Mikey had hoped that the bullying would end after a few days but Jeff's gang seemed determined to torment him. Every morning he would get to the school with his brothers and as soon as they split up Jeff would find him. It always started with Jeff taking his lunch or his lunch money and ended with a quick punch to the gut. Mikey knew that with his skills he could've taken them, but he also knew that he couldn't use his abilities on others unless he was in real trouble. But he was strong; he could take this.

Mikey kept the bullying a secret from his brothers for as long as he could. It wasn't until one of his teachers approached him that he even knew that anyone noticed something wrong.

Mikey was putting his math book back into his backpack after class when his teacher cam up to him. "Mikey?" The boy looked up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You've been pretty quiet lately," she explained. "You still answer my questions but you don't seem as cheerful as you usually are. Is everything alright at home?"

Mikey blinked in surprise. "Yes! I'm sorry; I didn't realize. No, everything's okay. I guess I'm still getting used to high school. There's a lot more work than middle school," he added with a nervous laugh.

His teacher smiled. "Okay, as long as everything's alright. You come talk to me if something's wrong, okay?"

Mikey nodded and left the classroom, his backpack hanging off of one shoulder. He started walking to his next class when he saw Jeff and his gang coming his way. Mikey hesitated and looked around for a place to go, but it was too late. "Hey, baby Hamato!"

Mikey grimaced and faced the older teens. "What do you want Jeff?" He was starting to get fed up with this.

Jeff smirked. "Oh, baby Hamato's got a bit of an attitude. Have you been telling anybody about your daily donation to a lunch fund?"

"No Jeff."

Jeff suddenly grabbed Mikey by the front of his shirt and roughly pulled him forward. "You know, I don't think I like this new attitude. I think we need to fix it."

Mikey's eyes widened and he struggled to pull away. "I'm sorry Jeff; just let me go. I'm going to be late for class."

Jeff just smirked and with the help of Cameron and Terrence, the five boys dragged Mikey to the side of the school. As soon as they got into the alley, Jeff punched Mikey in the stomach. Unprepared, Mikey doubled over in pain and fell to one knee. His backpack slipped off his shoulder and fell into a puddle.

Even through the pain Mikey could sense the next fist coming for his head and he managed to roll away. Unfortunately that only fueled the gang's anger. One of the teens kicked up, catching Mikey in the chin and he flew backwards. With an angry growl, Mikey rolled again onto his side and swiped his foot under Mark, forcing the boy to fall into the wall.

Mikey stood, his fists in front of him. He was getting tired of this. He dodged another fist and punched Terrence in the jaw. Jeff snarled and grabbed Mikey's head, smashing his face against his knee. Mikey stumbled back seeing stars and bumped into the wall behind him. His vision was blurry but he could just make out a few figures approaching him. Rather than try to fight back, Mikey ran past them and around the corner.

Mikey tried shaking his head clear but it was still spinning. He could hear Jeff and his buddies running behind him so he kept running. He turned another corner when he ran into something hard. "Mikey?"

Mikey looked up as his vision finally started to clear. "Casey?"

Casey leaned down and helped his best friend's brother up. "What are you doin' out here? Don't cha have class?"

"Umm."

Casey frowned and narrowed his eyes at Mikey's face. His nose was already starting to swell from where Jeff had hit him. "And what happened to ya face?"

Mikey was just thinking up an excuse when Jeff and his friends rounded the corner. They skidded to a stop at the sight of a quickly angering Casey. "Jeff, why am I not surprised?"

"Jones," Jeff said as he walked up to them slowly. "Little Mikey and we was just havin' a talk is all."

Casey smirked and cracked his knuckles threateningly. "Oh really. How's about you and me have a little talk instead?"

Jeff glanced at his friends. "I think we'll pass. We'll talk to you later Hamato."

Mikey let out a sigh of relief as they walked away. "Thanks Casey."

"No problem. Have they been messin' with ya?" Mikey flinched and that was all the answer Casey needed. "Have you told your brothers?"

"It's fine; I can take care of it," Mikey insisted.

"Yeah, looks like it," Casey said sarcastically. "Why haven't you told them?"

"Because I don't need my brothers to fight my battles for me!" Mikey exclaimed. "Look, you can't tell them. If they find out, they'll be really upset."

"Hell yeah they'd be upset."

"Please Casey," Mikey pleaded. "Promise you won't tell them."

Casey sighed. "Alright, but if it gets worse you need to tell them."

Mikey nodded and went back for his backpack.