Chapter 20

Kwan climbed back to his feet, rubbing at the back of his knee where Manson kicked him. If she ever played sports, she would make one heck of a kicker for football. Even soccer would be a good choice after a powerful swing of her foot like that one. Paulina held Dash back from chasing after the two friends for Sam's attack on his best friend.

"Just let them go," Paulina said with her hands placed on Dash's chest, standing her ground firmly. "There's no point chasing after those losers." Dash glowered, still looking ready to get pay back for Manson kicking Kwan, but he relented, folding his arms grumpily over his chest.

Kwan smirked to himself when he thought about the fact that if Fenton were with the group, then Dash would be far less eager to get any sort of vengeance on the Goth. "Yeah, besides, I don't think you'll win anyone's heart by beating up their friends." He grinned wider when Dash's snapped furious blue eyes at him.

"And after those strings I pulled to make sure he'd be in our group." Paulina folded her arms with a disappointed frown. "And you didn't even use that to your advantage!"

Dash scowled. "I really hate you two sometimes," he muttered, his mouth thinning. "And how could have used that to my advantage? I had you two idiots in the way."

"Don't blame us because you're too much of a chicken to confess to him." Paulina rolled her emerald eyes, not cowed in the slightest bit by the jock's glaring.

Kwan watched the exchange in amusement. He and Paulina were quick to pick up on Dash's developing crush on a certain blue eyed loser. Dash denied it for all he was worth when they confronted him about it. But after weeks of pestering him, Dash finally caved and told them about his feelings for Fenton. Kwan grinned to himself as he recalled that flush on his friend's cheeks, refusing to look at either Kwan or Paulina as he spilled the beans. Watching Dash moon over Fenton, though, only reminded Kwan that he didn't feel that way toward anyone. That outsider feeling struck him again as he stood off to the side while Paulina and Dash glared stubbornly at each other.

Kwan turned his gaze away from his friends, following the direction Manson and Foley raced off in, heading for the parking lot. Fenton mentioned that he would be rooting for the team at the game, that memory wiggling its way into his mind as Kwan frowned. Fenton always stuck close to his two friends, which left Kwan wondering why he wasn't with them like always. He scratched the back of his head as he pondered over that little mystery. From the fight going on against the viruses, Fenton's parents obviously attended the game tonight, but Kwan doubted Fenton would sit with his parents and suffer the resulting embarrassment. Fenton would have immediately sneaked off to join his friends.

"What did you get from the geek?" Dash asked, tearing Kwan out of his current puzzle.

"You said the coding didn't make sense," Paulina prompted when Kwan stared at the blond jock in confusion.

"Oh," Kwan mumbled as he frowned and folded his arms. "That's because it didn't make any sense. It was completely unintelligible, and I don't know how anyone could have come up with anything like that." His aqua green eyes slid toward Dash. "Think you can write it all out for me? I want to examine a bit more closely."

"You could have done that if you didn't let that stupid-" Dash cringed when Paulina glared at him. "Yeah, yeah," he sighed. "All up in here." He tapped at his temple with his index finger.

"I guess that photographic memory really does come in handy for more than just getting good grades." Paulina smirked as she hugged her arms around her body, shivering lightly in the cold. Wearing only her cheerleading outfit left her exposed to the chill in the late November night air. December was right around the corner, which meant they would probably get snow in a few weeks if the temperature continued its steady drop.

Kwan would have offered her something to cover up, but he only had his uniform, his jersey covered in dirt and grass stains. It wouldn't provide her with much warmth either. When the viruses suddenly attacked, they didn't stop to think about grabbing their things. Paulina's jacket was still back by their team's bench, which probably got destroyed in the fight. He turned his gaze back to the football field, thinking it was probably a good thing that this was their last game of the season. It would probably end up being rescheduled now, because of the attack, which meant they would probably get stuck having to play at West Elmerton instead.

"It has it's uses." Dash shrugged, only really using his photographic memory for his art. Kwan always found that fascinating, how Dash could watch one of Phantom's fights then draw it out almost exactly blow for blow in his comics. Of course, his friend made a few changes here and there for the purposes of the overall plot to the comic that he posted on the website that Kwan helped him create.

"Let's get out of here," Kwan suggested, pushing his friends toward the parking lot after he spied someone walking toward them from the football field.

"What's the- oh," Paulina said with a frown when she spotted what prompted her friend's sudden urging to get out of there. Worry passed through her emerald eyes while Dash's gaze narrowed as he glanced back over his shoulder. Despite all his attempts to keep his family situation quiet from the rest of the school, Dash and Paulina uncovered the truth around fifth grade when they came to visit his house. Kwan winced at the memory of that when his mother flew into a rage after Dash accidentally broke one of the plates from her wedding china. That was the last time either of them dared to come over to Kwan's house, but that event also signaled the start of their worried glances and constant checks to make sure their friend was okay.

"Kwan, wait up!" Jing called, and Kwan gritted his teeth as he forced himself to stop walking.

"Dude, you don't have to do what he says," Dash whispered as he glared over his friend's shoulder as the other man approached them. Even Paulina, who only really ever got angry around Sam, flashed her emerald eyes furiously in the direct of Kwan's brother.

Shaking his head, Kwan turned his two friends toward the parking lot. "Just go on without me. Once you've written down everything from Foley's PDA, send it to me." Then he turned around to face his brother, his nose wrinkling at the sight of the white suit he wore. When he didn't hear footsteps, he realized that neither of his friends dared to leave him.

An eyebrow lifted as his brother stared past him toward the other two teenagers. "You three didn't get caught up in the fight, right?" Jing frowned as he looked over the three teenagers like he expected find them bleeding to death from fatal injury.

"We're not idiots," Dash responded first in a biting tone. "We kept out of the way."

Jing nodded before his gaze found his brother again. "I'll drive you all home then."

"Don't bother. I've got my car. We don't need anything from you." Dash grabbed his friend by the arm, but Kwan didn't budge when the other jock pulled toward the parking lot. Kwan didn't like that look in his brother's eyes.

Jing's hand landed heavily on Kwan's shoulder. "Our parents will be waiting for us," he announced, gazing past his brother like he wasn't standing before him. "You two should head home. Be careful. Those crazy Fentons let the viruses escape."

Kwan almost grinned smugly at that statement, knowing the escape of the viruses had to really sting for his brother, but he kept control of his expression, keeping it neutral. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Hesitation followed before Dash offered, "If you're sure, man." Footsteps faded away from them as Kwan stared at his brother. He already thought it was bad enough simply having Jing back in the house without his brother encroaching upon his social life. What he really wanted to do at that moment was investigate more thoroughly into that coding Foley got from the Phantom program, but he certainly couldn't say anything about that to his brother. His eyes narrowed at that glaring white suit that was no longer in its usual pristine condition.

Jing kept his hand on Kwan's shoulder as he directed his brother toward the car. "You played pretty well out there."

Kwan snorted. "You would have done better." He glanced back over his shoulder toward the football field where he could hear people's voices still. He thought most of the people fled at the start of the attack, leaving him to wonder who remained behind, other than the Fentons that he never saw pass them. Did Fenton go to join his parents at the start of the attack? That didn't seem likely in his mind since Fenton never appeared interested in taking after his parents as a Net Protector. Kwan dragged his gaze back to his brother. "Do you bring that ridiculous suit with your everywhere?"

"I must always be prepared to do my duty to protect the city," Jing stated in that irritatingly robotic voice like he was reciting word for word from a manual.

It was one of many reasons that Kwan couldn't figure out how to get along with his older brother. That stiff, constantly following every letter of the law to a T irked him. Jing simply came off as too perfect, insufferably, irritatingly, parents never shutting up about it perfect. Next to his brother, Kwan would forever be the useless one. The disappointment, the disgrace to the family name. Even when he was living in his own apartment, Jing's shadow hung about the house like an oppressive weight. Nothing Kwan could do would ever be good enough, would ever change the way their parents saw him. His hands clenched at his sides. He only had to make it until graduation. Then he could leave. Leave and never return. Sever the ties to his family.

Kwan climbed into the passenger's seat of his brother's car, which was a nice, expensive dark green sports car that their parents bought for Jing. It was just more proof of their parents' favoritism. Kwan slumped back against the seat, glaring out his side window as Jing pulled out of the parking spot. He should have gone with Dash. That thought danced repeatedly through his head, but Jing wore that look that he said he wasn't about to his little brother go off anywhere. It was that look he got when he wanted to talk. Kwan's lips pressed together in a tight line as he wondered what his brother wanted with him.

Silence grew between them, only adding to the irritation that Kwan felt. If Jing wanted to talk with him, why was he staying silent? Aqua green eyes flicked toward the other man in the car as they drove along the streets. Several times, he considered opening his mouth to question his brother, but his lips remained sealed together, unable to get out the simplest of words. That was the way it was between them. He could never get up the nerve to break the ice between them, despite the frustration that came in hand with the tense silence.

When the car final came to a stop, parking in one of the neatly painted lined slot, Kwan finally came back to his surroundings. He sat up in his seat and glanced around outside the window, staring at the almost too perfectly maintained parking garage. The white walls and pillars seemed virtually blinding even under the flicker of florescent lighting. It wasn't a place that Kwan recognized or ever came to before, but he had a dreadful inkling that he knew where his brother brought him. When the driver's side door slammed shut, Kwan made the effort not jump at the sudden noise that disrupted the silence. He did not want to get out of the car.

Jing walked around to the other side and rapped a knock on the passenger's side window. Kwan ignored him, refusing to open the door. When his brother knocked a little harder, he shook his head fervently in show of his unwillingness to get out of the car. Jing yanked the door open, and Kwan grabbed hold of the edge of his seat. But as with everything else, his brother had superior strength on his side and used it to drag Kwan from the car.

"What is the problem?" Jing demanded as he slammed the car door shut, taking no notice of his brother's tenseness.

"I'm not going in there," Kwan stated firmly with his arms folded.

"I have to get my report on the incident written up and turned in right away." Jing grabbed hold of Kwan's arm to pull him along, but Kwan refused to go.

"Then you do that. I'll just wait here in the car." Kwan already started to turn back to the car, but his brother kept a strong hold on him.

"Kwan, we need to talk."

"We can do that after you've done your stupid report."

Jing sighed as he walked around behind his brother. "Stop being a baby about this. Going inside isn't going to kill you." He placed his hands on Kwan's shoulders and pushed him along toward the entrance into the building despite Kwan's attempts to stop him. They struggled the whole way, but Jing, as usually, eventually won out and forced his brother into the headquarters.

Inside the building was no better, in Kwan's opinion, than the garage. Everything was sterile with cleanliness to the point that Kwan felt like a gross sponge of germs. Every person they passed glanced his ways, turning up their noses in disgust at his dirty football uniform. He should have at least removed his pads, but he didn't get much of a chance with his brother dragging him around by the arm.

When they reached an office, Jing shoved his brother inside, closing the door after them. Kwan pressed himself into a corner, trying to appear as small as possible in the room. There wasn't much to see in the room other than some computers monitoring activity on the NetZone and cabinets for filing.

"Didn't think you had a shift tonight," said the other man occupying the room as he spun away from a computer terminal. His head turned toward Kwan, and he lifted an eyebrow. "Don't tell me." He got up, laughing as he walked over to Kwan. "This is the little brother." He landed a hand on Kwan's head, ruffling his raven locks, which gained a glare from Kwan.

"Ever heard of tweezers?" Kwan grumbled as he slapped the hand away. "But that unibrow could sure use some plucking."

"You two sure are a lot alike," the man said as he turned back to Jing, who already had out some papers and was filling out the report on the virus attack at the high school.

"We're nothing alike," Kwan muttered quietly through clenched teeth.

"Yes, this is my brother Kwan," Jing finally answered as he worked dutifully at filling out the paperwork. "Kwan, this is my partner Agent E."

Kwan groaned internally. Even their codenames sounded lame! He doubted he would ever understand why his brother was wasting his talents working for the Guys in White when he could accomplish so much more working under another group. The Fentons sprang first to his mind. They weren't exactly considered the best at protecting the town and the NetZone from virus attacks, but they were still far better than the GIW, in his mind. At least then his brother wouldn't be stuck wearing some ugly white suit all the time.

"Now, Kwan," Jing turned around in his seat to stare at his brother, "tell me what you were doing?"

"What?" His brow pinched in confusion as he frowned. Kwan eyed his brother with a certain amount of wariness.

"You tampered with the laptop at the high school before we confiscated it," Jing continued with a grave expression that made Kwan roll his eyes off to one side at that topic coming up again. "Now you linger at the scene during a virus attack. I understand you have a passing interest in computers, but you really shouldn't stick your nose into dangerous situations. You could have been hurt out there."

Passing, Kwan's hands curled into fists as his jaw tightened, interest? That only proved how little his brother really knew about him if he thought Kwan merely had a passing interest in computers. "My apologies," Kwan grumbled, glaring off to the side of the room. "Next time I won't get in your way."

"What an obedient little brother you have," Agent E said as he leaned far too closely to Kwan, his head bowing enough for Kwan to see his green eyes over the shades that he wore.

"Kwan," Jing sighed, ignoring his partner, "I'm just worried about you. I don't want you getting hurt because of your foolishness."

"Oh, well, if that's all," Kwan shoved past Agent E, "I'll just go wait in the car." He slammed the door behind him after he left the office, not even listening for any sound of protest from his brother. As he walked through the halls, thankful that it was fairly straightforward from the office to the parking garage, he was overcome with the urge to rub his dirty jersey all over the walls and floors simply to annoy the GIW agents. Somehow, he resisted that desire, realizing it would only land him in more trouble with his parents when it got back to them somehow, like it always did.

Back in the parking garage, Kwan took a deep breath, though he still felt that skin crawling sensation about being at the GIW headquarters. His eyes fell onto his brother's car, and anger hummed through him. He wasn't going to sit around waiting for his brother. His feet carried him toward the exit of the garage. The streets were fairly quiet as he headed home, few cars passing him along the way. It took him nearly an hour to walk home from the GIW headquarters, and he wished more than ever that he had his own car by the time he entered the house. The sound from the den told him that his parents were busy watching the news, probably worrying about their precious Jing if the news reported on the virus attack at the football game.

Shaking his head, Kwan headed up to his bedroom as he peeled off his jersey and undid the straps of his pads to remove them. His uniform was dropped on the floor by the door of his room as he walked over to his closet to change into some casual clothes. While he was yanking his shirt over his head, a ding sounded from his computer. Curiously, Kwan wandered over to his desk and clicked on the mail icon. A grin stretched over his face as he noted that the message came from Dash. He opened it immediately, dropping into the chair at his desk. His eyes scanned over what Dash wrote in the body of the e-mail, displaying the coding that the blond jock recalled from Foley's PDA.

His mood lifted instantly as his fingers flew over the keyboard. There was definitely something about the coding, something vaguely familiar in the pattern as he stared at it after typing it all out into a program. The information twisted about the screen, so very different from anything that he ever saw in any other program or virus. He poked at it, prodding it to try to make some sense of it. The hours passed quickly as he tried to unravel this mysterious, the oddity that was Phantom's scrambled programming.

Kwan leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands as exhaustion swept through him. When he pulled his hands away, he held them up over his hand, barely registering the morning light that filtered through his window. What was it about the coding? He frowned as he twirled his fingers around each other. It was such a familiar pattern, but he was having trouble placing it. Twirling, spinning, two lines wrapping about each other. He nearly fell out of his chair when it hit him.

A double helix! DNA!

Kwan leaned forward again, staring at the screen. It was so obvious! How could he have missed it? But that made the whole thing even more confusing. Who would code a program based on something so human? It didn't make any sense. His mouth pulled downward as his eyes roamed over the swirling data. If Phantom was written up like a human, was that the answer to understanding him? Decoding his DNA? Cracking his knuckles, Kwan decided it was worth a try.

swagdanny: Oooh~ XD Okay.

DB-KT: Yay! Danny not a jerk to Vlad? XD;; I have yet to see that happen. orz

Anon: 8D I try to update regularly. Or at least the one I'm primarily focused on writing.

Just Will: I haven't watched that either~ XD;;; Haha, Ember was mostly went to have a little fun causing chaos. XD;; It was her first chance getting to be out in the real world so she decided what the heck and went along with Skulker.

Guest: Vlad to the rescue~ 8D

Sammi: Haha, in the show, it was just like "Skulker and Ember? A couple? What?!" XD;; Like, it didn't make any sense. But they seem to be developing an amusing chemistry in this story. XD;;

maltese: And still waiting~ XD;;; *jumps to different points of view too much* XD;;;