Chapter Two: The New Kid

School goes on like always. Three weeks ago, HotStreak died by accident. By the hands of the hero Static, who had tosses a metal beam out of his way, but into the direction of his best friend and HotStreak. He tried to tell them to move. Gear jumped out of the way. The other man wasn't so lucky. The red head had turned around in confusion, to get creamed in the head. He was sent flying through the air, into some crates. Static watched in horror as he heard the beam connect with his bully's head. He heard the last breath of air force it's way out of him. Then nothing.

"V…you okay?" A gentle voice snaps the hero out of his nightmare.

"Huh? Oh…yeah. I'm okay." Virgil didn't think he would ever get over the death of HotStreak. Get over the fact that he killed someone. He ended someone's life. Even if it was HotStreak, the man didn't deserve to die. Not like that.

"Relax Virgil. They say he didn't feel any pain. He didn't see it coming."

"Still…not even he deserved that…"

"I know…" Richie sighs. Comforting his friend was going to be hard.

"Hey guys." A girl's voice comes from behind them. It belonged to Daisy.

"Hey Virgil, Richie." Frieda was right next to her. The two girls take a seat at their friend's table.

"Hey." Both boys welcome their friends.

Daisy saw the sorrow in Virgil's face. "Still depressed about HotStreak? Don't worry so much. No one morns the wicked Virgil…"

"Yeah, it's not like he was nice to…well…anybody." Frieda reminds her mocha skinned friend.

"Still…nobody deserves to go out like that…and so young…"

Before anyone gets the chance to attempt to comfort him, their teacher enters the room, followed by some tall guy. "Class, starting today, we have a new student." Eyes turn to the man, who wore a pissy sneer of absolute hate. He wore blue jeans and a large green sweater. His hair was pitch black. You couldn't tell his hair color because of the blue hat he had on his head, but his goatee and eyebrows were black. "Please welcome Jay Granit." The woman faces the new kid. "Say hello to the class Ja-"

"Shove off. They can see me, why the hell do I have to talk to them too?" A familiar voice puts down the teacher.

"Looks like we have another HotStreak…" Richie mumbles under his breath.

"At least this one doesn't have powers…" That was Daisy's attempt to look on the bright side.

Great…another reminder of why I feel guilty…

"Hopefully this one is less aggressive…physically I mean…" Frieda nervously laughs.

The teacher is not real impressed. "Well then sit down so they can ignore you." She returns to her desk. The new kid looks around the class room. All the tables were filled. All except a table with four people. Amused, Jay walks up to the geeks he had teased in his last life. The four of them look at him.

"Hello…" Daisy starts the awkward beginning. The man decides it's best to not make a scene or those quys at that government building will find him. He must stay low and not screw up. "I'm Daisy…if you care…"

"Well I don't." Jay hisses out. "But I'll take note of your name anyway."

"I'm Frieda, that's Richie and that's Virgil…I'm gonna guess you're not happy to be here…"

"Actually…I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Jay chuckles as their faces contort in confusion. "So what's happened in this piss ass town?"

"Nothin' really." Daisy leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Three years ago there was a freak gas explosion mutating a bunch of street thugs…so Dakota is littered with metahumans."

"Kay…" Jay ignores the old news.

Then Richie fills him in on the most resent news. "Three weeks ago, the first metahuman died…HotStreak." Francis hated the way that sounded. Hearing about your own death is creepy. No way around it. There is an awkward silence.

"The city was surprised but…was over it in a few days. He wasn't a very good person." Daisy speaks to end the silence. Jay growls inside his head, which he wished he didn't do because now his head hurt. "A beam had crushed his skull. He didn't feel anything."

"I see…"

'he didn't feel anything' my ass! It hurt like hell when I woke up. I could hardly blink…My head still hurts. Fuckin morons…

"It has been calmer since he passed though. His anger was horrible. I really do hope he got a refund on those anger management classes." Richie chuckles. Unlike Virgil, he did get over the death of the twisted red head. Jay grits his teeth. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"He got worse with his powers." Frieda starts her opinion. She was well known for voicing herself. Actually, she was known for voicing herself too much. "Scared the crap out of everyone. He'd beat up tons of people and always tried to burn down the city."

Virgil sinks further into his depression. It wasn't fair no matter how you make HotStreak sound.

"No kidding." Daisy had picked up a few of Frieda's bad habits. "That boy was selfish and rude…not to mention he dropped out of school. And he gets carted off to jail every time he gets out. He didn't have much of a future to begin with." Jay pretends to listen. He had no idea that he was that bad. He hadn't known how much everyone hated him. It really hurt. It made him feel empty.

A sigh is heard from Richie, who sees Virgil's pain. "He was an asshole…but…he did make Dakota home."

"I guess you're right. Now I won't know which movies to not go see." Frieda giggles. Regret fills the two girls as they bashed the dead man. It wasn't right. A chuckle is heard from Jay, who just shakes his head.

"I'll admit it…it's gonna be empty without him.." Richie thinks of a way to change the subject.

"Yeah…I guess it wasn't his fault. With his father and all." Daisy leans back into her chair.

Jay's green eyes light up in surprise. "Father?"

"At the hospital morgue, they found bruises on his body…turned out, he was abused by his father. Possible all his life." Francis felt sick to his stomach. He didn't want anyone to know that about him. "If someone saw it earlier…he may have turned out decent…he was good lookin."

I killed him…and it wasn't even his fault he was fucked up…

"Yeah. I'll give him that." Richie agrees perhaps to quickly.

The older man holds in an awkward blush. "You gay?" it wouldn't have surprised him. Not one bit.

A look of guilt floods Richie's face. "Francis was hot."

A quiet giggle is heard from the brunette girl. "Yeah. He was…if things had been different I wouldn't have turned him down every time he asked me out."

Jay looks at the depressed boy, who hadn't said one word to him. "What's wrong with dread head?"

There is a silence. "He hasn't gotten over his death yet." Richie says simply. That confused Jay. Why would Virgil be depressed over his bully's death?

"Which is surprising considering Francis used to beat him up the most."

Idiot.

Frieda pats her friend's shoulder. "It's okay Virg…"

"He may have died young but…at least he didn't suffer. He didn't even see it coming…" Richie is sick of justifying the death of that man.

That's true. I didn't see it comin'.

Daisy tries her hand at helping Virgil. "It's not like you killed him…" Virgil's whole being cringes. He really wished she hadn't said that.

"Can…can we just change the subject?"

"Sure thing V. So where are you from Jay?" Richie is more than happy to change the subject.

"Other side of the country." To be honest, he had no clue. He basically hitchhiked his way home.

"Oh…Where?" Daisy wonders.

"Don't matter. Wasn't there that long anyway."

There is another silence as some tries to find something to say or ask.

"You…kinda look like Francis." Daisy points out, worrying the rebel. "Dye your hair red, bleach a couple streaks, pull your pants down…toss the hat…yep…" The girl giggles. "Carry around some lighter fluid and a lighter and your set."

"Daisy has a point." Richie jumps in. "You even have green eyes like him."

You paid a attention to my eyes? Jay felt a little violated. He wasn't sure what to think but there were worse things to look at.

"You really did like Francis…kinda freaky." Frieda laughs at her friend.

"Not like…I just notice things, that's all. You have green eyes, and Daisy and Virgil have brown eyes…" And Shiv's eyes are oddly purple…Richie tries to justify himself.

"You're odd Richie…but that's why we get along with you." Frieda continues her teasing.

"You're the one with the gay comics." Richie is flustered.

Daisy jumps in to defend her fangirl honor. "It's yaoi…and it's graphic novels…you read comics…"

"Same thing."

"Oh. You're one to talk." Frieda's nagging habit kicks in. "I remember how we got you to read a yaoi and you made us buy vol. 2...it was a cute story though." Frieda smiles. She and Daisy are fangirls of yaoi. It was weird, but amusing.

"Sh-shut up…"

No wonder I terrorized their asses…

The two fangirls giggle, sharing a look only the two of them know. Jay decides it is best to ignore these two. "You're sure quiet." He focuses on Virgil.

"Sorry…I just don't feel much like talking…"

I just don't want to talk to THEM…

Virgil decides to make the effort. "So…what do you do for fun?"

Besides blow shit up?

"I…fuck around…" he gets a look. Many looks actually for students outside the table of weirdoes heard him. Not that he cared. Virgil now has nothing. Once again, the conversation suffers an awkward standstill. "I often go to jail…so…I really don't do much."

Hearing this, everyone is amazed that this man isn't starting fires as they speak.

"Well…it's okay. Everything I do is considered geeky."

"Everything I do is illegal. Including setting fires." the man laughs. He knows that that habit wasn't gonna magically disappear. It was who he is.

Frieda tilts her head. "You really are like HotStreak."

A grin grows onto Jay's face. "I'm pretty sure I'll have his moments."