"Where do you think they're off too?" Kitty asked no one in particular as she watched Blaine, Charlie and Santana head off towards the parking lot. The three of them had gotten rather close over the past couple of weeks. She couldn't count the amount of times that she had caught them chatting in the hallway or watching something on Blaine's tablet.

"Training," Rachel supplies immediately, narrowing her eyes slightly as she turns to watch the three strongest members of the team head off together. She had wanted to join them, but asking if she could tag along didn't seem like it would go well. Even if Charlie was amenable to the idea, she doubted Santana would be. How was she supposed to impress the recruiters at Summit next week?

"How do you know that?" Finn asks.

"All Charlie ever does is train," Artie replied with a tired laugh. He groans as he flops onto the nearby bench and lets out a tired moan. "I have no idea how they have any stamina left. Gym in the morning, going over video at lunch and then practice, and then trying to survive against Charlie! I have no idea how they aren't just headed to bed."

"Monsters," Tina adds with a tired shake of her head, "That's why they're calling them the three pillars of McKinley. Haven't you been paying attention to all the media attention the three of them are starting to get. I know we're not supposed to look at what people are saying online, but I can't help it. You know there are like people who are hired to analyze us? I saw a YouTube series about it. They generally do the big schools, but they started one on McKinley."

"They're probably just analyzing Charlie," Matt rolled his eyes. "I mean they talked about us for a day, before they keep trying to analyze Charlie's next move."

"It's an entire series on McKinley," Tina says, pulling out her phone so she can show them the moderately popular channel that she had found. She gets to the playlist that they had formed. "They're not done yet, but they've released analysis on most of us. Last week they released a video on Blaine. They haven't released a video on Charlie or Santana, last time I checked." Tina hits play on the intro video, turning up the volume so the entire team can hear.

'Every few years a school appears seemingly out of nowhere and manages to find themselves on the national stage of the Hero Inter-High. You know what I'm talking about the 'lucky to be here' crowd, they usually place last in nationals, the better teams come in second mostly through luck. McKinley High, a school in Lima Ohio of all places, should be one of those schools.' The presenter pauses for dramatic effect, as it cuts to another camera. "McKinley's the odds on favorite to win. Everyone knows that they have the first round pick for any Hero firm, and any and every hero academy in the world, this year, and while I plan to do a whole series on Charlie Fabray in the future, we need to take a look at the rest of the McKinley Titans because I honestly believe that we're seeing the beginning of a new Midwestern Powerhouse.'

There was an excited buzz around the team as Tina pauses the video, and grins triumphantly. "I think that's the first time that anyone's considered us to be a budding powerhouse school. I mean I don't think these guys are professional or anything but like they did a fifteen minute piece on me! I mean it's not as long as some of the others. Blaine got a forty-five minute video, Charlie's getting her own series, and who knows how long Santana's will be."

"What did they say about me?" Rachel asks, turning to Tina excitedly, before Tina can answer her Rachel shakes her head. "No wait, I want to see for myself. We should all see what they're saying about us, because that's probably how the other teams view us."

"We should all watch," Finn suggests. "We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Won't Beiste be pissed that we started to watch analysis about ourselves? She was pretty clear that we shouldn't be paying any attention to the media until after nationals and even then it's not the best idea," Sam reminds the team.

"Beiste and our parents don't want us to listen and obsess about negative comments, and since they can't control what we see to them it's better to simply ban us from listening and watching any analysis about us, but you think that Santana and Blaine aren't keeping up with what people are saying about them?" Rachel questioned. "I know Kurt is certainly keeping Blaine informed, obviously there are going to be comments that are rude and mean, I mean I used to get them when I posted videos of myself singing on the internet. This could be our best chance to see what other teams think of us, and it can give us some areas to focus on before nationals. I know there isn't that much time left but we need to be better." Rachel looks around the team, trying to find someone to back her up. Her eyes rest on Finn who nods.

"I think we should do it, better to ask for permission than forgiveness," Finn speaks up trying to psych up the rest of the team.

"I think you mean it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission," Tina corrects gently smiling at him. "I already watched mine, and they weren't super mean about it, they said what my strengths are, and they pointed out some mistakes that I made."

"See it could be helpful," Rachel adds, smiling when she realizes that the others are finally starting to come on board. It could be a fun team bonding exercise for everyone.

~ O ~

Blaine rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced over at Santana and Charlie. Santana didn't exactly look thrilled that they were missing training time with Charlie, but he had promised Kurt that he'd at least ask. He had been surprised that Charlie had even agreed to it, given that Kurt was certain that she hated him. He personally doubted that Charlie knew who Kurt was. "Thanks for doing this for me."

Santana flicked Charlie's ear causing the teen to turn to her, "You're the one that agreed to this, so get off your phone and pay attention."

Charlie puffed out her cheeks, but finally looked up from her phone. "Babies grow really fast, Mikey looks bigger than he did last time I saw him," Charlie explains. "Frannie still won't name me as his god parent, so I need to beat Brittany and Quinn when it comes to being the favorite aunt. I can't seem to find any baby nunchucks either, and Marley refuses to make some for me."

Santana exchanged a look with Blaine, "Charlie," Santana began slowly as if she was talking to an idiot. Which she was, "Babies don't do much, they eat, they sleep, and do their business. Mikey isn't secretly training to become a ninja, and I doubt Frannie is encouraging him to become a ninja. Once again Mikey is a baby."

"I know that Santana."

"Do you? You're thinking about giving a baby a deadly weapon. You honestly think it's a good idea," Santana said, poking Charlie in the chest. "I mean sure, he can't do much now, but what happens when he gets a bit older and starts crawling or walking. What happens when he's a toddler and gets his hand on that weapon and he inevitably hurts himself? Frannie will find you, and she will murder you."

Charlie opened her mouth and then huffed dramatically, "Well when you say it like that it sounds like a bad idea."

"It's a terrible idea," Blaine speaks up.

Charlie huffed once more and sunk down in her seat. "You guys never let me have any fun."

"Your definition of fun, isn't even the same zip code as everyone else's version of fun," Santana muttered under her breath as Kurt and Mercedes pushed a large easel into the Anderson's living space.

"I know how to have fun," Charlie argues as she uses her abilities to move the easel for them, placing it in the center of the room. "Right Blaine?"

Blaine glances between them, "Sure," he says unhelpfully. When Charlie doesn't look like she's about to drop it, he sighed and studied Charlie for a moment. "What do you enjoy doing when you aren't training?"

"Sleeping, eating, and sex. In any order," Charlie replies, pleased with her answer.

"Glad you agree that you don't know how to have fun," Santana smirks at Charlie's answer.

Kurt cleared his throat before Charlie and Santana could start bickering, "I know we didn't get off on the right foot—"

"I don't actually know who you are," Charlie interrupts.

Santana covers her mouth to keep from laughing at the outraged look that Kurt shoots her. "Best not get offended Kurt, she really has the worst recall, when it comes to names and faces."

"I sit behind you in math," Kurt said flatly, when Charlie gives him a look. "I also sit beside you in—nevermind, with nationals around the corner. Blaine mentioned that it's going to be a week of events, and if you were to win the MVP you'd get to fight Charlotte Flair."

"I mean technically McKinley doesn't have to win for me to be awarded MVP, but to be on the safe side, it's probably best that we come in first," Charlie responds with a shrug. "None of this explains why you wanted to have a pitch meeting with me."

"You need a uniform."

"The Titans already have uniforms," Santana points out immediately. "Brand new uniforms."

"I'm not talking about the Titans uniform Santana. I'm talking about a hero's uniform a super-suit. When you go out there and face Charlotte Flair, yes you'll be representing the school, but this is your debut, you should also be representing yourself, which is why I've come up with several different designs," Kurt explains pulling up the paper to reveal the first design that he had created with Charlie in mind.

"And because it's a fight, you should also have your own walkout music," Mercedes adds. "We're talking something to get the crowd pumped. To get you pumped—" Mercedes quiet down as Charlie was on her feet inspecting the design.

Santana narrowed her eyes, glancing at Charlie who seemed to be rather impressed by the design, even though it clearly didn't suit her. "What's this going to cost?"

"I'd like to be Charlie's exclusive designer in the future, yours as well Santana," Kurt explains. "The school is going all out for nationals this year, Sue's Cheerios are going with you guys to New York, and while you guys are busy with training she should run point in getting all the music done. It'll save the school some money to not have to pay licensing fees for a song that's played and it will be completely original as well."

"If you have an idea of a song that gets you and the team pumped up, then I can work with that," Mercedes adds.

"You should also think about maybe hiring someone to be your point person for all the stuff that has nothing to do with heroics, the brand deals, talking to the media—"

"No," Charlie interrupts Kurt immediately. "I haven't signed with an agency because my grandmother and my parents think it's best if I wait until I'm 18, I've already started to do the research about the best agencies and seeing who represents the world's top heroes. You guys don't have the experience, or the law degree to read and understand contracts. I'm also not going to agree to any exclusivity rights for two reasons. One: I'm 17. Two: Everyone knows that Edna Mode is the exclusive designer to the top heroes of the world. She's been around forever."

"Of course, if you got a chance to work with Edna Mode in designing your super suit you should most certainly take it. Getting a design from Edna means that you've made it as a hero. She only works with the best," Kurt nodded agreeably. At least they both agreed that Edna Mode despite her age made the best supersuits. Simple, classic, timeless.

Charlie flipped the page, so she could take a look at the next design and her eyes widened. "This is it! I want this one."

Kurt turned and paled considerably, he wasn't quite sure how that one had made it into the book of designs that he had made. He had doodled that while watching Project Runway. "That's not—"

"It's perfect! I'll look like such a fucking badass!" Charlie steps aside so Santana and Blaine can agree with her.

Santana was the first one to find her voice, after visibly recoiling from what Charlie wanted to wear. "No."

"What do you mean no?" Charlie demands. "It's awesome. I'll look like such a mysterious badass!" Charlie points to the spikes on the shoulder pad. "It has spikes! Everyone knows that if you add spikes to things it makes them badass. Give a rat, spikes and it becomes a hedgehog, give a hedgehog a ring and he becomes Sonic the Hedgehog, give them bigger spikes and they become a porcupine—"

Santana's left eye twitched, "If you were to wear that I'll never ever have sex with you again. Whatever I find even remotely sexy about you will wither and die, and I will personally salt the earth to make sure nothing can ever grow there again."

Charlie tried to stare Santana down but failed, and immediately huffed and looked at Kurt. "I like spikes."

"I see," Kurt says faintly.

"Well congratulations, you're going to win by making Charlotte Flair die laughing," Santana snarks, before pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's probably best to work with me, and get her opinion on the final product, and then ignore her opinion. Because next thing you know she'll think a nineties colour scheme is appropriate for a uniform."

Charlie blinked, "Neon blue! Santana you're a genius."

Kurt turned to look at Santana and nodded at her. She would probably be far easier to work with than Charlie who would probably ask for a skull at some point, because those were badass as well.

~ O ~

"Are you alright?"

Maybe it was the earnestness in Marley's eyes, but the guilt which had been eating at her since the party came bubbling to the surface. She couldn't go on like this anymore, more and more people seemed to be finding out and it wouldn't be long till Marley found out. "No," Quinn replies, taking a deep shaky breath. "Rachel and I kissed at the party."

The words hung in the air between them and Quinn looked away immediately, her father had insisted that being honest was the right course of action for her. But she had wanted to hold onto this relationship, she liked Marley. It had been exhausting lying to her, while trying to be the most supportive girlfriend she could possibly be.

"You and Rachel kissed at the party?" Marley repeats in shock, out of all the things that she had expected Quinn to say—she had actually expected something to happen between the two of them, but she hadn't that Quinn would tell her about it.

"We—did. It wasn't some stupid game of spin the bottle, we had a moment in my room and it just happened," Quinn explained fidgeting nervously. Sure there had been some light touching, but her hands hadn't touched skin. "I should have told you earlier, but I just didn't want to break up. I did tell Rachel though that we couldn't be friends anymore, and I haven't even been in a room with her alone since then."

"Is this why Charlie and Santana banished you from practice?" Marley asks, feeling a bit faint. "They knew?"

Quinn nodded, "Santana's trying to keep the team together, so she kept it quiet but I think the moment that nationals were done she was going to tell you if I didn't. Charlie was trying to force me to tell you, so they didn't do anything wrong, I fucked up. I'm sorry Marley, I'm so fucking sorry."

"Does anyone else know?" Marley asks, closing her eyes.

"At McKinley? No. At least as far as I know. " Quinn replied, licking her lips. "A few members of my family know, not my mom. Britt knows, my dad knows, Frannie might know but we both know that Frannie doesn't care. My grandmother might know, but she hasn't done her cryptic nonsense. She's been focused on Charlie." Quinn glances away. "Are you going to break up with me?"

Marley doesn't answer that question, she still has quite a few questions of her own, "Why now?"

"I don't—"

"Why are you telling me this now?"

Quinn swallowed, "You deserved to know, you deserved to hear it from me before anyone else. It also took me some time to grapple with what happened, and as much as I wanted to simply throw the blame on Rachel—I'm the one who had a responsibility to be better and I failed."

The quiet was deafening between them and Marley looked away, "So you feel guilty."

"Of course I do—"

"This wasn't about me, it was about making yourself feel better, I think I would have preferred not knowing," Marley said getting up and placing a few dollars on the table for her coffee. "I need to get to work."

"Marley."

"Quinn, I'm going to need some time, you don't get to tell me all this and expect me to make a decision that makes you feel better," Marley snapped before closing her eyes and taking a deep calming breath. "I need to get to work, I'll talk to you when I'm ready to talk to you."

Quinn nodded wordlessly, unsure of what this meant for her relationship, but her father had warned her that it was completely up to Marley now. With a sigh she slips down into her chair and closes her eyes. Telling Marley hadn't made her feel less guilty. "Shit."

~ O ~

"Shit."

Charlie finally glanced away from her phone and looked at Santana. "What?"

"My parents are home," Santana responded with a his as she wondered if she could get away with reversing and making a beeline out of her subdivision. Before she can make a decision her father steps out of the car and turns, spotting her and waving at her. "Shit." Santana hisses under her breath and looks over at Charlie. "Look can you be less—"

"Perfect?" Charlie questions, with an amused smile.

"Yes." Santana responds immediately. Her parents thought that Charlie was perfect, and she was tired of being compared to her. But that was a problem with her parents, and she felt bad for trying to get Charlie to play along. "Please?" When Charlie nods after a moment, she takes a breath and parks her car behind her father's. "Papi, you're home early," she greets simply as her father comes to her window.

"Your mother got your report card emailed from the school and we need to have—" Miguel began before his eyes widened when he spotted Charlie in the passenger seat. "Charlie? What do we owe the pleasure?"

Charlie glanced over at Santana, noting how she was gripping the steering wheel and then back at her father for a moment, "Santana's helping me with a project for school, honestly Dr. Lopez, I'm a bit hopeless without your daughter, and now I feel bad because I didn't know that bothering her for help has been affecting her grades."

Santana's eyes widen and she immediately turns to look at Charlie, praying that she stopped talking. The moment Charlie and the rest of the Fabrays had walked into her life, her parents had gone from supportive to making an active effort to crush her dreams of being a hero. Being compared to Charlie constantly would normally give her a complex, if she didn't know Charlie on a personal level, and while Charlie was smart and had a decent work ethic when it came training, if she wasn't eating through class she was sleeping and the teachers did nothing about it. If it were any other person she'd think that Charlie's grades were inflated, but Charlie actually knew the material. And she knew how to dumb it down for Finn of all people.

Miguel paused for a moment, "You need Santana's help? Aren't you and your twin the top students at McKinley? It was announced in the PTA newsletter, the top grades are always announced, Santana used to have that position before you and your twin arrived."

"I'm failing Spanish," Charlie admitted easily. "I only know how to order Taco Bell, and I know how to say yes I think. Your daughter was horrified." It wasn't as if she was failing but compared to the rest of her grades, and how much the weird teacher with the sweater vests hated her—for reasons she didn't really care to figure out. "She helps me with Spanish, and I help her train, that was our deal. She's gotten so much better lately, and given her performance at the Inter-high—she has a very good chance at getting an invite to the bootcamp, and if that's the case she'll definitely be invited to a top school in the future."

"Taco Bell isn't Spanish you—" Santana began before inhaling and looking at her father hoping that he bought it.

"I don't understand why I need to even learn another language, we have universal translators. There a thing Santana."

Santana turned to look at her father and pointed at Charlie, "This is what I have to deal with. All the time, and she's the captain."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a terrible Captain!" Santana snaps back, turning to look at Charlie.

"I give the best inspirational speeches!" Charlie shoots back, slightly offended.

"Don't suck, is not an inspirational speech Charlie."

Miguel looked back and forth between the two of them, tilting his head at the momentary lull in the argument, "When did you two start dating?"

Santana froze and even Charlie turned to look at Miguel like he'd grown another head. "We're not dating," Charlie stated plainly.

Santana shuddered, her face twisting into one of disgust. Charlie probably didn't even know the meaning of monogamy and she had learned her lesson about dating people who didn't believe in the very simple concept. "We're barely friends."

Charlie nodded at that assessment, "Barely friends," she agreed. "She's the only person I know who can speak Spanish better than the weird teacher with the curly hair and the sweater vests."

"Mr. Schue—seriously how do you not know his name, you see him twice a week! You know he hates you because you call him sweater-vest when you want his attention. How did you, of all people, pass Summit's personality exam?"

"They tested me before I became cynical," Charlie responded with a shrug and a wave of her hand. It was a far more involved process than that, and it wasn't as if she wouldn't have another personality test when she was 18, hopefully her morals hadn't shifted too much since her last test.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Charlie?" Miguel asked immediately, still looking between his daughter and Charlie. A relationship with Charlie would certainly help Santana get what she wanted, he had been worried once he had actually looked into the stats surrounding the hero industry. But if his daughter could attach herself to the hottest prospect in the country, then her star would only rise.

Charlie steals a look at Santana, noting how uncomfortable she was and shakes her head. "No, I should probably head home. I haven't seen my mother in a few days, she's probably worried that I'm at death's door or something equally ridiculous."

"Of course," Miguel said immediately. "But you're always welcome here."

Charlie nodded and turned to look at Santana. "You can take me home now."

"I am not your chauffeur," Santana snaps at Charlie. "You can fly. Fly away."

Miguel watched his daughter for a moment, before smiling as he turned and headed inside, leaving the two of them to bicker further. He'd have to tell Maribel about this development, Santana would still need to get her grades up. An A-minus was not an acceptable grade in the Lopez household.