"You are aware that wearing sunglasses indoors makes you look like a douchebag right? I mean if that is the look you're going for that's okay, but you do know that the kids at school know better than to bother you with stuff. I mean it's probably because they don't know what to do with the whole dead mother situation. Even Sue doesn't quite know how to handle it."

Charlie pulled down her glasses so Quinn could see that they were glowing, "It creeps people out, and I think I'm going to focus the rest of my time at McKinley practicing. It'll give me something to do while I'm bored in class. I thought that Figgins and the sheriff were making certain that the news vans stayed off school property and that they needed to get a release if they wanted to interview students."

"Wonder who's paying him now, I really don't know why there's an ESPN truck outside, I mean it is college admission season and I think there were recruiters for that big guy on the football team."

"Shane?"

Quinn glances at Charlie, "How do you know his name? You don't watch football. Our football team sucks."

"Finn was talking about it, I think they're friends. Maybe. I don't actually know and I really don't care," Charlie said with a shrug. "Whatever, it's just nice that they aren't here for me for once. Maybe they're here for you. Cheerleading is a sport right?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Yes Charlie, cheerleading is a sport. And they aren't here for me, and if they are, open a portal to somewhere warm and we'll ditch again."

"Maybe they're here for Santana," Charlie suggested, adjusting her glasses as they stepped out of her car. "Summit is releasing the first set of invitations to try for the exam, she should be on that list. K2 is also releasing the admissions list for the hero program today according to Frannie."

"So more drama, because our lives just weren't already filled with it," Quinn grumbles, before narrowing her eyes at her twin when she spotted Santana's car which was parked in its usual position. 'I thought you said if I asked Rachel out she'd agree."

Charlie shrugged, "Did you bring flowers? Did you do some grand romantic gesture, Rachel likes those. You're going to need to put in the effort here, she's not Santana, she's not going to burn your clothes off your body Quinn."

Disgust crossed Quinn's face immediately, "Charlie in what world do you think it's okay to just openly talk about your weird perverted sex life with Santana? Don't answer that, or I'll tell Santana exactly what you say and have you deal with those consequences. A big romantic gesture? You might be right about the fact that Rachel wants one, she wants to be swept off her feet, but she's also not budging. Apparently I'm damaged goods right now, and she wants me at my best."

"You should ask Linda. About grief and dating, I think it's above my paygrade, and I certainly didn't handle myself well with Santana, so there won't be any burn—"

"There you are Charlie," Figgins said a massive smile on his face, "We're having an assembly this morning—"

"Absolutely not," Charlie interrupts. "Look, whatever you have planned for me, I'm tired of having cameras in my face, I'm tired of being dragged out like a freak at a freakshow so everyone can gawk at me, I'm grieving, and honestly Principal Figgins, I'm still grieving. I broke up with my girlfriend, half of my family is dead, and you want me to get on stage and smile, and I don't want to."

Figgins blinked, he hadn't expected such a quick and effective refusal, "ESPN—"

"Charlie's not your show pony, and honestly Figgins, if money is what you're after, ask my father to cut a check for the school. Just return the money and tell them that after consideration and after everything that the twins have been through and the gross injustice that Charlie faced on Capitol Hill, that for the best interest of her mental health fuck off," Quinn states in a bored tone.

Charlie grinned at her twin, "What Quinn said," she nods.

"It's a congratulations to all our top students who have been accepted into top schools. This is the first time that McKinley is going to have one of its graduates in K2, it's the first time one of our graduates will be going to an Ivy League school. This isn't just about you Charlie, ESPN is here to interview both you and Santana. We've got the local news coming for Quinn and a few people from some national papers. The Rolling Stones want to interview you both."

"Mick Jagger wants to interview us?" Charlie blinks. "Isn't he super old? I mean he still has the moves though, I hope that when I'm his age, they'll be singing about how they want to move like me."

"The magazine, how are you this obtuse Charlie? The Rolling Stones is an American Magazine—"

"The Rolling Stones are British, I'm sure that's copyright infringement," Charlie crosses her arms over her chest.

"How can you be so confidently wrong like all the time?" Quinn questions pinching the bridge of her nose. "Stop watching cartoons, and start paying attention to little things like that, someone's going to interview you and you're going to sound like a dumbass."

"Cartoons are an art form—"

"She's not going to smile, but we'll be there," Quinn interrupts, tuning her twin out as she looks at Figgins who looks relieved, "But after this you can't do this again. Understood?" When Figgins nods, Quinn glances at her twin who is about to launch into a monologue about how great cartoons were and simply walks away.

~ O ~

"Before you guys leave and hit the showers, I just want to extend my congratulations to our Captain. K2, is a school that is incredibly difficult to get into, and to get in without needing to pass the entrance exam, means that you're the best of the best of the best in the country!" Coach Beiste stated, as she began to clap for Santana who looked utterly surprised. "You haven't read your email yet? The list was dropped late last night, both Summit and K2 released their lists on the exact same day, which is unheard of."

Santana reached for her phone before remembering that it was in her locker and scowled, Charlie always had her phone and she couldn't even steal Charlie's phone to check. "No, I got swamped with homework. Wait, what about Summit? Did I get an invitation to try-out?"

Beiste shakes her head, "No, for your information when K2 and Summit release their first batch of acceptances for the freshman class, they send a mailer to all the schools, many schools use it as a recruitment tool. I didn't see your name on the Summit mailer this morning. That's not to say that you won't get an invitation in the next round."

"Well we all knew that Charlie was going to Summit," Blaine said with a shrug, "But if you made it into K2, without having to take the entrance exam—then you'll definitely be getting an invitation to Summit in the second invitational Santana and would take the entrance exam."

Santana forced a smile onto her face, "K2 is the best American hero school in the country, it's the Ivy League of Hero schools." It simply wasn't Summit, which was the best school in the world. They trained heroes from all the continents, and nearly every Summit graduate went on to command massive contracts and got invited to join the top hero firms. K2 didn't have the international reach that Summit did, and being the best at K2, while she'd get offered the same contracts, the networking with top heroes and future top heroes around the globe would be limiting unless she proved herself.

"ESPN and a few other media outlets will be here to do some interviews Santana, congratulations. Getting into K2 without having to do an entrance exam, that already makes you one of the top recruits in the country. This year the only other student to get that honor is someone that you all know."

"Charlie?" Rachel questions.

"No, Dani Harper, as far as I know, Charlie didn't actually fill out the application for K2, or any other school," Shannon mused and shrugged. Given Charlie's lineage, and her power that wasn't unheard of. Summit had been sniffing around for awhile and given Lawrence's pull with the school they probably hadn't needed to fill out an application. There was always going to be a spot open for Charlie at Summit.

"Is Dani on the list for Summit?" Santana questions.

"She has received an invitation to partake in the entrance exam, she's the top recruit behind Charlie for this year. PVA is the team to beat and while we should be looking at how to defeat them, we need to get past sectionals first. Don't worry about it Santana—"

Before Beiste can finish, Santana simply just walks out of the training room and heads towards the lockers so she can check her emails and text her parents and abuela to give them the heads up.

Blaine exchanges a look with Rachel who immediately holds her fist out, he sighs and sticks out his hand and they quickly do a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, to see who would be the unfortunate soul to deal with it. If Charlie and Santana hadn't broken up he would have insisted that she be the one to handle this situation, but they had and it was probably for the best that they had someone check in on her. He grins when Rachel chooses scissors to his rock and smirks at her, she'd have to be the one to deal with it for now, and he'd check in around lunch time to see if she was no longer disappointed.

~ O ~

"Santana, I know that you're upset that you aren't on the list but what exactly do you want Charlie or Quinn to do about it? I mean they have pull but if Charlie and Quinn get you into Summit, would you really feel good about it?" Rachel stated as she followed Santana through the school.

Santana stopped, "I don't want them to get me into the school, I'm not going to ask them to get me in, I'm going to ask what it takes to get an invite to begin with," Santana says, she was just as good as Dani, even if her Combine times didn't show that she could definitely beat Dani in a one-on-one fight. "Like did I do something wrong, did I not show off enough, what is it going to take for them to notice me. I just want a bloody opportunity. Thousands of people apply to go to Summit, and they only invite a handful of students from around the world to go. A ticket to Summit, even being invited to tryout at Summit, changes people, and I just want an opportunity to try out. I mean Charlie didn't even apply and she got in. Where is the fairness in that?"

Rachel bit her tongue, it would be so easy to remind Santana that life wasn't fair but she had been in the exact same position last year, "I really wanted to go to Summit, even though I don't really have a fraction of the power that you and Charlie have. They would have put me in the support class, but my ceiling was as a sidekick, if that, one of the many auxiliary members of a hero firm. If I got lucky I would be tied with someone like Charlie, but my star wouldn't shine as bright. It's not fair that some people are born into greatness and others aren't, but there is still time and not making the first cut. You got into K2, without having to write the entrance exam, and that's the best school in the country and you were one of the two that didn't need to write an entrance exam, you think Summit isn't taking a closer look at you? I mean they have 4 or 5 invitationals throughout the year, and you could still be invited next. So why spend all the time freaking out? You got into one of the top schools on your own, and you don't have an entrance exam."

Santana scowled that this wasn't Charlie's fault, and while she knew that Rachel had a valid point, Charlie had told her to catch up. If she couldn't even get an invite to the best school in the world, if she couldn't make those connections then she was just falling further and further behind. "I'm not getting Charlie or Quinn to help me get in, Quinn wouldn't let me forget that I owe her, and Charlie wouldn't help not with this. I'm going to see what I need to do get better, that's all," Santana said as she opened the door to the physics room, she knew Charlie's schedule like the back of her hand and sure enough Charlie was sitting at the back of an empty classroom in a ridiculously large pair of sunglasses and currently had her hands out in front of her. There was a tiny black ball hovering in between her hands, as electricity sparked around it.

"Charlie! Are you playing with antimatter?" Rachel spoke up upon seeing Charlie sitting there. A horrified look on her features, they were at school and people and it was beyond irresponsible, even if Charlie was perhaps the most careful person out there accidents happened and there would be no coming back from an accident like that.

"I'm not playing with antimatter Rachel, I'm practicing." Charlie retorted.

"Do you have any idea how many teenagers are here? What if someone jostles you? Or they get too close and you mess up?"

Charlie finally looked up to see Santana and Rachel, both of them were keeping their distance and shooting her the most disproving looks. "So what you're saying is that I should only practice in the science lab?"

"I'm pretty sure she's saying don't play with antimatter at school or in a residential neighborhood. I'd ask what was wrong with you but we both know the answer to that," Santana said watching as the black ball began to dissipate.

"When you put it like that, you make me sound irresponsible," Charlie sighed, before pulling off her sunglasses. "Neither one of you have physics with me this morning—"

"Santana's upset about not getting an invite to Summit," Rachel informs Charlie, giving her a look. Charlie needed to be helpful, kind and not indifferent.

"Did you take a look at the names on the list? According to Holly, they had over 30 thousand applications this year for the hero program, from all over the world, that's why it's taken them so long this year. They needed to sort through the applications. They inspect every last one of them, and of that 30 thousand only 500 students will be asked to take the entrance exam. You had Coach Beiste and my grandfather both write you letters of recommendation Santana, you have a national championship under your belt, and Holly is aware of how important you are to me, your name is on the list if only because my grandfather wrote you a letter of recommendation. When Lawrence July gives a letter of recommendation, Summit, let alone every other hero school listens."

"See Santana, it wasn't a slight towards you at all, and this means you have way more time to prepare, you can study for the exam over Christmas." Rachel said cheerfully, it hadn't been the end of the world like Santana had imagined. She glances between Santana and Charlie for a moment before deciding that now was the time to simply take her leave and tell Blaine that everything was solved.

"So maybe I overreacted, but I've been stressing over this for a while and you didn't even apply and you got in, and I just figured that maybe if I got in too then we could figure it out," Santana admits. "That I caught up—"

"I'm going to say something and it might hurt your feelings, and it might be crushing and all that but the only reason that I'm going to Summit is because of my grandfather. They're building an accelerated course just for me, one year of intense training. Accelerated learning, history, mathematics, philosophy, my early mornings and evenings will be college classes, my mornings will be hero work, my afternoons will be packed with whatever else they want me to do. Summit isn't the right place for you Santana, maybe if I wasn't going to be there, you'd be able to get the one on one attention that you need, but I will be there for a year, and in that year your education will suffer. If K2 had offered me the same program, I would have gone there. Frannie is at K2, and Frannie sees you as a personal project, which I mean sucks for you, Frannie's a bitch."

"You think that I should go to K2? You want me to be trained by Frannie?"

Charlie pauses for a second and her brow furrows for a moment before she finally decides to simply say what's on her mind. "USC has a much higher failure rate than any other hero school in the country, and after two failure attempts they get kicked out of the program. Last year only five people managed to graduate from her class, and yes she has the absolute worst rating on rate my professor, but the flipside is that no one that Frannie has trained has died. You know the statistics as well as I do and the only reason that Summit doesn't have abysmal numbers when it comes to rookie heroes, is because Summit really only takes level 4's and I'm talking high level 4's and even then 20% die within the first five years. I imagine that they believe that because they went to Summit, that they are untouchable and take jobs that are way above their capabilities. Frannie's a bitch but I trust the level of heroes that she produces, and it's not many. Frannie might be the best hero trainer in the country, and she actually wants to train you. I'm her sister, and like her son's favorite aunt, and she doesn't even want to train me!"

Santana stared at Charlie for a moment, "Is it because Frannie finds you annoying?"

Charlie narrowed her eyes at the comment, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Frannie adores—I mean no she doesn't I think she still refers to me as Thing Two. But I don't think Frannie hates me enough to want me dead, and she loves criticizing me and how I fight. But deep down, like in the deepest parts of her soul, I know that I'm her favorite sister. "

Santana opened her mouth and then closed it. She wasn't going to touch her ex-girlfriends delusions with a ten-foot pole. "Summit is my dream school, you know as well as I do that it's not just the academics which are brutal, their training is just as tough and more importantly all the networking, and most importantly it's free. K2 is expensive Charlie—like it's a private university and there is no way I'm going to qualify for any sort of grants when my dad's a doctor and my mom is a lawyer."

Charlie frowned ever so slightly, Santana would be too proud to take her money especially now that they weren't together, "Government grants, perhaps. But there are hero firms that do invest in people if you apply, to them money doesn't matter, it's an investment into the future of their firms, and a lovely tax break. The flipside is that you'll have to work for them until you can pay it off. At this point, your mom and my dad should probably talk about building you a team of lawyers, agents, public relations people, marketing people and whoever else is on my payroll, I don't pay attention to any of it, that's what my dad is for. I mean I'd offer to pay for it but we both know you'd hate every second of that. Quinn would pay for it but then you'd be her slave and she'd lord it over you."

"I don't want your money, and you're right about Quinn. Taking money from Quinn usually comes with strings that I don't want to deal with. "It's not as if I'm not aware of the grants, but what hero firm would take me?"

"Do you want me to make some calls for you? I mean technically the 4 Horsewomen are desperately trying to remain on my good side after New York and after they dragged me in front of a hero tribunal. I mean I hated every last second of it. Every last second of it, but they paid well and lodging is free, and they know me so they probably won't try and fuck you over like some of these hero firms do."

"Keep that in your back pocket, I need to do a ton of research before I make my decision, but are you seriously aiming for the Utopian's seat? Do you want to run the Union of Justice?"

Charlie lets out a short laugh, "God no. I want to dismantle it, Shelly needs to step down and retire, dude's like 200 years old. I don't even want his stupid seat when it comes to judging other heroes. With that said, out of all the hero firms on the planet, please avoid the Union and the Seven when it comes to signing your soul away. Homelander is an incompetent psychopath, and Brainwave is a narcissistic psychopath, who is waiting for an opportunity to kill his brother and take over."

Santana's brow furrowed, there was something detached about the way Charlie was speaking about all of this and it had bothered, there were brief moments when Charlie was the same person who loved her deeply but there was also a cold indifference in her tone, "Are you—" She glances up as the first bell rings and sighs, "I need to head to class. I'll see you at the assembly?"

"I haven't thought of how to avoid that yet so probably," Charlie grumbled.

Santana nodded, "Text me if you think of an excuse and that excuse better not be I blew up half of the school so I guess there's no assembly." Charlie actually grinned at this and Santana knew for a brief moment Charlie had considered it. "I know that we broke up, but the team does miss you. So you can hang out with us at lunch, instead of sitting by yourself. They're your friends and they're worried about you. I'm worried about you and I don't think hiding yourself away is good for you and how you see people. I don't think you should ever be alone Charlie."

Charlie nods and puts her glasses back on her face as people begin to filter into the classroom. There weren't that many people in AP physics with her, "I'll see you at the assembly."

Santana nods, before taking off so she wouldn't be late for her first class.

~ O ~

"Crisis averted?" Blaine whispered to Rachel.

"Crisis averted," Rachel smiles as she t akes a seat beside Blaine and Kurt.

"Thank god, I mean she got into K2, you would think that would be enough. She's going to have a career, if she graduates there's a seven figure contract waiting for her. Maybe even 8 figures if she joins the right firm." Blaine rolled his eyes, Santana was going to be a hero, and with her ambition there was no doubt in his mind that within 5 years she'd be a household name.

"I mean, if I were her I'd freak out," Kurt points out. "It's Summit, they have some of the best facilities a quality education for free. Networking with the top heroes of every country, I mean it's Summit. If they had a fashion department for hero uniforms I'd apply."

Before Rachel can reply, Finn practically falls into the seat beside her and she looks up to see the rest of the team taking their positions, she waves at Emma and Regina. "Yale, Summit, K2—Figgins is probably over the moon. He's probably going to get a bonus, not to mention the fact that the budget will increase next year if we win another national championship. McKinley is finally on the map."

Figgins walked onto the stage and tapped on the microphone, "May I have your attention please." The feedback caused a few students to grimace as Figgins clears his throat. "As some of you may be aware, McKinley has never once won a national title, though teams like our Cheerleading team and our hockey team have come close several times. We now have a banner and a massive trophy, and more importantly we have three students currently who have—no they are destined for great things. McKinley is going to have very famous Alumni, a round of applause for the future Titans. First of all, I want to congratulate Santana Lopez, who has applied to all the top hero schools in the country and outside of the country. We received word last night that she's been accepted into K2, and with her grades and talent she won't be taking the entrance exam. She bypassed that all together. Santana Lopez, please come on stage."

There was a silence as Figgins looked around the auditorium and frowned ever so slightly, he had expected this of the twins, they hadn't seemed as enthused about this assembly and how they were the subject of multiple assemblies. "Santana Lopez?"

"I thought you said the crisis was averted," Blaine whispered to Rachel, his cheeks flushing as nearly everyone turned to look at the team.

"I mean I left her with Charlie—" Rachel paused, that had been her mistake. She had made a terrible mistake, she had made the assumption that Santana and Charlie were finally at a place where they could not be at each other's throats. But that clearly wasn't what happened.

Regina signs something to Emma who snorted, "That was a—"

There's a buzz and suddenly the lights begin to flicker before one by one they are turned off. The room immediately begins to light up with students taking out their phones and turning on the camera's so so they can see just as there's an explosion of fire behind Figgins causing him to shout, but the microphone had been switched off.

"Holy shit that's an entrance!" Finn said, clapping loudly as Santana shakes her hair out, as she appears on stage.

Rachel let out a breath, "See, crisis averted and they're friends again—when did she have time to change her clothes?"

Figgins shot Santana an annoyed look even as he clapped for her, "We don't have the fire department on standby," he mutters to her.

Santana grins and waves at cameras that are there, as the lights turn back on. "There are so many people who have water based powers Figgins, we don't need the fire department," she mutters back to him.

Figgins grimaced but forced a smile onto his face as he returned to the microphone, "Santana Lopez, I expect great things in your future, but you know who else has a bright future ahead of them? Quinn Fabray our future Valedictorian and the first student from McKinley to attend an Ivy League School, Quinn will be attending Yale this Spring, a round of applause everyone for Quinn Fabray."

This time there was no wait, there was no light show just a black portal opening on the stage and Quinn stepping out dressed to the nines in a dark navy three piece suit, her hair tied back and her smokey eyeliner was on point, she looked professional, and to Rachel in that moment, it was a spring awakening as she grips the chair. She knew deep down turning Quinn down last week had been the right thing to do, Quinn was in the midst of grieving, and perhaps if they had started dating before this whole thing, she would at least know what to do and could be there for Quinn. But she sneaks a look over at Marley for a moment. There was a stunned, almost wistful look on her face, and she knows she's not the only one that had an interest in Quinn. She wasn't even sure how to approach this, and she was almost embarrassed to ask. Charlie was not going to help her, and Santana would probably just laugh in her face.

"I mean, if that's what Quinn looks like when she puts in a bit of effort—well I can understand how Charlie slept with half the women at McKinley," Kurt muses. "She's going to have fun at Yale."

"What?" Rachel practically wheezes.

"She's going to be popular at Yale and when Quinn gets that confidence, I feel like shes' going to be more of a terror than Charlie is," Blaine explains to Rachel.

Rachel bit her lip, she would simply have to bite the bullet and beg Santana for help. If there was anyone who knew how to seduce a Fabray, it was Santana. She would just have to annoy Santana into helping and if that didn't work, guilt Santana into helping her.

"Congratulations Quinn, Yale is one of the best schools in the country," Figgins said as the entire school clapped. He immediately moves on, hoping that Charlie hadn't slipped out of the school, and was going to leave him hanging in front of the media. She had been prickly lately far more than usual. "And finally, as if there was any doubt in anyone's mind where she would be attending. The very first student and hopefully not the last to go to the best hero school in the world. Due to her actions in New York, her actions here at McKinley, she stood tall in LA, the future number one hero in the world, Charlotte Fabray will be attending a specialized accelerated course at Summit."

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose, Charlie hated being called Charlotte, absolutely hated it, almost as she despised being called Lucy. Well Charlie probably wouldn't zap Figgins too hard.

"Ow!" Figgins said as he suddenly got a shock from the microphone.

Charlie appears from another side and catches the microphone, there was a smoothness in her actions as she picks up the microphone, and looks at the students for a moment and the camera crews, before turning to look at Santana for a moment and sighing, and turning back to the crowd her eyes glowing as the lights dim. It looked like she had attempted to get dressed up like Quinn but had given up halfway through, her button up shirt was unbuttoned, the tie that she had on was loose. If anything it looked like she had just been having sex with someone and had gotten interrupted. "Congratulations Santana, Quinn. You made it, you put in the work and the effort to get to where you are, and that's all anyone can ask of you if you put in the work and the effort, then someone somewhere will notice. With that said, I am going to be taking a very long break from having camera's forced into my face. I just lost three of the most important people in my life and forcing me into these situations, because you want to hear what I have to say is silly. I'm a dumb teenager who honestly had no idea that the Rolling stones was a magazine, and I got all excited to meet Mick Jagger, not whoever is interviewing me. So a massive round of applause for my sister and Santana and to everyone else who got into their first or second choice, you should all be very proud of yourselves." With that Charlie lets go of the microphone and claps with the rest of the school before she opens a portal and simply walks through it closing it behind her.

Santana turned to look at Quinn, "Is she—?"

"No, she's not okay," Quinn sighed, but then again people had been forcing camera's in her face for weeks now. Figgins hadn't even asked, he'd just gone ahead for whatever pittance the school had gotten. "We need to give her space."

Santana crinkled her nose, she knew that but how much space?