Chapter 5

"Every Educator's Worst Nightmare"

It was just around 5:00pm when Bruce and Selina arrived at Kennedy Airport from Tel Aviv. Taxing to the gate, both of them expected to enter the United States and head to their respective homes in the city. However, no sooner did they enter the immigration and customs hall did they notice something was wrong. A group of off duty immigration and customs officers were gathered around one of the unused stalls listening to a radio. Taking notice, Bruce and Selina walked over to see what was happening.

"Excuse me," Bruce asked one of the officers. "What's going on?"

Normally, most people, let alone immigration officers would tell someone to mind their own business, but this was different.

"Pan Am plane crashed in Scotland," replied one of the officers. "It was coming here to New York."

Almost immediately, both Bruce and Selina each gave one another a worried look on their respective faces. Both had a sense that something had happened to Machiko and our 25 students that were coming to New York later that day.

"Did you say Pan Am?" Selina asked. "What flight number?"

"They didn't say, but it was supposedly coming from London at around 9:30 tonight."

Worried, Bruce and Selina quickly walked away into the baggage claim area and were beginning to assume the worst. Their colleague and the students under her care had their flight arrangements changed at the last minute. Could it be that Team Rocket targeted their new flight as well?

"Nothing to declare, Merry Christmas!" said Bruce hastily walking by the customs officers on duty.

"Merry Christmas!" replied Selina and they dashed into the arrivals hall.

Almost immediately, Bruce began looking around the hall for the next available payphone. Finally, he came across a payphone that had just been cleared.

"I just hope Viper is still at the school," Bruce whispered, putting the change into the phone for a long distance call. "She needs to know about this. Come on, come on! Pick it up!"

It took a few moments for the phone to answer on the other end, but eventually a female voice belonging to our chief of security for the school answered.

"Hello?" the voice asked.

"Viper, it's Bruce," Bruce answered. "Did you by any chance hear of a Pan Am jet crashing in Scotland?"

"Yes, I was just going to inform Tony and the administration about it," she answered and those words alone gave Bruce and Selina a sense of dread. But they were hopeful that it was another Pan Am flight that crashed. After all, it was believed that Team Rocket was targeting direct Frankfurt to New York flights, not Frankfurt to New York flights with stopovers. "I was on the phone with Pan Am staff in New York. Their Flight 103 was unaccounted for."

"Flight 103? Are you sure?"

"It's more than likely, but I need to get more information," answered Viper. "Please give me 20 minutes."

Immediately, Viper hung up leaving our two most trusted educators with the realization that 26 of our school community and their Pokemon were supposedly dead. Although no official confirmation had been given, the idea was alive and well. Distraught, Selina walked over to a bench and sat down slowly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Bruce had no words to come out of his mouth because he didn't get the full answer.

At the same time, myself, Julia and Jim were more than halfway across our flight towards Los Angeles. I had just gone to sleep for a power nap when I felt a finger poking at me.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark," the voice said gently as I opened my eyes to find the purser looking over at me.

"Uh, I already filled out my immigration forms," I muttered, trying to go back to sleep.

"It's not that."

"Then go away."

"What's going on?" Julia asked, causing the purser to look over at her. "Is something wrong? We're with Tony Stark."

The purser gulped nervously and immediately, Julia and Jim picked up on the purser's anxiety.

"I'm afraid you must all come with me for a minute," he said, gesturing us to the front of the plane.

"He looks nervous," whispered Jim.

Moving to the front of the plane, none of us were prepared for what we would be expecting as at the front of the plane, the El Al pilot was waiting for us.

"Um, Captain? Shouldn't you be flying the plane?" I remarked.

Taking off his glasses, the pilot sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes gently.

"I have the relief pilot flying right now," he sighed. "But this is important that I wanted to share this with all of you personally. Are you the administration of the Pokemon League Academy?"

Julia's eyes felt flat when she heard the question.

"What's that to you?" I asked.

"A plane that was carrying one of your staff and 24 of your students went down over Scotland. I was asked to inform you by El Al Operations."

At first, I thought it was a prank, but giving the notice we had gotten about Team Rocket targeting Pan Am flights out of Frankfurt, none of us couldn't really take this lightly.

"Was it a Pan Am Flight to New York?" Jim asked.

"Yes, it was Pan Am 103 out of London," the pilot answered. "I'm sorry."

I then took an enormous gulp and it suddenly began to sink in to me that our school had been attacked.

"Is anyone alive?" I asked holding out hope that Machiko and the students were put on another Pan Am Flight or even a Lufthansa Flight.

"It's highly unlikely that anyone would have survived, Mr. Stark," answered the pilot and all I could do was walk away silently realizing that the perfect world at our school had collapsed.

Returning to my seat, all I could do was sit down and contemplate why? How could this happen?

"Thank you, Captain," Jim said to the pilot and both he and Julia also returned to their seats.

All three of us now had a major crisis on our hands as over in the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland, fires from the Clipper Maid of the Seas burned with the realization that no one had survived the crash.

Our school's darkest hour had begun.