Disclaimer: Still don't own. Maybe the shark boy, but really, not that much else, and shark boys are so last year. Just, don't sue.

:}

They weren't the first to arrive, just the first thing that posed any real threat to the shark man. Rubber bullets didn't slow the thing down, and it seemed to know enough to use the onlookers as cover, making it far less likely the police would risk shooting it with the real thing. "Dahlia, get those people out of there, while I get it's attention." Steel commanded, then he took to the air, drawing all eyes with him. "Officers, get the crowds back, and leave this wretch to me."

Jade watched the ensuing struggle. The shark man was tall but thin, with a lean frame that belied his strength. The man seemed strong enough to lift, and maybe even throw, a dumpster. All the while he was constantly biting the air. 'Instinctual response.' She reasoned.

The rampaging meta had a strong defense in a shark like hide that resisted even bullets, while protecting him from the brunt of the shock pellets Blue Steel was using to try and tase the critter. Meanwhile, it had enough intelligence to grab and throw things towards the hero, trying to bring him down. They played a game of cat and mouse, and as a result the inexhaustible shark man just got madder and madder.

Finally, after several minutes, Steel was struck by a piece of debris the shark man had tossed, and knocked prone a distance down the ally. Seeing her hero down, Jade's mind raced for what she could do.

"Koval, attack." She orders, channeling the stored energy she'd prepared for just this. The lion, eight feet long and over eight hundred pounds, materialized and charged the shark man.

The shark man responded to the new threat with a fierceness that frightened the onlookers. It snapped a bite at the lion, only to bite mist as Koval dematerialized under his teeth. But the shark man had heard the order, and knew who was responsible. It moved towards Jade with murder in it's eyes, only to be struck by Koval full force, knocked sprawling backwards until it rolled back to it's feet. The shark mans hand fumbled about for only a second until it found something solid to hurl, ready to do damage to the source of it's new woes. At that moment, Blue Steel struck, landing several blows in quick succession, driving the stronger shark man to it's knees. A point blank charge from his taser bracer at near full force left the shark dazed. Moments later, it shifted back to the form of a thuggish teen boy. He was unconscious.

Jade saw the look her hero gave her, and knew she was in trouble. 'I screwed up, didn't I?' She thought.

"Yes, and I believe this one is going to explain it to you." Koval offered, a less then helpful response.

Jade was able to get into the car, feeling like a scolded child already, before the hero opened up on her. "Do you have any idea what you did wrong?" He asked, sounding more tired then angry. But the edge, that fury, was under the practiced parental approach.

"I disobeyed your orders." Jade said.

"And later, once you're a LOT more secure in your abilities, as well as my fighting style, maybe that would have been okay." David filled in. "And yes, I get it, you saw it closing in on me, worried that I was hurt, and wanted to protect me. The problem was, well, it gets complicated, but there was a major problem with what you did, and it has everything to do with the civilians."

Jade tried to remember, her mind racing back, until she could see, in her mind, that she'd been standing in front of the crowd when she acted. Having decided to act, in the moment, she'd not once considered who might be around her, or what the strong shark man might have done. "I didn't think about who I was putting in danger, did I?" She asked. She somehow felt even worse.

"No, you didn't." Blue Steel sighed. "Look, a small part of it was me. I'm not used to working with you as a partner, and I was reading the fight as it happened, so maybe I was a bit too convincing when I tried to lure the big guy in."

"Wait, you were luring..." She re-imagined that moment, the hero down, just a half dozen yards away, as the powerful villain stalked closer, jaws dripping with saliva.

"The way he was biting everything, it screamed close in fighter." Steel said. "Only, I was staying away, cause that kid, tuned out it was a kid, he was maybe twice as strong as I am, and he used it to throw just about everything he could my way. Hell, that dumpster was out of his weight rage, and yet, somehow, he managed to launch it towards a police officer. Didn't get much in the way of distance, but he used it, shielded himself, and I realized I couldn't just play target to lure him away from the crowds. No, I had to draw him in, and away, risking those snapping teeth, cause I knew what he was planning on doing."

"Then I tried to protect you." Jade nodded. "I drew him back away from you. Big hero's down and not a threat, and he can't bite the thing I summoned, so take out the summoner."

"Even if he chose to just close, cause you lack my mobility, can we fix that maybe? I heard we were getting an enchanter, and that you might be able to do something about your defenses. Maybe we find a way to add some level of flight, so you can rise above guys like him?" The experienced hero paused to regard the girl. "Anyways, even if it just chose to bite you, I doubt you were skilled enough to get out of the way, and that your armor wouldn't stop those teeth. Plus, if you did manage to dodge, all those civilians, right there, too caught up in watching the action to realize they were in danger."

"People aren't sheep, their cattle." Jade groaned. "Busy watching, being herded, up until it's way too late."

"No, they're people who've become used to us, their hero's, keeping them safe. It just doesn't occur to them the exact level of danger they're putting themselves in." David lectured. "It's easier to think of them as kinda like our children. We want to keep em safe, but sometimes, we need to understand they don't see the threats the way we do. Especially not teenagers. You have no idea the kinds of scary things teens do, all because, as the song says, we're only immortal a limited time."

Jade was stunned. Her mind turned back to the many wacky adventures she'd shared with her friends, mostly after Tori had joined the gang, and she could see the number of times they were lucky no one got hurt. The clown, Doug, being trapped in one of the worst neighborhoods in LA in a giant cupcake, and each time, despite how scary it turned out to be, they got out with only some embarrassment, usually aimed her way.

"I lacked my true power." Jade mumbled.

"And even if you had it, I'd have given the same instructions." Blue Steel said. "Jade, yes, with the kind of power you usually have, a guy like that wouldn't have been much of a threat, to you or anyone, except you had no idea what he could do before that moment."

"So, whats gonna happen to him?" Jade asked, suddenly thinking about the boy who'd turned into that shark thing.

"If his record is clean enough, and the shrink thinks he's a good risk, he may wind up working with you in Project Redemption." Blue Steel guessed. "Kinda lucky, finding another youth this quickly."

"And if his records not clean enough?" Jade wondered.

"There are jails for guys like him." David sounded sad, again. "I kinda hope, now that the threat part is done, he's not so much a villain as a boy in need of a second chance. Only, given how much he relied on instinct, it may be he's already gone too far." He shrugged. "There are other routs to salvation. We can't risk our resources on someone who can't be helped by our approach."

"Betting Masters would have loved to have that kid." The blue eyed girl said.

"Yea, and one of you would probably kill the other." David said. "I respect who Masters was, what he was trying to do. Only, he's an old school, hard on 'em cause once they're criminals they're beyond salvation kind of guy, and he has no right working with kids. Maybe he'll get a second chance, working with adults. I'm sure we have some kind of program for criminals who wanna work their sentences off, maybe taking high risk jobs."

Jade shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm grateful I wound up working for you, even if I had to endure a month plus of Masters trying to break me."

"Next time, you do as your told, cause there was another risk you took that's pissing me off." The hero warned, the anger edging his voice again.

"What did I do this time?" Jade groaned, but inwardly, she was counting, guessing at what point he's just write her off.

"You put yourself in unnecessary danger when you lacked the ability to do much more then annoy him." The hero said. "Your familiar is a big, tough lion, but he knows not to get bit. You lack his ability to turn to mist, and that guy, he was touch enough to bounce back from the lions assaults."

"Got it, I totally screwed up." Jade barked, getting miffed that she was so wrong.

"You're heart was in the right place, but until you recover, we'll limit your training to indoors." The police hero said, and Jade knew she was being punished.

Back at the base, she'd be regaled by stories of Achilles and Warpath training together. To many of them it looked like they were now fairly evenly matched, something that brought joy to so many of the guards. But to others, they murmured how warpath wasn't going all out, was stronger and faster then the boy, and only his reliance on all his mystic toys kept him in league with her. Specifically his reliance on his amulet, which let him shift from stone hard skin to misty and back as she pummeled him down, giving him that edge he'd need to survive against someone like her. Sad as jade was for screwing up, she did find it in herself to be happy for Rob and his quick adjustment to this new world. It almost let her let go of her mistake.

Almost.

The next morning Jade found herself walking into school feeling even worse then she felt towards the middle of her time with Masters, where she still had hope she'd make it through the harassment and succeed. Back then, she was hurting from the abuse, and her wounded psych. Today, her tormentor was herself, kicking her again and again for screwing up. 'I could have thought about the civilians, like Warpath tried to teach me...'

"Jade, did you hear the latest?" Robbie greeted her.

"No, I've been busy screwing things up again." She huffed.

"Then you'd not have heard about this." The nerdy boy chirped, smiling. "Come, Reggie wants to run me through this routine while you do Yoga." The boy smiled, trying to make it okay, even as he repeated himself. "That's right, Yoga. Said it'll help you recover, and he wants you healing up as quickly as possible."

"What?" Jade stopped, only to feel expectations draw her forward again. 'I was looking forward to my hand to hand training today. Just a little more, push myself, and maybe I won't make the same mistakes again.' She imagined how much she was going to hurt herself during the training, her guard dropping just a moment too soon, so she'd be hurting, use the pain to remember not to act impulsively again.

"You're doing Yoga, to help you recover." Robbie repeated. "Anyways, according to Dante, that boy you fought..."

"Blue Steel fought." Jade corrected. "I just got in the way."

"Whatever, the point is, that guy, he's still gang affiliated, was doing whatever as a distraction, to help his gang run a crime." Rob continued, ignoring the red flag the pale girl was projecting. "So it turns out, we're not getting an aquatic member for the group yet. Pity, cause the more the merrier, right? Sides, this program, it's about helping criminals reform their lives. I was looking forward to helping..."

"Yea, well, sometimes, things don't turn out the way you hoped they would." Jade snapped, not happy with anything the boy was saying.

They reached the room reserved for Jade's training, to find Reggie already there, stretching out. "Jade..."

"Whats this about yoga?" Jade asked.

"Jade's caught up on how she screwed up last night." Robbie added. "Probably thinking of getting hurt. Check her shoes, cause she has a couple of pairs that are a size smaller then she wears, just to hurt herself."

"WHYYY?!" Jade screeched at the boy.

"Cause Misses V told me to keep an eye out for self destructive behaviors." Rob said with a shrug. "Jade, we're doing yoga today. I can learn me some martial arts, cause my fighting style, all in the charm, not any real personal skill. I can hang with Warpath if I'm in Achilles form, crown AND amulet, but on my own, just not that great a fighter. So today, I'm working on my flexibility, and more importantly, my abilities to recover, and for that, I'm doing yoga, just like you."

"You screwed up." Reggie said. "I know it, you know it, and Steel, he's not the kind to harp on things like that. Instead, he's waiting for you to be ready again. And I get it, you wanted to help. Only, you're not nearly experienced enough to be trusted making battlefield decisions yet. I can train you, do my best, but until you've had some time on the street, you're worse off then a rookie on their first week on the job. No one is gonna trust your decisions until we've seen you know the laws, and the circumstances that you'll run into. Jade, you and Rob here are gonna go through several training sessions that police take, over the next few weeks, to help you learn how to react. Build the instincts. Then, after you understand the threats out there, as well as your ability to control the environment, people will be a heck of a lot more open to your actions and ideas."

"Yea, I get that." Jade said, looking at the ground.

"Until then, think on this." The police trainer added. "We're sending seventeen year old's out on the street. You, and maybe Rob here, will be under age, and taking the same kinds of risks that adults take. You're both still minors, and while we have a court order on you, neither of you can be forced into the kinds of threats you'll be facing. You can volunteer, but that don't change the risk that you can wind up scarred, mentally, physically, or both, by the things we're asking you to face. This fight, it was about the civilians. Next time, it'll be about the civilians. Only, you'll have the full power of your magic back, and we'll know you can do hella more then just be a target."

"Besides, I'm your friend." Robbie added. "I don't want you to get hurt. This vendetta, I've seen it in you before. You've never really forgiven Tori for taking your spot, until finally things changed, and now you're dating her. I just don't wanna see the kinds of suffering you'll inflict upon yourself for this one mistake, let along have to deal with you over the next six plus months as you learn to forgive yourself."

"So, yoga." Jade said, hoping to short circuit the lecture.

"Yea, we're gonna be focusing on self forgiveness, cause from what Lane told me, Rob here has the same problem sometimes." Reggie said. "So, we have mats, we have blocks, and I'll be watching to make sure you do it right. Right builds strength, helps you heal, and can bring a calm about you. So, lets start..."

Jade knew she was in for a hard workout, just because Beck did yoga, and the boy was strong. 'I'm gonna be doing this for a week, minimum. God, why'd I screw up like that. I should have seen his plan, been able to react better...'

Robbie, for his part, just relaxed into the first pose.

Holly was almost vibrating as she gave her daughters a ride to school. "Okay, mom, spill." Trina said, obviously done with this silent game her mother had been playing.

"We got a new member." The mother said.

"I thought shark boy wasn't gonna be joining." Trina said.

"Wait, what shark boy?' Tori asked.

"Yea, you've been out of the loop." The older sister said. "Dad and Dahlia fought some kid who becomes a human shark thingy, and from what I heard, he's all gang affiliated, unable to join on account of a few years of crime already under his belt."

"His psych profile shows him unlikely to benefit from the program." Holly told her children. "But that doesn't matter. Thing is, my early recruiting efforts have born fruit, and not only do I have Achilles Junior, almost ready to hit the streets, I now have the latest results of the Armored Police Initiative..."

"Is that really the name they went with?" Tori cut in.

"It's Police-tech, so probably not even that clever." Trina sniped.

"Guys code named Steel Copper, and he's gonna be working with us part time, another reservist hero. Of course, like too many of you, he's under age, cause it turns out the learning software works best if you start young, but he's willing to work with us, and we're thrilled to have him." The mother seemed giddy.

"Guys gonna bring a decent amount of firepower to the team, that's for sure." Trina noted.

"Not as quick as either Warpath or Achilles, but stronger then, well, I think stronger then Achilles, cause Warpath is STRONG!" Holly explained. "And he has built in weapons, giving us a lot of options."

"This was gonna help control Black Dahlia, wasn't it?" Tori asked, not to thrilled about having anything there to remind her girlfriend about how little the initiative originally thought of her.

"Not in the way you'd think." Holly teased. "Guys majorly charming, about your age, and very single right now. We hoped that, in addition to the threat level he'd represent, cause compared to Dahlia, not that much is a threat, but we thought she could use a friend."

"MOM!" Tori screeched. "Emotional manipulation? Really?" The girl was shocked.

"Hay, don't give me that." The mother scolded. "Your powers are doing exactly the same thing for us. Emotions anchors can be risky, but they also let us have better control over a person, as well as pushing them to make changes they otherwise might not ever think about. Changes that are to their benefits. Do you have any idea how much money Jade's gonna get from her grandfather? Now that he doesn't have to worry about so many drains on his income, and we've given him a legal way to reclaim so much of his fortune, Mister Sinclair is worth over a hundred and fifty million. Even after spreading out his fortune to take care of the entirety of his grand kids, Jade's gonna be well taken care of for the rest of her life. Her trust fund should provide at least a million each year, so she'll be just fine."

"Lucky Jade." Tori said. "Um, how much would he have had if her rescue plan had worked?"

"His assets seized, maybe a few hundred thousand." Holly guessed with a shrug. "He laundered a lot of it through buying properties, and layered trust funds. It's why his grand kids are all gonna be taken care of. Plus, he has some income from each trust fund, so as to keep him in the money. Guys a lot smarter then any of his kids were."

"We also have the Velvet Phantom." Trina noted. "The new one, that is. Miss regeneration herself."

"Yes, Meredith is gonna be a useful addition." Holly said, smiling. "Faster then anyone except maybe Trina here, in her Warpath form, and while not the strongest, girls well trained, and with her healing factor, an endurance fighter who can shrug off damage and keep going."

"Yep, you got quite the team there." Tori nodded.

"And Meri can read minds." Trina reminded. "Literally. She reads em, like a book. Not as quick as I'd like, but that can be useful. And against a single opponent, she can stay one step ahead, making her really hard to defeat."

"So, we get the new guy in today, and he need to be warned off my girlfriend." Tori told her mom. "Maybe Wildcard should make an appearance?"

"I don't know." Trina said. "I mean, I agree, nothing says welcome like a jealous girlfriend, but we may wanna keep our numbers down while he's there. I mean, I don't know if you've realized it, but we've been pretty lax about our identities. I kept Warpath from Jade, but then Meri went and said something that got her inner mind working. You know, she does some divination while out of it, and girls been out of it kinda often lately. Jade's knows I'm Warpath, but at least she's kept it from the others, like Robbie. Honestly, we've let how easy it's been to trust her, surprising, right, but we've let that, and the fact that Jade's been involved in just about each successful recruitment since she's joined, keep us from security. I say we make it a point not to use civilian ID's in front of the new guy, and see what we can learn before we let him know just who we are. Abra claims that perception filters are long terms spells, and now that we have Karl, who so needs a code name, we can make 'em permanent. Lets remember, at Project Redemption, we only use our code names. And Tori, for now, we keep Wildcard in reserve. Not let the new guy know what the competition is quite yet."

"It's Beck." Holly said. "The young man recruited to be the first Steel Copper is your friend Beck."

"Yea, so obvious, I should have seen that one coming." Tori sighed. "Kay, each person gets to make the decision for themselves if they wanna reveal their secrets. We're kinda vulnerable as is, cause as Trina said, we've been so lax. But I get it, maybe we keep me a reservist, even among the reserve, cause my powers may be the best chance if someone goes rogue."

They pulled up to the school. "Okay, girls, have a nice day. You're dad will be by to pick you up after school. Until then, I agree with you that we should stick to code names from now on. Please let the one's who you're supposed to know about know this rule, so we can avoid trouble as we put this team together. And also, most of you are reservists, but we still need you trained. The next two weeks are focused mostly on book learning. We're gonna drill the law into your heads, even if it gives you nightmares." Shew flashed a big smile. "Have a great day. I love you." With that, she was off.

:}

Thoughts? Like the little bit of action? Do you think Jade should learn to forgive herself? And if she wasn't so burnt, would she have made different decisions? Also, funny how so many of the gang are in the project now. Almost like a Nickelodeon sitcom.

Also an announcement. I Will be slowing down my posting, as I need to rewrite some of my ideas. Not sure how much more of this story is in me, but I'm gonna need to figure that part out. So, lets see what I can do, okay?

Reviews are welcome.