They came to stop in a stand of bushes.
"Well, that went well," Luke observed happily.
"Eeeeasy liiiiven, and I beeeen forgiven…" TK agreed.
Mike gawked at them. "What are you talking about? We were almost killed!"
"Ah, but we weren't," Emmanuel pointed out with satisfaction. "That's something to brag about. Of course, when being killed isn't permenant, you could say that we're not as careful to avoid death as we would be. But, actually, we all still try pretty darn hard. Because death is still excruciatingly painful."
Mike's shoulders hunched. "Oh. That's right."
Hannah checked her watch. "We can go now," she said silently, stealing away into the night. The rest quickly followed.
Mike gasped yet again as he recognized the building they were entering. "But, but, why here? Isn't this extremely dangerous?"
With guiding hands, Harry guided him a door to the side of the cafeteria, and they found themselves in the kitchen. Winnie and the rest of the Battlefront waved at them as they entered.
"Because we're starving!," Harry finally replied after they had all bought their food and sat. Mike was surprised and secretly relieved to find that the lunch ladies were lacking wings and haloes. Instead they possessed hair nets and arms the size of meat cleavers. "We're totally safe."
"But, but, won't Angel track us down?"
"I'm sure Angel is plenty busy cleaning up the mess we made in the eating section of the cafeteria," Winnie snorted from across from them at the simple linoleum table. "And why would she attack us now? We're just eating, after all, like normal students."
He nodded. "Oh. So that's how it works..."
Mike looked around. In the clean fluorescent light, all of the youths of the Battlefront talked around him, snarfing down cafeteria food, laughing about their victory. At a table near the door, Hayley was engaged in some form of earnest discussion with her band mates. Hannah sat in a corner by herself, seeming quite content, as she tucked into a plate of spaghetti with gusto. In front of him, Luke and Richie were engaged in a hot-dog devouring contest, Luke somehow managing to hold his own.
They seem like normal people, Mike thought. What on earth could be pushing them to fight so hard?
He scratched his chin. An ember of excitement burned at the base of his spine. Well. I suppose I should at least stick around long enough to find out.
The cafeteria lay in shambled. The other students had departed soon after GirlDeMo had packed up, and had left behind the after-math of the concert. Posters and notices had been torn from the walls. The dinner tables were in chaos. The floor was littered with loose paper, muddy footprints, and the other results of the act of rebellion.
The study body president surveyed the scene. Her eyes were unblinking as they passed over the wreckage. The student council trembled behind her.
"This is simply intolerable," Vice president Lecher growled. Teeth grit, he stamped the ground. "These delinquents have simply gone too far. Their actions are a work against the school." He glanced at the student body president; the other council members followed suit. "What's your opinion, Madam President?"
For a moment, she was silent. As they watched, she carefully removed a poster from the floor. With steady hands, it was reaffixed to the wall.
"I will do what is necessary," Angel said. She turned, speaking from a face as frozen as glass. "I will not let them hurt themselves. I will not let them stray from the narrow path."
Her hands lightly brushed the side of her torn dress. Drops of crimson bled onto her hand. "The wayward ones have the ability to obstruct the proper order. Tomorrow, I will take this from them."
End of Mission One
A/N. A resounding thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this adaption. There's more adventures on the way. Stay warm.