(BRICK'S POV)

"Oh God! WHY?!?!"

"…Boomer!" I felt my headache increase as Boomer continued to scream.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!"

"What the hell are you screaming about?" Butch asked. He woke up just like me.

"Don't you know what day it is?!?" Boomer asked. We both raised a brow in confusion. Butch looked towards me and shrugged.

"…Monday?"

"YES! It's freaking Monday!"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Please explain to me why a calm and sunny Monday morning would cause you to scream like a lunatic."

Butch growled angrily. "And so help me God, if you say that-"

"WE HAVE SCHOOL!!!" Boom shouted, cutting Butch off.

"I'm gonna kill him. I wanna punch him so badly right now!"

"We have a solid hour and a half left until it starts. Butch, go back to sleep."

"Aye-aye captain…" He dashed back into his room and slammed the door shut.

"Boomer, shut up and eat your nonsensical, sugar-filled cereal!"

"Aww…"

I sighed and moved towards the stove. "...You want me to make breakfast instead?"

He perked up and grinned. "Heck yeah! What're you making?"

"Pancakes, eggs, and some bacon."

He ran up and squeezed me into a hug. "You're awesome!"

"I know, now get off of me before I beat you to death with the skillet!"

It didn't take too long to finish up. I made a decent stack of flapjacks for all of us. Bet they appreciate the cooking club now! By the time I was finished, Butch had come out of his room to join us.

"Look, Butch! Brick made food today!" Boomer said as he stuffed his face. The idiot had syrup all over his school shirt.

I handed my green-eyed brother a plate and watched him chow down on the pancakes.

"Not bad…Guess that cooking club wasn't a total waste after all."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm gonna assume that was a compliment."

He shrugged and kept eating. I guess it wasn't so bad. Tch, whatever! They better not get used to this.

Boomer came out of the bathroom with his school clothes on. His mood was a bit more cheerful than before.

"I totally forgot! I gotta test out that new guitar before class! I'll see you guys at school."

I nodded while Butch grunted with approval. After throwing my school attire on, I decided to take my leave as well.

"I'm heading off now," I said to the still-eating Butch.

"Yeah yeah…See ya later."

I quickly pointed to the mountain of dishes in the sink. "Also, don't forget to wash those when you're done."

His eyes widened with shock. "WHAT?! Dude, are you serious? Boom should've washed them! He ate the goddamn most!"

"Sorry bro…" I wasn't sorry.

I heard him grumble a few swears under his breath as I walked out. I was more than ready for school. All of my assignments were complete, I'd get to see Blossom again, and it wasn't a day that I had to attend that shitty anger management course!

This was gonna be a good day.

Two Hours Later

Today was awful! I hadn't wanted to show my anger at school but this glasses-wearing, buck-toothed smart ass was working my last nerve. AP Biology was the class that I felt confident in. That was until some dork with a shaggy haircut decided to step up to me.

"I'm telling you, the probability of someone's DNA being completely rewritten is impossible! Only a buffoon would think that drastically changing someone's genotype to add a different trait to that degree is possible." He said in a smug and nasally voice.

I was losing my cool. I wanted to drive my fist into his skull so badly.

"I'm telling you that it is! I've seen it happen before!" I snapped back.

"Tch! You were sorely mistaken. Change at the molecular level to that extent is extremely rare in very few species, borderline impossible. The odds of that being feasible in humans are slim to none! Only a complete imbecile would think of something THAT preposterous!"

"Back up! What did you just call me?!"

He grinned a bit. "You wish for me to repeat myself? Very well then! You are in fact, a complete imbecile!"

My fist balled up and I almost lunged at him. Thankfully, Blossom grabbed a hold of me and kept me still.

"Brick don't. You're a good guy now! You can't let your anger get the best of you anymore. Just let it go." She said in my ear.

She was right. Who even was this guy? He's nothing compared to me. I need to just keep my cool and get through the rest of this class.

30 MINUTES LATER*

~RIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGGG~

"Brick! Slow down a bit."

I almost didn't register what Blossom had said. I was too busy staring at the pink slip in my hand. Can you believe I got detention?! There was no way this was real!

"Can I just skip this?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not unless you want a demerit."

"...Is that bad?"

"It stays on your record Brick."

I sighed. "I'm assuming that means any college that I apply to is gonna question it."

"They certainly can, Brick. You can't keep letting your temper get the best of you! You're better than that."

"Temper? I don't have a temper, Blossom."

She gave me the unconvinced deadpan stare. "I heard about your time locked up."

"Butch told you about that…" I groaned.

"Boomer."

I failed to suppress my annoyance. I was going to slap the chem X out of that big-mouthed moron!

The next class of the day went much smoother than the previous. Anything math-related was easy for me. Best of all, there weren't any wise guys looking to get their faces melted.

Unfortunately, lunch was anything BUT smooth. As soon as I sat down, the dork from earlier decided to walk past with a snarky remark.

"Have fun in detention, you ruthless buffoon."

Everyone turned their heads to look at him and he walked away with his nasally chuckle. Butch of course was the one to break the awkward silence.

"Who the fuck was that?"

"He's someone from our biology class," Blossom answered.

"WOAH! Did he say you have detention?!" Boomer gasped. Then the annoyance began.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!"

I glared at my black-haired brother. "It's not funny, Butch!"

"Oh, but it is! You told us not to cause trouble but you're the one getting detention?! HA!"

"Shut up!"

He grabbed his stomach and nearly fell out of his seat. "Top it off with that dork taunting you! HAHAHAHAHA! What a LOSER!"

My eyes burned with anger. I almost shot a laser out of them. He was really doing this right now. Was this mildly embarrassing? YES! Did I want to kill my brother? YES! Was I about to sit here and take this nonsense? Hell NO!

I got up from my seat and stormed off to the bathroom. No way was Butch gonna get the upper hand on me!

I walked over to the mirror and glanced at myself. The handsome face was decorated with a deep scowl. All I wanted to do was fly the hell out of here and do literally anything else. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case. I couldn't afford any more trouble.

I splashed some cold water on my face and sighed. All I had to do was make it through the day with my head on straight. I could manage that much.

"Hey guys, check out the ginger!"

My crimson eyes shift towards the bathroom entrance. A group of taller guys wearing basketball jerseys stood by with snickering faces.

"I'd highly recommend you turn around and walk back out of that door," I said.

"Get a load of this guy! The red-headed stepchild wants to-"

*CRACK*

I didn't even let him finish. I had punched the loudmouth straight into the tiled wall of the men's bathroom. I gave the other two a sharp glare as they quivered with shock.

"Snitch about this and I'll put both of you chumps in the dirt."

They nodded and sprinted off down the hall. I swear these people forget who I am. Maybe I'm the one that forgot. Maybe I need to remind myself.

I decided to skip the rest of lunch and head towards my remaining teachers. I let them know that I was feeling sick and would be heading back home for the day.

It wasn't a total lie. I really was sick. Sick of being disrespected. It's time to get back into the driver's seat.

I flew my way to the city's more ruthless district. This was where the scum chose to dwell until nightfall. I was looking for the old hideout. An underground club called the Black Eye. It was a shady place where the shadiest crooks bragged about their newest loot and the thugs would boast about who they'd been jumping. Bunch of losers…

I landed at the solid steel door and knocked. I heard some hefty footsteps approaching and took a step back.

"PASSWORD?!"

"Fuck you!"

The door swung open and the large guard let me through. "Well hot damn. Brick Jojo?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came here looking for a good time, Tiny."

He chuckled. "Mothafucka! Who do you think you're fooling? You went soft on the game. You ain't no damn villain no more!"

"Like hell I'm not! I'll kill everyone in here without thinking twice about it."

"Okay Mr. Hotshot, let's dial it back a bit. I ain't about to clean a damn thing else! I already got those Gangreen shitheads fuckin up my bar."

"Relax Tiny, I'm not staying long."

"You keep your hands to yourself, Jojo." He hissed with annoyance.

I walked inside and instantly felt the eyes on me. I kept my glare and snaked my way through the crowd. I stopped at the bar and snapped my fingers.

"You're not welcome here Brick." The bartender said.

"I don't see why not."

He grabbed a glass and started wiping it. "Do you have any idea how many people want you and your brothers dead for teaming up with the Puffs?"

"Let them try it. I'm in a pretty shit mood today."

The older man shook his head. "Fine, what can I get you?"

Let's try something different today. "Hit me with an Old Fashioned."

"You sure you should be drinking alcohol at your age?" He asked.

"Milo, I've been in this place since I was five years old. I'm sixteen now. I've spent literal birthdays in juvenile lockup. A fucking children's apple juice ain't gonna cut it. Now make my drink!" I said with a darkened growl.

He didn't say anything afterward. He shut up and fixed me a beverage.

I've had alcohol before. My brothers and I found a six-pack of beer in Fuzzy's cabin after we kicked his ass out. It tasted like shit but DID help us forget about losing to the girls that day. Right before we got super sick and wasted.

The older man slid the glass over to me and scoffed. "You're wanting this on your tab, I presume?"

"Yeah…" I said and I downed the drink. It burned ever so slightly in the back of my throat. The odd flavor swayed through all of my senses and flowed freely through my nose in a puff of ice-cold, refreshingly alcoholic heat.

"Care for another?" He asked. I stayed silent and nodded to him.

I had about eight more drinks before the buzz started to hit me. Everything around me was a messy blur. I hopped off of my barstool and stumbled around the club.

Fuck, this was a bad idea. What am I even doing?!

"Oi! Redhead! Ova here!"

My eyes shifted to the left and a dangerous glance. The dirty green bastards always had the most punchable faces.

"What do you dipshits want?"

Ace snickered and walked towards me. "You're lookin' a bit outta place, Brick. Shouldn't yous be studyin' or somthin'?"

"Shouldn't you be getting checked for hepatitis?"

"Look, all I'm sayin' is dat you don't gots da edge no more. You went soft on us villains, ya dig?"

I scowled. "Yet I could still put a searing hot laser between your eyes and feel nothing but bliss. Now move from my sight you ignorant dolt!"

He placed a hand on his chest. "I'm hurt! And to think I was gonna try and reunite ya wit da chimp."

"You know where Mojo is?"

"Of course! He's the one that wanted to bust you chumps outta juvie. When da Puffs told him you guys turned yourselves in, he lost his mind. Got all mopey and whatnot. You boys really let 'em' down."

My hand reached out and snagged a firm grip on his throat. "Listen you green fuck…Either tell me where he is or move away and quit WASTING my time!"

"He…he skipped town! Rumor is that he's in the jungle eatin' bananas or somethin'! I dunno man!"

"Useless…You are actually useless! WHAT JUNGLE?!" My grip tightened.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?!" He wheezed desperately.

I tossed him aside and stormed off. "I don't have time for your ridiculous notions. Your foolishness has somehow sobered me up."

I need to leave. The violence inside of me was swirling around to the surface of my subconscious. Nothing but idiots around me…

I looked over at Snake. "What time is it?"

"Uh…It'ssssssssss half passssst 2 o'clock."

Guess my brothers were getting out of school soon and I had just skipped my last two classes for the day.

"Okay, listen to me VERY carefully," I said to Ace. "You and your little crew are gonna do a little job for me."

"It better be payin' well!"

I grinned. "It pays very well depending on how much your life is worth to you."

"…Whaddya want?"

"I want more concrete data on Mojo's whereabouts. You scumbags know all about the city's underground scene. If you find anything, I want to know about it as soon as possible." I grabbed the collar of his jacket. "You understand what I'm saying, correct?!"

"Okay! Just go easy on the jacket man! It was real expensive! Hence why I stole it."

"Good. I expect a report of your findings within the next week so get to it."

I blasted out of the shady club towards the school. As I approached, I took note of the crowd rushing out of the building. Among them was Butch with the Puffs close by. As soon as he noticed my presence, he sent a nasty look my way.

"Welcome back you fucking hypocrite!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "It was important business."

"Oh yeah? What business?!"

"MY business!"

He gave a low snarl. "I can't wait to ditch school and use that same exact line when you press me about it."

I noticed Blossom's disapproving glance and felt the slightest bit of guilt. I shouldn't have left the way that I did but it was a far better option than murder.

"Brick, are you feeling alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good, because you have a detention that you still need to serve."

Butch's laughter filled my ears while my annoyance returned yet again.

With a deep sigh, I walked back inside the school and prepared for my hour-long sentence. At least now I can come up with a plan to start tracking down Mojo. I can't trust that gang of green morons to fully handle this.

Soon…