By the time Monday rolled around, the Rangers were feeling naturally apprehensive. It was always a risk bringing Viera to classes, heck it took Mick a while before he really fit in, even if some days they wondered if he ever would. No one ever got hurt in his class, he was always quick to engineer situations to ensure that students wouldn't come to harm when things failed, but just like with Victor and Monty blowing up the paint room, he believed firmly in letting kids fail and more importantly see the potential consequences of their failures more than he believed in just stopping kids and telling them why they were doing things the wrong way.

Viera came from a very different way of life. Given her station as the heir to the throne, she'd had access to all the finest tutors and so much of her education was already complete. She could probably pass most college entrance exams in fields that didn't require knowledge of Earth such as history, but they were aware that she would always need a little help when people started asking questions. They already had the issue that Dr Williams, the science teacher, still believed her to be from Spurgeon, the same small town in Indiana that Sarah had claimed her "cousin" was from, and were a little concerned about what to do if he decided he wanted to reminisce about the old home town.

It was also still only days after she had been freed from captivity and watched an entire family sacrifice themselves to see her free. In some ways, they wanted to give her a little longer to process it all, but there was no way they could guarantee Mick would be able to be with her all the time and so had little option but to rush her back to the school a little earlier than they'd have liked.

She was just getting finished getting ready as the Rangers came in after morning training. Redbot had performed another scan of her to check on her physical wellbeing.

"You should be fine, but I'd suggest making sure at least one of the others is with you at all times for a little while." Redbot told her. Viera just nodded in response. Sarah looked to the lion charm on the front of Viera's collar and smiled.

"Hey, Mick and Redbot did a good job attaching that." She said. "It looks really great. I'm almost a little jealous."

"If I could give it to you I would." Viera grumbled. Sarah was trying to make light of the situation, but the 'necklace' was in fact a collar that had been welded in place, made of a metal called Leonus which circumvented her peoples' ability to shape-shift. Leonus was very dense and difficult to cut, and with it being on her neck, Redbot and Mick didn't want to risk cutting it off and potentially harming her. Mick's idea was to add a charm to make it look more like a necklace than a restraint on a cursory glance so that no one would ask questions.

"Right, do you remember your cover story?" Brody asked. She just nodded.

"I'm Sarah's cousin, I'm from Spurgeon Indiana." She reiterated. Brody just nodded.

"Alright, if it all gets too much for you, just let one of us know and we'll bring you back here." Brody told her. Viera just nodded.

"And hey, Kody is REALLY good at hugs." Hayley told her, hugging Kody tightly.

"Thank you, all of you." Viera responded. "But...I think I should be alright."

"Just let us know if you're not." Preston reiterated. "Alright guys, first bell should be ringing soon."

Elsewhere in the city, a stranger pulled up his car opposite the Thompson House, coming to a stop. He checked the address to make sure he had the right place, and then scoffed.

"Someone isn't doing too badly for themselves." He commented as he applied the parking brake. He looked up as he saw the front door opening, at which Al and Ellie came out. Ellie was dressed in a suit, and carrying some papers with her. Al looked to be talking to her. The stranger took out a camera, and snapped a few pictures.

"Ellie, you'll be fine." Al assured her. Ellie just sighed.

"I wish I had your confidence." She commented. "I'm going to be up against people twenty years younger than me..."

"And twenty years less experienced." She grumbled. Al pulled her in, kissing her gently. "That counts for a lot."

"Al, I've not worked in a few years..."

"And a lot of these kids haven't worked at all." He reminded her. "You'll do brilliantly, I just know it."

Ellie kissed him one more time, before heading down the street towards the bus stop. The stranger watched as Al went back inside. He settled into his seat as he opened the glove compartment and put the camera inside, right next to his unregistered gun.

Back at the High School, someone was having an amazing day! Today was Monty's official first day as the new Student Body President!

It was more than a little bit of a surprise, not least to Monty himself, largely because he had never entered his name onto the ballot, but in an overwhelming vote, he had won a write-in vote by more than ninety eight percent of the vote! Kids had seen him only a week earlier stand up to the school bully Ace, and without so much as lifting a finger, keep getting back up any time Ace shoved him down. His act of defiance had won a lot of hearts it seemed, because it turned out even if Calvin and Hayley HAD run, the result would still have been the same.

He wasn't wearing his usual kind of attire. Between his parents' excitement for his accomplishment and Victor's insistence that he use this as an opportunity to reinvent himself as the hero some people saw him as, he had been bought some new clothes. He was wearing a pair of black denims and a black sheer shirt. He still had the perm, he wanted to keep a little of his old look, but he had been told that he should project the kind of image people expected of in a President.

Kids were coming up to him, congratulating him on his victory and wishing him well.

"Thank you for your support." Monty said as one of the kids passed him a note of a few things he wanted to see raised at the next student/staff meeting.

"Alright folks, that's enough, the President is a busy man." Victor declared, putting his arm around him. "He'll get to your requests in due course, just use the official channels!"

Monty smiled a little at this. He was worried initially that the fact he had beaten out Victor, his best friend, might cause some contention, but Victor had been nothing if not supportive throughout the whole thing. He had been the first to congratulate him and he was largely the architect behind his new look.

"Wow, people are really something." Monty told him. "I don't know how I'm going to deal with this all; the job just seems overwhelming..."

"Well, that's what you need a secretary for." Victor told him, offering him a handshake. "Victor Vincent, former President and secretary extraordinaire at your service."

"Secretary?" Monty asked. "You...you really don't mind helping me?"

"Hey, you did it for me all last year right? What kind of friend would I be if I didn't return the favour?" Victor asked him. "Alright, so first thing we have to do is...Monty...Monty, where are you...?"

Monty stopped listening, or more accurately couldn't hear anything over the angel's choir he heard in his mind as he saw her. He could see Viera at the end of the hall with the Rangers and a smile crossed his face. He drifted through the crowd, floating like a dandelion seed in the breeze, bouncing uncaringly through the crowd. He found himself standing in front of her before he knew what was happening.

"Hi! Welcome back!" Monty greeted her. Viera looked to him, while the Rangers just stood around watching. She looked at him a little blankly. "The last time you were here I shared my lunch?"

"Oh, the sandwich guy!" Viera recalled. "I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you! You look really different. Murphy right?"

"Oh, it's Monty actually." He corrected her, not even caring that she got his name wrong. He was happy enough that she even remembered him! "Yeah, I changed up my look a little. Being President now it was suggested I update my look a little."

"You're President?" She asked him.

"Yeah, that was a surprise to me too!" Monty replied. "So, um...as President, let me welcome you back to the school! If there's anything you need, or if you just want another sandwich, just...come and say hi!"

"I'd like a sandwich." Calvin interjected. Monty either didn't notice him or didn't care as he continued to look at Viera. "Um...hi?"

"Thank you." She replied, looking him up and down.

"What? What is it?" He asked her.

"I was just thinking, it's a shame you changed your look." She commented. "I kind of liked it."

"We need to be going." Sarah said as the bell rang.

"I guess I'll see you around?" Monty asked.

"I suppose so." She replied. "Nice meeting you again."

"So...that's a no on the sandwich then?" Calvin asked as they walked away. "Um...hello? Am I invisible?"

"Only to some people." Hayley replied. "Of course, I think we were all invisible there for a moment."

"Oh, not all of us." Sarah said as she led her 'cousin' to her first class. "Come on."

As they disappeared, Monty stood with a spaced-out look on his face. Victor approached him.

"Monty, being President has some privileges, but cutting isn't one of them. You still have to go to class." Victor told him. "Monty?"

"Say Victor, you have your car today right?" Monty asked.

"Yeah, sure." Victor answered. "Why?"

"I need to go home at lunch time." He replied. "I need to change!"

As he walked away, Victor just sighed.

"Well, so much for the new look." He commented to himself. "I guess you gave it a fair chance of at least an hour."

Back at the Thompson House, Al was doing some work for his clients when he got to a point he could take a break. One of the benefits of his business was he didn't really need to be at the premises, also known as his Living Room, if he didn't actually have a client to sit with. Having no appointments on the books, and feeling like a little fresh air, he decided to run a couple of errands. He had his cell phone and he was sure his e-mail could live without him for a few minutes.

He headed out of his front door, and went towards the car, pressing the key fob. He was about to get in when he saw a car across the street he didn't recognise. While he had seen more cars in the neighbourhood since he opened his business since he didn't exactly have a parking lot, he only really saw anything other than the neighbour's cars when he had a client.

"Huh, looks like the Collins' finally traded in their Pontiac." He remarked to himself with a shrug. He got in and started up the engine, reversing out of the drive-way, before turning to head out to the local supermarket. In the other car, the stranger watched him go, getting a little way ahead before starting up his engine and following him.

It didn't take Al particularly long to get to the supermarket, indeed the only reason he took the car was because while he was still getting stronger from his injuries, he still didn't fancy carrying a significant weight all the way home.

Al strolled into the supermarket without a care in the world. One of the things he loved about his new business was the sheer freedom it gave him to take breaks and get out and about for some light exercise and air whenever he felt like it. It also allowed him very real opportunity to get to know a lot of the locals who were quickly coming to know him.

"Good morning Mr Thompson!" The greeter called to him.

"Please Paul, its Al." Al reminded him. "How's that new insurance plan I recommended working out for you?"

"So much better that I'm taking the family on a little trip to Mount Rushmore soon." He replied with a smile. "I thought it was time the kids saw it."

"I'm glad I could help out." Al told him.

"I'll just get you a basket..."

"I'm afraid it's a cart today." Al interrupted him. "The barbecue kind of cleared out the pantry."

"I'm not surprised; your wife can put on a great spread! I just wish she could teach me a thing or two!" He answered.

"I might just ask if she has some recipes she can pass along." Al answered with a smile as Paul got him a cart. "Enjoy the trip!"

"I'm sure I will." He replied as he headed inside. The stranger came in shortly behind him. "Hello sir, can I get you a cart or a basket?"

"No thanks." He answered.

"Really, it's no trouble I can..."

"I said no!" The stranger snapped at him, walking away. Paul just shook his head.

"Someone's having a bad day." He commented with a shake of the head, before returning to what he was doing. "Good morning madam, can I get you a cart or basket?"

Elsewhere in the city, Ellie was sitting in the waiting room to be called. The job wasn't much; it was just a part-time clerical job in the Police Department. Al didn't really want her to feel she had to work full-time; he wanted her to get back to her inventions. For a long time while Al was struggling to cope with his conviction and his alcoholism in the years that followed, she had been the main breadwinner in the house. Al had felt badly that Ellie had to take up almost sole responsibility for running the house while he was at his lowest, and he wanted more than anything to allow her to get back to doing what she loved, like she had before when he was in investments and money was no issue. The sad fact was that at least until his business was running smoothly, they needed at least one guaranteed income and so they'd made the compromise she'd seek part-time work.

Just as she'd predicted, she was among the oldest people in the waiting room. It wasn't much, just a clerical job, namely sending out citations, reminders for appearances, filing and suchlike. Between the salary and the nature of the work, a lot of the applicants were younger, and she felt like she was a little out of place.

"Mrs Thompson, the Captain will see you now." An officer told her. Ellie nodded her head and collected her belongings, before heading into the office. The Captain was sitting opposite her and shook her hand. He was a large man, slightly pudgy, but tall, and also bald, with dark skin and a stern-looking face.

"I'm Captain Raymond, please, take a seat Mrs Thompson." He greeted her. "Well, it has to be said; your resume is certainly one of the more unusual I have read."

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked him.

"I just have a few questions. Such as why someone with your...frankly outlandishly over-qualified CV is applying for a simple clerical position." He began.

"I...I just want something to bring a little money into the house." She admitted. "My husband has recently started a new business and we wanted at least one guaranteed income."

"I see." He commented, looking to her resume again. "I see long periods where you didn't work..."

"My husband was the main provider for a long time." Ellie admitted. "He had some difficult times and so I had to work, but for a while things were looking up so I went back to my own projects."

"So what you're saying is that you only want a source of income, and you're likely to leave as soon as you don't need us." He surmised. Ellie just shook her head.

"If I was just looking for an income there are a lot of cafes and supermarkets hiring." She told him. "If I'm going to work, I'd like to also be doing something that helps the community."

Captain Raymond didn't respond to that, and just looked back to her resume. Ellie already wasn't confident coming in here, but it looked almost like he was looking for reasons to just brush her out the door. She was considering picking up her things and going and taking the decision out of her hands when he finally spoke.

"Modern police work is changing all the time Mrs Thompson." He told her. "We're living in a new age of technology and media. I wondered if you would describe how familiar you are with these new trends."

"Well, Captain Raymond, I think it's clear from your demeanour since I sat down you took one look at me and my age and thought I'm some kind of dinosaur, so perhaps I shouldn't waste any more of your time." She began, starting to lose her temper. "But before I go, look at that resume you're so interested in one more time. My college diploma is from MIT. That isn't the Mediocre Intelligence Trust, that's the Manhattan Institute of Technology! If you look closely, you'll see it's a double masters in computing and engineering!"

Captain Raymond put down her resume and looked at her, his fingers tented.

"Also, among my job placements, I've been a programmer, a Social Media strategist and a coder!" She continued. "It may interest you to know I was writing harassment detection algorithms and profile protections for longer than platforms like Twitter have been around!"

He continued to stare at her without a word.

"It might ALSO interest you to know that I set up a program in my last job as a doctor's secretary to notify people to appointments and prescription renewals to their preferred platforms because people have a bad habit of ignoring mail on their doorstep but the average teenager is likely to check their social media pages no less than twenty times a day!" She continued. "So fine, I'm not as young as these people but don't for one minute believe I don't know what a damn tweet is because I was navigating these sites before they were popular! I also know how to run an office and can type over 100 words a minute, but if all you see is the lines in my face, by all means, hire that girl I saw out there tweeting her cat!"

"Mrs Thompson!" Captain Raymond called as she was storming out. As she looked to him, he smiled. "I'll see you at nine tomorrow morning for orientation."