A/N: This is a short one-shot dedicated to the people, heroes, loved ones, and friends who perished on the fateful day of 9/11. May they rest in peace and know that where ever they are, they'll never be forgotten!

Heroes Aren't Born

"Well, class, seeing as today is such a special day, being the time when our precious Twin Towers collapsed when two planes collided with each of them five years ago today, we will be writing a short, or long, essay on it," Lancer was beginning to say. The class groaned, a couple were quiet. Five years ago this very day, September 11, terrorists had attacked the Twin Towers and the World Trade Center, killing dozens, hundreds, thousands of people. Many of those people were innocent victims of the dreaded attack. Many of them were relatives of the students present today. Sam was one of those relatives. Her Great Aunt Michelle died that day as one of the many unlucky spectators. She had been extraordinarily quiet that day, making both Tucker and Danny sit silently as well.

"Now, if you will, please take out-" Lancer didn't complete the sentence. Just as he was about to finish, the door to the classroom opened, revealing a TA (teacher's assistant) and another teenager. The TA, a girl by the name of Jennifer, held a clipboard in her hand. From it, she read, "Mr. Lancer?"

"Yes," Lancer replied. Jennifer stepped to one side to allow the teenage girl behind her some room to come into the classroom.

"This is Annie Simon, she's gonna be spending a couple of days here until her parents find a suitable house within the district," Jennifer explained. "Call the office if you need anything, and well, you know." With that, Jennifer turned tail and walked out the classroom. The young girl, Annie Simon, stood there awkwardly in her white blouse and blue knee-length skirt. Her long dirty blonde hair hung over her shoulders. Her gray-blue seemed empty and emotionless, dull and cloudy.

"Annie, please take a seat anywhere you'd like," Lancer said, oblivious to this fact.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam watched as the girl began to make her way to the nearest empty seat. The nearest empty seat, however, was right next to Danny. The said boy watched the girl out of the corner of his eyes. As soon as she had seated herself, the lesson resumed. But Danny couldn't help but wonder something was way off about this girl. And he couldn't help but stare as he thought this.

"I know your staring at me," Annie whispered. Her voice was clear and smooth, definitely as unfeeling as her eyes. It was almost cold.

"Sorry, just that...your eyes..." Danny trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

"They bother you?" she asked. She turned her face towards him and looked, or rather pointed, her eyes at him. She didn't blink.

"It's...I'm sorry, I should just mind my own business..." Danny said. He quickly turned his gaze back to the notebook on his desk, picking up his pencil and beginning to write on the blank, ruled page. There was something about those eyes that sent him off the edge. A knowing kind of look, as if she could read his very thoughts.

"It happens to everyone," he heard Annie whisper, but wasn't sure she'd said anything at all. And so went second period and fourth period. It turned out that Annie was in all of his classes and had the same period lunch with him and Tucker and Sam. That was the next time they spoke to each other.

The trio was getting ready to go sit at their usual table: laughing, talking, joking around. Even Sam cracked a smile.

"Ya know what Cassie did next?" Tucker asked.

"What?" Danny asked.

"She actually hacked into the computer mainframe and-" Tucker's voice cut off as he looked in the direction of their table and stopped walking. Sam and Danny looked on after him.

"Tucker?" Danny asked.

"I think he's finally lost it," Sam murmured. Danny saw, reflected in his eye glasses, what he was staring at. He turned around in that direction and saw what Tucker was. Annie had been shoved to the ground and was reaching for her notebook. Just as she grasped the corner of it, someone's foot stopped her from grabbing it.

"How come your eyes look as if your blind?" said the annoying voice that could only belong to Dash Baxter. Annie didn't look up, only kept her grasp on the corner of her notebook, not letting go. "Come on, Annie, answer us! We know you're not deaf. Or is that something else you can overcome?"

Danny scowled and narrowed his eyes. "Tucker, hold this," he muttered and shoved his tray onto Tucker's. It was one thing to bully someone, but it was another to make fun by saying someone has disabilities. Now that he was not about to allow a jerk like Dash to get away with.

"Why don't you leave her alone, Baxter?" he called angrily as he stepped over behind Annie. The said girl recognized the blue-eyed boy's voice and looked up at Dash from behind blond strands of hair.

"Fen-turd!" Dash said, surprised. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd actually stand up to me! Well, it was nice knowing ya!"

Dash stepped around Annie and towards Danny, who took a couple of steps back. Annie hugged her notebook close to her body and seemed to watch all of this before she stood up on shaky legs and screamed.

"Stop! Stop it!" she shouted. At this point Dash had Danny up into the air by the collar of his shirt before both teens looked towards the girl. Her shoulders trembled and her eyes were wet and ready to spill over tears. "Stop fighting! No more violence, please...Just stop it!" Everyone in the whole cafeteria went dead silent and stared at the sobbing girl. "I don't want time to repeat itself!" Annie screamed. Dash slowly put Danny down, something that didn't usually happen. And Danny could tell that by the look in his eye, the boy seemed on the brink of tearing up too. And he knew why. Dash's Uncle Timothy and six-year-old cousin Bernadette had been on that plane that crashed into the World Trade Center. His uncle had tried to do something about it too. And he was killed for it even before the plane hit. Dash was a victim just like any other of his family members' tragic ends.

Danny blinked a couple of times before looking around the room. Everywhere around them, students had their heads bowed and their eyes closed, ashamed and sad. Then Danny looked back at Annie and saw that the girl was not alone. Standing there next to her, were a couple of students. One of them being Sam Manson. The other student was a boy named Jacob Small. A brown-eyed, brown-haired boy. His father perished on that plane as well. His father was the pilot. Danny's face fell. Annie was nowhere near done with what she had to say.

"We have had enough violence for a lifetime, haven't we?" she shouted. Her hands were turned into small fists and her gray-blue eyes glittered. "Today of all days we should try to be peaceful! For once I'd like to see people get along! Because of that stupid, fucking war people fucking died! Do you all want that to happen again! How many of you had relatives die, huh? I know this is nothing compared to that, but I wouldn't like to see any of you die and leave children or brothers or sisters behind to fend for themselves! Because of the fighting people left behind just that! Because of the fighting people DIED! For once...!" Annie stopped talking and gave an exasperate sigh before storming towards the door of the cafeteria. She turned back once more and shouted, "You all should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Sam and Jacob shared a glance before looking over at Dash and Danny. Dash was actually crying! Tears came pouring from his eyes. Danny couldn't believe, but he was in no position to say anything. he lowered his glance and slumped his shoulders in shame.

"She's right," Jacob whispered. Danny sighed and looked at where the girl had once stood. Sitting there was her red notebook. His eyes widened and he looked towards the door before grabbing the book and rushing out. He looked around the halls and just barely caught a glimpse of Annie walking out the school. He rushed forward and pushed open the doors. She was beginning to make her way down the stairs. "Annie, wait!" he shouted.

"What?" she asked, spinning on her heels and looking at him.

"Your...book," he said. He made his way down the stairs and handed it to her. She looked at it, smoothing the cover of the notebook and hugging it close to her body.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," Danny said. "About before."

"It's no problem, I guess I some times get in a little bit over my head is all..."

"But you were right," Danny said. "A lot of people died because of war."

"Yes, that is true," Annie agreed. "Come sit down, I want to speak with you. Anyone, really. But you especially."

Annie took a seat on the last step and invited Danny to sit next to her. He wondered what she meant by that. "Have you ever lost someone like that, Danny?" she asked.

"No, not really," Danny said honestly. "But I know what it's like." He remembered the explosion at the Nasty Burger. Good thing it didn't exactly happen.

Annie nodded. "My parents were on that plane. The one that crashed into the first Twin Tower."

"I'm so sorry," Danny said.

Annie nodded again. "I've seen things," she whispered. "That most people wouldn't be able to handle. I was there, Danny. I saw everything. The crash, the destruction, the death."

"But...how?" Danny asked.

"I don't know," she said. "But all those people, they all didn't deserve that. They were innocent. The pilots tried to stop the terrorists. Did you know some of them got their heads cut off for that? People called their loved ones on cell phones too. Danny, those people were scared out of their wits. They were jumping out the planes and out the buildings. And they still died. Even spectators were killed. Their screams still echo in my mind."

"You're a medium?" Danny asked. Annie nodded.

"I spoke to some of them and you know what they told me, Danny?" Annie asked. Danny didn't answer, so she continued. "They said that that day was one we will regret. 9/11 will be the one day to go down on history as the day we all will regret. That more innocents died than ever. That this country will never be the same. And it hasn't."

"That makes sense," Danny offered.

"It does," Annie agreed. "I best be going now." She stood. Danny did so too.

"What?" he asked.

"I just wanted to tell someone all this," Annie said. Then, as if reluctant, she handed Danny the red notebook. "Here."

Danny took it and looked at her. She smiled fondly and whispered into his ear, "You were givne these powers to do great things, Danny. Save us. Save us all." And with that, the girl kissed his cheek and began to walk away. Then, as if by magic of some sort, the girl's figure began to almost vanish into a cloud of fog. Then she was gone completely. Danny blinked a couple of times before it came to his attention that she was no normal girl. He looked at the notebook and opened it to the only written page:

Heroes aren't born
Heroes are made.

They're like you and me,
Normal and human.

Good and evil
Doesn't matter.

Your choices decide
Who you are.

Make the correct ones.
Make sure you follow the right path.

Mistakes are normal,
Make sure you learn from them.

Everyone is able to do great things.
What do you plan to do with your destiny?

--Annie Simon, 1987-2001

E/N: It wasn't great, but then again I had no idea how I was gonna make this work! This was a story that just came to me as I was typing it. The girl Annie Simon is a fictional character. The people I named that perished were also fictional. But even lies come from truth, my friends. Review if you want. The poem belongs to me. Don't steal.

--Airamé Phantom