Group C

Gavin found himself annoyed as usual.

The brunette pushed his glasses up the sloped ridge of his nose. He bit his lip with the black marker in hand pointed at the whiteboard before him like a magical wand ready to duel with the adversary known as physics.

Behind him, Momo sat at her desk watching the second-year ponder over the theory on the board. The woman, her hair poking tall and obscuring the sunshine into the spacious classroom, sighed while conjuring a small rubber ball from her arm.

She flung the ball over to Gavin.

Bap!

"Gah!" Gavin yelped and dropped his marker. As he did so, the black tip morphed back into wood with the rest of the structure elongating into a rigid thin slate. When it clattered onto the ground, the marker had transformed back into its original state as a ruler.

Gavin rubbed the back of his head. "What was that for?"

"I've been calling your name for a whole minute," Momo said. "You were frozen."

"Because I'm busy," Gavin said. "And you haven't helped at all."

"You haven't asked," Momo shrugged and got off the desk. She approached Gavin and stood beside him. She rubbed her thumb on her chin and examined the other monolith of numbers and variables that plagued the board.

"I thought you were here to punish me," Gavin said. "For being in the school after hours."

"I guess I have that power, being your home room teacher and all," Momo said. "But I have to admit that I flaunted curfew rules quite often when it suited me and my classmates."

"Really?" Gavin asked. "I couldn't imagine you breaking a single rule in your life."

"The only rules I care about not breaking are the ones that dictate the laws of physics," Momo pointed at one of the equations on the board. "This makes no sense."

"Of course it doesn't," Gavin said. "It breaks the non-communicative theorem."

"Quantum entanglement can't occur at superluminal speeds," Momo said. "Entangled states can't be used to transfer classical information. Yet, this equation states that it's possible."

"Well, it's called a no-go theorem for a reason," Gavin had to restrain an eyeroll from himself.

"Then, why are you littering our home room board with it," Momo asked. "Clearly, you think otherwise."

Gavin shook his head. He picked up the ruler from the floor. In his hands, a warmth spread to the ruler which caused a soft vibration. The wood expanded and softened into a grey, fuzzed chunk that became an eraser. He stepped up to the board and wiped away the equations.

"It's nothing," Gavin said. "Perhaps a prank or something that was pulled on me."

"It was a prank that brought you down to the lab on Monday night," Momo said. "And left you unconscious with those first years?"

"Why don't you look at the footage then," Gavin said when he finished erasing the board. "It should tell you everything."

"It was corrupted," Momo said before she snatched the eraser from Gavin. In doing so, the eraser flicked back into a ruler that sawed at her palm. "Besides, I'd rather hear it from you, anyway."

Gavin bit his lip again. His brown eyes stared down at the ruler in Momo's hand. He thought back to the night with the explosion in the lab. He still could not place how he ended up in there with those other first years. He also could not fathom how that pink-haired girl took the strange jewel from the platform as if she had owned the object. Of course, he didn't own the object either. But it was his experiment that led it there. Maybe? He was so unsure.

"I'm not sure I could explain it even if I knew," Gavin said. He rubbed the temples of his head and sat down on one of the student's desks. He crouched his legs up and hugged himself.

"I've been in quite a few unexplainable situations over the years," Momo smiled at the chestnut-haired boy. "Try me."

Gavin scratched at his chin. "Well…do you believe in Heaven?"

Momo's smile eroded. She stared at the boy which caused him to groan and shake his head.

"I know," Gavin stated. "It sounds so dumb."

"No, not at all," Momo said. "I just didn't take you as someone that religious?"

"Why not?" Gavin asked. "Newton and Heisenberg believed in God. Einstein. Galileo."

"Right," Momo said. "I just didn't think you would."

"Don't worry. I'm not," Gavin scoffed. "But I remember some things. Maybe they were just dreams. Nothing scientific. But…one of things I remember is a message. It was on one of the screens. In English, too."

Momo stood rigid by the white board. The previous sounds of students shuffling down the hallway evaporated, and the hum of the air conditioning above ceased. In the corner, a grandfather clock ticked the seconds away with the timbre of a pigeon attempting to escape quicksand.

"It was a message from where?"

"I mean, it sounds silly," Gavin said. "I was down there. Seeing if I could communicate with alien life. I sent a signal to the galactic coordinates of the WOW Signal. Really just a hunch. But, I received a message only a few moments later. About as fast as I sent the signal out."

"That's about eight parsecs away," Momo said.

"I don't know if it was live or a pre-determined message," Gavin said. "But it told me to…I think it said something about how they knew what I was doing. And how I shouldn't do it again. Like…a threat? A warning? I'm not sure."

"Perhaps it was all a big joke," Momo said. "You just wanted to send a signal, correct?"

"To start with," Gavin pulled off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with a silk pocket square in his jacket. He rubbed the lens and inspected it before placing it back on. "But now, I want to see where else it could take me. I need it to mean something, Miss. I need these answers."

"Well, based off your equations," Momo said. "You are interested in teleportation. But transporting the precise qubits used that make up matter…that's not possible, Gavin."

Gavin looked up at Momo. A strange glint sparked in his eyes, and he narrowed them with a soft shadow cast over his face.

"What if I told you that it may have occurred already, Miss Yaoyarozo."

Momo frowned. "This message…who sent it?"

"I only remember the name," Gavin stated. "I believe it was Shouto."

Snap!

The ruler split in two with the broken half splintering onto the ground. The other part of the wood dug into her palm. She squeezed at the sharp edge, and beads of blood jutted out from the jagged break.

Gavin's homeroom teacher turned away. She faced the grandfather clock and saw the reflection of her grey eyes wide and dazed into the glass face. Her throat tightened, and her arms trembled with an unsure trepidation funneling through her weak knees.

"I thought it was odd," Gavin pulled out a comb and sawed at the top of his well-kept head of brown hair. He used his phone as a mirror and pulled at a scurrilous knot. "I did research on you, and I believe that was the name of-."

"Our time today is up, Mister Carter," Momo said.

Gavin blinked and lowered his phone. A comb still stuck to the top of his head. "Huh? I thought I had the hour bet-."

"I suggest you stay away from wild goose chases," Momo grabbed her purse and set down the half ruler onto the desk. It was drenched in blood.

"But Miss-."

"And I suggest you stay away from expanding on this theorem," Momo said. "Perhaps you should focus on something more useful like ways to utilize your quirk."

"I need these answers, Miss!"

Momo stopped at the doorway. She faced Gavin and, despite the sting of warm blood oozing out of the cuts in her left palm, she straightened her back and toughened the frown on her face.

"Some answers we don't deserve."

Momo left the room. Gavin sat on the desk with a blank stare at the sudden exit.

With a huff, he put his phone away and tried to pull at the comb still entangled in his hair. He heaved and tried to pull harder. Harder. Hard-.

"Mister Gavin!"

In his stupor, Gavin failed to notice the girl that appeared to materialize right next to him like a ghost. It was not. Instead, Melanie's bright smile flashed just inches from his face. He had failed to see her enter the room.

Gavin screamed and fell off the desk. He slammed onto the ground with his hand ripping the comb off his hair. A tuft of brown hair stripped off his head and stayed on the comb. His back ached with the air sailing out of his lungs.

With both his back and head throbbing, he looked up to find Melanie looming above him with three other students. However, Melanie had her face just inches away from his, to where her breath fogged up the outside of his lenses.

"Gah! Whaddya want!" Gavin scrambled back and up to his feet.

"I was hoping that you could assist us in our challenge!" Melanie said.

"Wasn't my idea, dawg," Aiden leaned on the doorway with his arms crossed. "But Mel here said you know all the techno shit."

"No, I don't know all the techno shit," Gavin spat out.

"I didn't want to come here either," Sigi pulled out a picture frame from a small brown bag Melanie used to lug around books. The frame was encased in a plastic bag. "But this chick said you could help us identify the person who touched the frame."

Tao grabbed the frame from Sigi and held it before Gavin.

"There is a fingerprint on here," Tao said. "Do you know of a way to get the identification?"

"Why would I want to help you?" Gavin asked. "I have class today, y'know?"

"Because," Melanie pulled at a golden chain around her neck. She flashed the ruby crystal and placed it between her thumb and finger. "I believe we have a bit of an arrangement?"

Gavin gaped at the crystal in Melanie's grasp. Yes, the mysterious crystal. The one that was somehow now in the possession of this annoying girl. He could simply snatch it from her, but she would rat him out and could possibly get him in serious trouble. Also, nobody else knew about this strange gem yet, and he would rather keep it close to his chest. Or, in this case, her chest.

Gavin sighed. There was no way around this if he wanted ample access to the crystal.

"Fine," Gavin said. "Let's go on a trip."

Group A

Sam The Dog shuffled and frolicked around the sand. The furry creature sniffed at the ground with the occasional wave lapping up at his tongue. He wagged his tail with red eyes peering around the area.

The Belle Isle beach was quiet at this time of day. An old man flew a kite while a shaggy haired college student balanced on a unicycle over the pavement of the walking trail at the back edge of the beach. Laying on a blanket, a smaller, thin man in a Hawaiian shirt perched binoculars on his nose and watched the sky for birds. The bright sun beamed down, a giant vessel in the sea of cerulean that was unperturbed by any clouds or planes on this warm autumn day.

Passing a pizza cart, Lynn dug her shoes into the sand of the familiar beach. It had been awhile since she had watched the Canadian shore from the vantage point. A sailboat bobbled past with a quiet breeze blowing through her blond hair.

The girl watched the beach. Merle followed Sam as the dog sniffed out the possible trail the thief had taken. Ivan had taken to standing in the center of the sand clearing and moving his eyes around for any suspicious figures.

Skylar, of course, was vlogging the day away. Somehow, the boy had changed his entire wardrobe and now wore a baby blue button down shirt that had the top buttons undone along with a matching set of board shorts. He chirped at his phone and spun around to showcase the entire beach.

"It reminds me of spring break down in Miami that I went to this summer!" Skylar said. "Oh, thanks for the like, HelterSkelter69! I am also accepting any donations to my , and make sure to-."

Lynn grabbed Skylar's shoulder. "Can you focus, please?"

Skylar shut off his phone and pocketed it. "I just thought since Sam The Dog was searching, we could enjoy the view."

"We can't rely on a dog," Lynn said. "It'd be nice if you could search for clues with us?"

"But there's no one here except for those three people," Skylar said. "I doubt the robber would still hang out here."

"But maybe," Lynn said. "That's what the robber wants us to think. That…he wouldn't be here."

Lynn spun around and looked at the few civilians on the beach. Skylar narrowed his eyes and spotted them along with her.

"Right," Skylar snapped his fingers. "This must be some kind of test! I bet Mister Deku has some people planted here to help us solve the mystery!"

"Okay," Lynn said. "But what should we do about it?"

"We need to confront them," Skylar said. "All good heroes have to know how to get the right answers from people."

"I feel like there's a better way than to do that," Lynn said.

"Look, just follow my lead," Skylar said. "I promise I know just what to do."

Through a pair of binoculars, the old man with a walrus moustache traced the sky for a specific bird that was sailing in the air. He found one bird in particular and followed its stream. The blue bird swam gracefully through the air and twisted all the way down to the surface of the water. It darted towards him with a claw skimming the very top of the water.

Just as the bird approached near….

A pair of golden eyes materialized from nowhere!

"Ah!" The old man screamed. He flew backwards with his binoculars thrown into the air. The device soared backwards and almost hit the man in the unicycle, but he dodged it by ducking his head down.

"You," Skylar, now putting on a strange accent akin to a hard-boiled detective in a noir film, jabbed a finger at the man's moustache. "Where were you last night?"

"What?" The old man squeaked. "Who the fuck are you?"

Slam! The man squeaked when a strong fist pummeled the sand next to him. Particles let into the air and skated away from the breeze. Lynn's hardened fist came into view and hovered an inch away from his chin.

"We're asking the questions, moustache!" Lynn growled like an aggressive lion. "Now, answer the question before we use force!"

"I was nowhere!" The man shouted. "I'm not even from around here! I'm just a birdwatcher here for a couple of days. I'm looking for the ivory-billed woodpecker!"

"You don't fool me for a second," Skylar sniffed the man's head. "Just as I suspected. You use citrus-scented cologne."

"So?"

"Nobody that uses that scent can be trusted!"

The Birdwatcher sighed and wiped sweat from his brow. "Look, kids. I just wanna birdwatcher in peace. This is like the one week I get away from the wife, so can I please enjoy it without the headache."

"Where were you last night?" Skylar screamed.

"At your mom's house!"

Skylar took off his halo. He slammed the golden ring into the man's side. He grunted, but simply rebounded dazed from the smack.

"Now, maybe you will comply," Skylar said. "Tell us what you know about a yellow scarf that belonged to Gran Torino."

"Uh…scarf," the man said. "Yeah, I heard some guy talking about a scarf. The guy flying that kite over there said he just got one yesterday."

Lynn and Skylar looked up. The man with headphones flew a kite and hummed to himself.

The poor guy shifted in the sand with his kite. He was in a tranquil state with the shade of the kite keeping him cool. He smiled at the sight of the dancing fabric. Nothing could ruin this calm-.

"You!"

Lynn and Skylar leapt in front of him. The middle-aged man shouted and let go of his kite.

"Oh, no," the man cried out. "My kite!"

Then, he looked down at the other two. He frowned and clenched his fists. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Did you just buy a scarf, lately?" Skylar interrogated.

"We can tell when you're lying," Lynn added. "So you better tell the truth or else."

"Shouldn't you kids be in school right now?"

"The streets are my school," Skylar shouted. "Now, spill."

"I don't what you're talking about," the Kite Man stated. "I was grabbing a slice when I started talking to this one guy. He said he bought a scarf off someone. Said he bought it cause he was a fan of this Pro-Hero he knew about."

The Kite Man pointed to the pizza stand. A ginger-haired teenager with buck teeth and glasses handed a slice of pepperoni to a passerby.

Wearing a yellow scarf around his neck!

At the pizza stand, the Pizza Boy closed the cash register underneath the umbrella. He poured money into his tip jar which only held a few quarters. When the money clunked to the bottom, he turned around to grab the wooden spatula used to take the pizza out of his portable wooden oven.

But when he turned, he found himself blocked by Skylar and Lynn!

"Wah!" Pizza Boy yelled. "You two can't be back here."

"Where did you get that scarf?" They shouted in unison at the boy.

"I just bought this at HeroCon yesterday," The Pizza Boy cried out.

"That looks like Gran Torino's scarf," Lynn said. "You stole that from Mister Deku!"

"Deku! Is he here? I'm a huge fan."

"Well, I hope you're a huge fan of prison," Skylar lunged for the boy and pulled at his scarf. The two engage in a tug-of-war with the boy yanking his head back. The scarf wrapped around his neck, and the boy choked out with Skylar trying to take the scarf.

"You can't do this without a warrant," The boy choked out.

"We are heroes-in-training," Skylar grunted out. "We don't need a warrant!"

Lynn watched the two pull at the scarf. She examined the yellow fabric which splintered and frayed at the center. The two groaned and fought with each tossing back and forth over the pavement.

"Hey, Skylar," Lynn said. "I don't think that's-."

RIP!

The frays erupt and snap the scarf in two. Skylar falls back, but his wings slow his descent and cause him to land on the ground with a small tuft of air cushioning his fall. The Pizza Boy is not so lucky. He careens backwards and slams into the pizza cart. The cart, with its wheels somehow unlocking due to the jolt, rolls forward right into the man on the unicycle.

The Unicycle Man screams and crashes onto the ground. He plummets to Earth with his thin body tumbling downward to the unforgiving pavement. He closed his eyes and stuck out his arm in hopes of not breaking something.

Until his body is stopped by a pair of wiry arms.

"Gotcha!" Ivan said with his tendrils all pointed towards the scene before him. The Unicycle Man peered up at the odd boy with multiple pairs of eyes twitching about on strange purple outcroppings of flesh.

"Oh, shit, you saved me," the Unicycle Man said. "Thanks, Weird Eye Man."

By the pizza oven, Lynn hurried to the Pizza Boy. The poor kid was moaning and writhing on the floor in pain. She reached down and grabbed a remnant of the scarf now blackened and scuffed with ash and bits of pavement.

Lynn grabbed the fabric and lifted it up. On the back of the scarf was a small tag.

GRAN TORINO GOLDEN ERA SCARF. HERO REPLICA INDUSTRIES. 19.99.

"It's not even the real thing," Lynn said.

"Most people don't know that," the Pizza Boy said. "They just see the scarf and think it's real."

Lynn frowned. She scanned the scene and saw a few people gathering around to witness the pizza cart that had now tipped over and spilt balls of dough and cheese onto the ground. A few bystanders laughed and pointed at the site.

Lynn threw the scarf back at the boy beneath her feet. With a huff, she stormed over to Skylar who had a piece of dough somehow stuck to the top of his head.

"You," Lynn shouted. "Why'd you not just let go?"

"I thought that was the scarf!" Skylar said.

"It's a fake," Lynn crossed her arms. "And you destroyed this pizza stand!"

"You went along with this!"

"Well…you made me!"

"I didn't make you do anything," Skylar whined. "You could have stopped me sooner."

"Oh, so now it's my fault that you messed this up!" Lynn shouted. "You know what? We've embarrassed ourselves enough today. The search is off!"

Ivan tilted his head with the Unicycle Man still in his arms. "But we just got started. Besides, Sam The Dog is searching the beach as we speak!"

"I don't care," Lynn said. "I'm going back to the school and I'm going to tell Mister Deku we failed and I'm going to leave this school so I can be a bum on the street."

"You know," The Pizza Boy sat up with his nasally voice creaking from his chapped lips. "We are hiring, Miss."

Lynn let out a guttural scream. When finished, she stormed away with her fists clenched. She pushed past Skylar towards the beach. One of Ivan's eyes followed Lynn as her shoes dug through the sand.

Skylar watched the girl sit by the edge of the water. She then buried her head in her hands, clearly dejected from the embarrassing failure. Skylar's face softened, and he looked down at the slices of pepperoni that littered his chest. He grabbed one and ate it. As he chewed, he thought about his previous actions.

Sam The Dog crawled over to him. With a soft bark, he grabbed a slice of pepperoni from his hair and chewed on it. His tail wagged and sat down next to Skylar.

"Sorry, y'all," Merle approached with his cowboy boots rattling from the spurs on his heels. "Sam has smelled the theif everywhere, but can't find anything linking him to any object. Probably just passed through."

"I haven't seen any clues either," Ivan carried the Unicycle Man to the group. "Perhaps she swam or took a boat from here?"

"So maybe we should see if the harbor master has any log of boats that left around here?" Merle stated. "Or if someone rented something out."

Skylar sighed and rose up to his feet. "Yeah. That's not a bad idea. But first, I gotta…."

Skylar trudged past the destroyed pizza cart and his fellow team members. He crossed the sand and past the Birdwatcher to the very edge of the shore. Lynn stared out at the water with a placid, but melancholic expression.

Skylar stopped next to Lynn. He sat down and crossed his legs with only the breeze filling in the silence between them. And that was how they sat for quite some time.

Skylar cleared his throat. He gave a sheepish glance to Lynn.

"I…uh…" Skylar scratched at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. For pressuring you. I guess I should've thought of a better way."

Lynn pursed her lips. "I lied. About the sand."

Lynn turned and gave a Quick Look at Skylar. She blushed and tugged a strand of her hair.

"There's actually a few beaches around here with that color sand we found," Lynn said. "But I really wanted to go to this one."

"Well, then maybe we just picked the wrong one," Skylar said. "We can go to other beaches."

"No, I picked this one on purpose," Lynn said. "It was a place I haven't been to in a while. My…dad brought me here a lot when I was little."

"Oh," Skylar said.

"I don't know," Lynn said. "Just with all that's already happened the last few days. With Jason and Mister Deku and this class. I just…I just really felt overwhelmed. And I wanted to come back here. So I'm sorry for misleading you all."

Skylar let out a small sigh. "You don't have to apologize for that. I think it's sweet. You having a place that reminds you of him."

"Yeah, he was a birdwatcher," Lynn smiled and traced her eyes at a robin skating through the blue sky over the placid river. "This was his favorite place. Lots of birds every season. Y'know, he wanted to have a Big Year that year."

"Big Year?"

"Every year, all the birdwatchers in the country have a contest," Lynn blinked with the faraway look gleaming in her eye. "They try to identify the most species of birds across the country. I remember that year. My dad was set on breaking the record that year. Eight hundred and forty different birds. And he brought me here a lot, cause different species travel over this river every year. And I remember that year because I was just about to go to middle school. And Jason was here with me. We were playing out in the river. Right out that way," she pointed at a small sand bar a few feet into the water.

Lynn lowered her arm and wiped at her eyes. "And my mom drove up on a golf cart. Right by that pizza cart we wrecked. I watched her. She was with this other guy. Dressed in a suit. Holding a folder. She was with my sisters, too."

"You have sisters?" Skylar asked.

"Twins," Lynn smiled. "Only a couple of years younger. We were really close…. Until that day. She wore these sunglasses. Didn't even say anything. That other guy, he said a bunch of stuff I couldn't hear. But he gave this folder to my dad. Then…my mom…not saying anything…she took her ring off. Threw it at his feet into the sand."

Lynn dug her shoes into the sand. She hiked her knees up and hugged her arms around them.

"I never saw my sisters again."

Skylar scooted closer to Lynn. He had no training in handling any situation like this. However, he had to try his best for his future plans to reach fruition.

"What happened after that?"

Lynn blew out a deep sigh. Her shoulder slumped as she faced Skylar. "Well, they asked me who I wanted to stay with for school and for the future. I was always closer to my dad, so I said him. So, of course, my mom got custody of me instead. Dad got the twins. Moved down south. I talk to him on the phone once in a while. But haven't seen him in about seven years. And I guess the one constant in all of this was Jason. Well, I thought it was, anyway. Until a few days ago. Now, I don't think I really have anyone. And I just hoped that, by being a hero, maybe I'd be…I don't know. Good enough or something. Instead, I've just embarrassed myself like twenty times in awhile week. And I've dragged you and Leon into it and I guess I just feel bad. So, I'm sorry."

Lynn averted her gaze from Skylar. She had a deep blush on her porcelain skin, and her green eyes sparkled with tears threatening to spill.

Skylar, with a gentle smile, braved a soft hand on Lynn's shoulder. She twitched, but then relaxed at the touch when she locked eyes with Skylar.

"Y'know," Skylar said. "I did my first musical when I was six. And it was a one line performance. I was a goat in a New York Public library rendition of Mother Goose. One line, that was it. I had to tell Mother Goose that I couldn't help her make pies that day because I had to eat clothes off the clothesline."

Lynn barked out a laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah, and you think that wouldn't be a big deal, right? And I'm excited because it's my first performance, but I'm also really nervous. And my director, she was this really mean lady and she directed us like she was doing a little kid version of Angels In America. Go here! Do that! You aren't projecting enough!" Skylar shouted in a high-pitched mocking voice.

"But you did it, right?"

"Well, I get out on stage," Skylar smiles with his eyes wide in excitement. "It's literally just everyone's parents. In a little room at the library. But the lights were so hot and close to us, that my makeup started to melt. And by the time we got to my line, the foundation got in my eyes and it stung. So, when I have to deliver my line, I forgot what I had to say."

"So what did you do?"

"I…I did a backflip."

Lynn snorted. "What?"

"I didn't know what else to do," Skylar giggled with her. "I just…did a backflip!"

"I mean, did you land it?"

"Well, that was the thing," Skylar said. "I was so scared about what my parents and my director and everyone else thought about what I just did. I completely ruined the play for everyone. So, I did another one. And another. And for some reason, I didn't even notice that my feet weren't touching the ground. So, I flailed my arms, and I stopped myself from going further. When I did, I looked at the crowd expecting everyone to boo and throw tomatoes at me. But they all just stared. I was probably as red as a tomato. I felt so embarrassed, but then I noticed something weird. My feet hadn't touched the ground yet. And I looked down and saw them hovering a few inches above! And then, a bright flash went off over my head. And when I reached my hand up, I felt-."

"It was your quirk!" Lynn gasped at the halo over Skylar's head.

"I was about to turn seven," Skylar said. "My parents thought I was quirkless forever. But that day, when I threw caution to the wind, and I didn't worry about embarrassing myself…when I decided to just act and be myself…it became something…well…angelic!"

Lynn could not help but roll her eyes in a joking manner. "I figured you'd say that."

"Just don't worry about embarrassing yourself," Skylar said. "Cause maybe, even if it does happen, it can lead to something fabulous!"

Lynn laughed. She nodded and reached over for Skylar. She wrapped her arms around his thin waist and pulled him into a tight hug. Her hands morphed through the wings hovering at his back, and she rested her head on his soft shoulder.

"Thank you, Skylar," Lynn said.

"You're welcome Lynn," Skylar said. "Also, do I still have dough on my head."

"You do," Lynn said. She let go and rested on her knees before him. "Here. Let me get that off you."

Lynn leaned back and took the piece of dough covering his blond hair. They smiled at each other. Then, without a warning, Lynn took opportunity of the close proximity and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. Skylar's smile erased with his mouth dropping into a perfect circle. Lynn gasped the moment she removed her lips and covered her mouth. She sat upright and squeaked.

"Oh, my gosh," Lynn said. "I'm sorry Skylar. I just-."

"No, it's okay," Skylar said. "That's perfectly normal."

"No, it's not," Lynn groaned and grabbed her head. "I can't believe I just-."

"Lynn," Skylar's golden eyes shined at her. "It's fine. Just a kiss…between friends. Right?"

"Uh…right?" Lynn asked. "Yeah, between friends."

Lynn stood up in a slightly dazed state. She waited for Skylar to get up with her, and they walked back towards Ivan and Merle who were speaking amongst each other about the plan. Lynn's blush emanated heat to rival the sun. Meanwhile, just a step behind her, Skylar beamed the widest, mischievous grin.

Excellent, Skylar thought. Everything is going according to plan.

The two pass The Birdwatcher and head to the other members of the group. Lynn cleared her throat and rubbed her face with her cold hands to calm herself down.

"So," Lynn said. "We interviewed everyone, and we couldn't find any clues."

"On the plus side," Ivan held up a wad of ticket stubs in his hand. "I got tickets to some art gala tonight from that Unicycle Guy! He was appreciative of me saving him."

"I also gave the pizza guy a big tip," Merle chewed on a slice of pepperoni. "After cleaning up the cart for him."

Lynn and Skylar spied the Pizza Boy taking a pie out of the oven. He spotted them and glared. The two could only help to wave sheepish at him.

"Then, maybe we should see if there's some boat nearby," Merle said. "Otherwise, Sam can't sniff out much more."

"Look, Mister Deku wouldn't just have no clues around," Lynn said. "I guess we could try other beaches, but the group of people here are just too suspicious."

"Right now, we're the suspicious ones," Ivan stated.

"I have to think," Lynn said. "Pizza Boy is out. Unicycle Guy. Why would he have a Unicycle?"

"Why not?" Ivan asked.

"Kite Guy seemed sus," Skylar said. "He kinda gave me the ick."

"The what?" Merle said.

"What about that Birdwatcher?" Skylar asked.

"No, this is a normal spot for that," Lynn said. "He even said he was looking for the Ivroy Billed Woodpecker which is-."

Lynn stopped. She blinked, and then she spun around like a frantic ballerina back to the beach. The Birdwatcher was still looking through his binoculars. However, the pair was pointed right at the group. When Lynn spotted him, the Birdwatcher turned back around and locked upward towards the sky.

"You!" Lynn shouted.

Lynn ran for The Birdwatcher. Before the man could respond, Lynn hovered over him while the poor man sat on a blanket. She fumed at him with her nostrils flaring. Before he could respond, she grabbed his binoculars and threw them away.

Before the man could interject, Lynn grabbed the man's neck and pushed him down. She solidified her legs, and she pressed them deep into his gelatinous belly. Her knees dug into the man like cinderblocks.

"Whoa, Lynn," Skylar chased after her. "I thought we weren't doing that anymore!"

"What in tarnation?" Merle asked.

"Bark!" Sam The Dog raced over and sniffed at the man.

"What are you doing?" The man forced out with what little breath he had. "I'll sue."

"What bird were you hunting for?" Lynn cried out. "Tell me!"

"The Ivory-billed woodpecker!" The Birdwatcher said. "I don't know what you want!"

"Just as I suspected," Lynn sneered down at the man. "You're an imposter!"

"What?"

Lynn grabbed the man's collar and balled it up into her fists. "Any self-respecting bridwatcher knows that the ivory-billed woodpecker…is extinct!"

"No way!" Skylar said.

"I reckon we conduct a citizens arrest for impersonating a birdwatcher," Merle said.

"You're the scum of the Earth," Ivan said.

Lynn leaned her head down. Her forehead touched the Birdwatchers. The girl could smell the breath from the hyperventilating man, but she betrayed no fear as her eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?"

"I…I-I-?"

The rest of the group descended on him. Closer. Closer!

"Okay, I confess!"

The Birdwatcher ripped off his moustache to reveal-.

#WhoIsTheBirdwatcher

Please discuss. And please review!

Thank you. see you soon!