping people and it was her dream to become a nurse.

The bullies were laughing, throwing punches and kicking him as he curled up in a ball, trying to protect his most vulnerable body parts, such as his face and stomach.

Then, the leader grabbed some chemicals from a nearby table and thought it would be funny to pour them on Leroy. His friends stood beside him as he poured the chemicals. Leroy screamed as it contacted his skin and burned him.

Leroy's eyes were closed, but he heard a loud scream and opened his eyes just enough to see a blur of brown hair run at the bullies and tackle two of them at once. The other two fled.

"YEAH! RUN YOU COWARDS!" his defender screamed. He knew that voice from his history class. "BUT I'LL FIND YOU!"

He felt another person take a rag and start dabbing at the chemicals covering him.

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?! YOUR FACE IS GONNA LOOK FUNNY AFTER THIS YOU DOUCHEBAG!"

Leroy opened his eyes completely to see Kelly Avery, straddling both bullies and taking turns punching each of them. The girl had skill.

He saw Kelly's twin sister, Gina Avery, caring for him.

There was a third person, one Leroy recognized as a friend of the twins, Anne-Maria, frantically dialing the emergency number on her cell phone (911 for the Americans today, but idk what it is for Gatlon).

"You'll be alright," Gina soothed as Anne-Maria explained what she saw to the operator.

Leroy knew the difference between the twins because Kelly had a scar on her face from getting in a fight with a Canadian exchange student her freshman year (A/N: the exchange student happens to become her husband later on).

"Kelly's always been a tough fighter. I've always been the healing type. It's strange, isn't it?" She asked.

Despite their differences, Gina and Kelly were really close.

"What happened?" The chemistry teacher asked, staring at her room is dismay. "I was only gone for ten minutes!"

"Kelly! Stop it!"

"NOT UNTIL THIS ASSHOLE BLEEDS!" Kelly screamed.

"Language, Miss Avery," The teacher scolded, grabbing Kelly's collar and pulling her up.

Gina helped Leroy up at the same time, but he noticed how she winced when his acid-covered hand gripped hers.

'I'm sorry," He said.

She just waved it away and wiped her hand on her jeans (don't do what she did, always always wash your hands when dealing with chemicals).

"What happened, Mr. Flynn?" She asked, examining his body and pushing him to the emergency shower.

"You look like you've been covered with fire," She added.

"Close. Lots of acid," Leroy replied.

She looked at the empty vials and her mouth opened in shock.

"These are dangerous and should be used wearing only the strongest protection! Oh, you boys are in trouble," The teacher said. "And you hurt Leroy much more than how much Kelly hurt you."

"Yeah!" Kelly exclaimed, punching him again.

"That was not an invitation to throw another punch, Kelly,"

The teacher turned on the emergency shower and asked Anne-Maria when the police would arrive.

"Are you ok, now, Leroy?" Gina asked, ignoring everyone else.

'I'm sorry, I did what I could, but I wasn't sure what to do when someone douses another person in chemicals," Gina said.

"Thanks, Gina. It certainly helped," Leroy said.

"If those jerk bags ever hurt you again, you know who to call," Kelly said, punching the air.

"Thanks, Kelly," Leroy said. His body still hurt, but he also felt powerful, and was able to ignore the pain.

He watched as the two girls left the room, shortly after the teacher dragged the two bullies tackled by Kelly to the principal's office by their ears.

Anne-Maria escorted him to the school entrance, where the ambulance showed up minutes later. Leroy was taken the hospital.

Ever since then, Gina made a point to smile and wave at Leroy every time she saw him.

Leroy knew how he looked. The chemicals messed with his face pretty bad. He was a monster.

But Gina never made him feel like he was ugly or less of a human being because of the accident.

Kelly was impulsive and had a strong instinct to protect. Gina was more nurturing and caring. Though he liked Kelly and appreciated her for stepping in before the bullies could do more damage, he had a crush on Gina. Kelly was pretty, as was Gina, because they looked almost the same, but Gina's personality seemed to draw Leroy in.

One day, after the accident, Leroy and Gina were getting coffee.

"So, what's up with Kelly and that guy? I thought they hated each other? Didn't they get into that fistfight, where Kelly was scratched by his watch and got that scar?"

"Yeah. Well, turns out they met again when she and I came back for spring break," She said, "he apologized and now they can't be separated."

Kelly and Gina were both nearing their college graduation date. Gina would have a degree in nursing, and Kelly got her bachelor's degree in general education, since she was unsure what she wanted to do and general education provided her with a broad educational background so she could choose what she wanted (a degree in general ed is a thing. I don't think my college does it but some do).

"Part of me wonders if she's just trying to lure him into a false sense of security and then attack him again when he least expects it."

"You, Kelly always liked you." Gina said, staring at her sister, who was waiting in line with Mr. Exchange Student, who was now part of the renegades, which at this moment in time, was just a small group.

"What? Me?"

"Yep. But then you started to hang around Ace and she kind of lost a lot of respect for you." Gina replied, taking a sip of her mocha.

"I know the anarchist is a new movement and Ace seems cool and all, but what if he's not? Something about that guy just gives me the creeps, Plus he seems, I don't know... mean?"

"Ace is cool. I promise. Plus, I believe in his cause."

"I don't know, Leroy, I'd rather put my trust in the renegades. They seem more like heroes than villains."

"Are you saying the anarchists are villains?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess I am. Ace only just started out and he's already hurt a lot of people."

"We just believe that people need to be independent and stand up for themselves."

"Leroy, not everyone you meet is gonna be like my dear sister, Kelly Avery. Some people are more like me, and don't really know how to defend themselves or throw punches or cause other people bodily harm."

'When the time comes, Gina, I'll protect you. But I don't want you relying on the renegades and letting your guard down. The roaches are still out there, so are the Panthers, and though not as big as the Renegades and anarchists, are still very dangerous."

"Leroy, are you promising to look out for me?" Gina asked. "because I have Kelly, and I have my dad and..."

"Your mom was killed by the roaches! How are you still not scared?"

"I miss my mother every day! But at the end of the day, I see her as a hero, because before she died, she put three roaches in jail. And I know that my dad wasn't able to protect her because she was on duty and not home when she died but I know he will always be watching me and ready to protect one of the two reminders of my mother that he has left. So leave my mom out of this. She would never ever support the anarchists."

Gina stood up, ready to join Kelly and leave.

"Gina, I'm sorry," Leroy said, pulling at her sleeve.

She wiped tears from her eyes.

"Don't talk about my mother again. You didn't even know her." Gina growled, and joined Kelly.

Leroy was still trying to make amends with Gina. She had gone back to college and he knew she was busy, but she blocked his calls and left him on read constantly. Leroy knew he shouldn't have mentioned her mother. Gina only lost her earlier this year and the wounds it left were still fresh.

Mrs. Avery was one of the few cops who wasn't corrupted these days. Leroy knew Gina was right. He didn't know her well, but he knew that she would never support the anarchists.

They just didn't understand what Ace Anarchy was about. But Leroy did, and he agreed one hundred percent with everything Ace stood for. Screw the renegades! They're just trying to take over Gatlon and run it into the ground just like what happened with America. Gatlon used to be a city called Chicago, which was in Illinois, in a place called America. But that all changed because the country became corrupt and the middle and lower classes rebelled and made sure there was no longer a country, but cities, who were in charge of themselves.

But recently, Gatlon has had trouble governing itself, which is how the Renegades and Anarchists came to be.

"Kelly," Leroy said, approaching the woman, who was getting ice cream with another friend of hers. Kelly chose to take her classes online this semester to help her dad, who was lost without his wife.

"Oh, hey. Leroy. How goes it?"

"I heard you're with that one guy you fought in freshman year." Leroy said.

"Oh, yeah. At first, I was only dating him to get revenge and was gonna punch him in his sleep when he least expected it but turns out he's actually a pretty cool guy. I'm probably still gonna punch him, though." Kelly replied.

Leroy smiled.

"So, Gina's not talking to me."

"Yeah. She's been muttering angry words about you under her breath. When she came home that day, she kept saying something about what you said about our mom. But I don't know the whole story," Kelly replied.

"Yeah. Listen, I feel really bad about it, and I've been trying to talk to her, but she won't talk to me. Do you think you could tell her that I'm sorry?" Leroy asked.

'Yeah. I'll tell her to talk to you. She'll listen to me," Kelly said.

"Thanks, Kel. I appreciate it," Leroy said.

Kelly must have talked to Gina, because Gina invited him to her favorite restaurant the week after she finished school.

He met her there.

"Hey, Gina," He said.

"Hi, Leroy," She said.

"So, what's it like being a college graduate?" He asked.

"I don't feel that much different. But I am getting more sleep."

"Isn't Kelly supposed to graduate, too?"

"She took a semester off when Mom died so she has one more to go. I thought about doing that but thought Mom would want me to continue." Gina replied.

"I'm sorry about what I said, Gina. I knew I had no right to scare you like that and remind you of your mom when it was clear you were still grieving. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say those things."

"I can never be mad at you, Leroy. You're one of my closest friends."

Another warm smile.

Leroy smiled too. Her smile was always so infectious.

They ate and talked, and it was like they never had that fight.

Weeks went by, and Gina was looking for jobs. She was busy, and as a result, wasn't talking to Leroy much. Leroy knew this, and he knew she wasn't mad, so he didn't bother her.

One day, the hospital ordered medicine from him, as they were in short supply and their usual supplier was temporarily shut down.

And that brings us back to the beginning, to that fateful day.

He was happy to see Gina and to know that she had got a job at the hospital she wanted to work at. He and Gina exchanged pleasantries and gave each other a brief summary of what they were up to, an then parted.

He went back to the anarchist headquarters. Ingrid looked smug, and Ace looked like he won another battle.

"What's going on?" Leroy asked.

"You'll see soon enough," Ingrid said.

Kelly hugged her sister and bid her good-bye, walking back to her car. They had just enjoyed lunch together, since it was Gina's lunch break and while Kelly worked part-time to get through college, she only worked at night.

Kelly was so proud of her sister. She was finally doing the very thing she dreamed of.

Kelly was only a few steps away when her childhood pediatrician stopped her.

They talked for a few minutes, and then Kelly heard a strange sound.

"Do you hear that?" She asked, just as the hospital exploded, a huge "boom" echoing through the area.

Kelly and the doctor were thrown backwards.

The doctor helped her up and they stared at the hospital.

"Gina..." Kelly's heart started to beat rapidly. "Gina was in there. I have to go. I need to save Gina..." Kelly bolted forward. The doctor grabbed her hand.

"Kelly, stay here," She commanded.

"No. no. I can't lose Gina. I can't... I can't lose her! No!" Kelly screamed.

She looked around. Bodies and body parts fell around her.

Kelly wished she could teleport. Anywhere but here. Just simply disappear.

She heard thuds as debris and bodies fell. The hospital was now on fire.

Were there any survivors?

She saw the doctor run closer and saw her helping survivors.

Kelly hoped she would see Gina.

Gina. Lovely Gina. Always smiling. Always friendly. Her built-in best friend.

Survivors passed Kelly, and Kelly still didn't see Gina. She walked around, looking for Gina or listening for voices of survivors.

She stepped on something.

Kelly looked down and screamed.

She was absolutely devastated.

First her mom, now, Gina.

Kelly had stepped on her sister's hand. The rest of her body was nowhere to be seen, but Kelly knew that hand, because the hand adorned a bracelet similar to the one on Kelly's wrist. It was a silver charm bracelet with a golden "G" as the middle charm. Kelly's was the same but had a golden "K". Their mother had gotten matching bracelets for them one Christmas, and the twins declared them to be friendship bracelets.

Kelly's mouth hung open and she sunk to the ground, staring at the hand.

"Gina, where are you?" Kelly moaned. "Don't leave me," She sobbed. She looked around. Maybe the rest of Gina was around here, perhaps still alive, just missing a hand.

"Gina!" Kelly screamed. "Gina, answer me!"

Kelly sobbed as she realized that Gina was never going to answer her.

Kelly sat on her knees, next to the hand. Shell-shocked.

And the ringing in her ear wouldn't go away as panic and despair ate away a hole in her heart. A hole she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to fill.

Hours later, Ingrid laughed hysterically as Ace and the other anarchists huddled around a TV.

Leroy recognized that building.

It was the hospital where Gina worked.

"Ace..." Leroy started. He was shushed.

"Gatlon mourns a tragedy today. Earlier today, at approximately 1:30 pm, there was an explosion at Gatlon Memorial Hospital. Hundreds are dead, and there are only a handful of survivors," The news lady said.

They showed footage taken earlier that day.

Leroy saw Kelly Avery sobbing on the ground, next to a hand detached from it's body.

Leroy's heart sank as he realized it was probably Gina's hand, which would explain why Kelly was crying so hard.

The TV cut to footage of a survivor, a young nurse, explaining her experience. She had burns all over her right side, and scratches and cuts, but she had all her limbs.

The footage cut to another shot of an older man, who was missing a foot.

"Well, besides a missing foot, I'm ok, and I'm grateful for that."

The footage cut to Kelly.

"I had lunch with my sister, who was a nurse and as I left, I... I heard... I saw... I'm sorry," Kelly said, turning away and crying into a female doctor's shoulder. Leroy knew that doctor, she was a pediatrician and was the twin's doctor when they were kids. The doctor patted her back.

"Give her space," She snapped to the interviewer.

Ingrid continued to laugh as Ace smiled.

"We eliminated the renegades that were only injured in the last attack." Ace said. "Victory is close. I know it."

Leroy felt like his whole body went numb.

He was shaking.

He confronted Ace that night.

"What was that?!" He asked, fists clenched tightly.

"What? We killed some renegades. There were a few casualties, but it's a small price to pay..."

"Gina worked there!"

"Oh, that silly girl you like? Well, I'm sorry for that, Leroy, but she was a necessary casualty."

"Casualty? Gina is not just a casualty. She was a person. A person I was friends with. A person I loved!"

Ace gave him a look that said "It can't be helped."

Honey heard a rustling in Leroy's room and decided to check on him. She knew he liked that Avery girl. Not the one on the news, but the one that had died.

She opened the door, and saw Leroy packing up his things in a worn-out suitcase.

"Leroy, what are you doing?"

"Leaving this group," He replied, barely holding in tears.

"Why?" Honey asked.

"I know you're ok with the killing and the casualties, too, and usually, I'd call it necessary, but I knew one of the casualties. I loved Gina. I was going to ask her on a date the next time I saw her. I was going somewhere with her. I loved her, and Ace took that away from me." Leroy replied.

"Leroy, I know the grief is strong, but if you leave the anarchists, you'll regret it." Honey said, running a hand through her perfectly curled 1950's-housewife-style hair. "We're going to win, Leroy. And if you leave, you'll make Acey angry. And he'll find you and make you wish you never left. And Gina wouldn't want you to be hurt, would she?"

"I guess not. But Ace did something..."

"It was all for us. For the cause. You believe in the cause, don't you?"

"I do..."

"Then stay."

And so Leroy stayed. But he was always ashamed for not being brave enough to leave Ace and the anarchists. And for letting him get away with what he did to Gina.

And, oh, how much he missed his Gina.

This is really sad. I know I said we wouldn't be hearing much about Gina, but I felt like she deserved a backstory, so I gave her one. I also felt like Leroy deserved a chapter about him.

And it also gives you readers a better understanding of how I interpreted the books. For instance, I think that the renegades and anarchists were a thing long before our main characters were born, and it makes sense, since Georgia was a renegade before she had Adrian. I also agree, like many, if not all of you, that Leroy was good. I don't think he belonged with the anarchists.

Anyway, yes, this is sad, and yes, it was a little graphic, but war and explosions always are. War means great loss. And that is what happened.

The next one-shots will be happy, I promise. I have lots of ideas and the ideas are all cute and fluffy.

I hope you're enjoying this story so far.

Until next time,

Keep Reading!