"Now then," Prof. Martin Stein said as he wrote on the white board, "a chemical reaction is a process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance. This is more common than you might realize. Would someone like to give me an example?"

John sat next to Diana, doing his best to not appear like he was slouching but also not wanting to appear like he was some teacher's pet that was eagerly taking notes. It was a crazy balance to strike. Diana, for her part, was resting her head on her hand, stifling a yawn; she didn't need to fake being a listless teen. She had told John several times already in the last few days that she found chemistry utterly boring. She understood why it was important but did not find it fascinating. Diana had asked why they were forced to take a class on it, arguing that the amazon way, where one focused on a few core basics that dealt with survival and then chose what areas of learning they found passion in, was better. John had pointed out that if they did that in high school most students would take 'Sitting around bullshitting' 101.

"Yes, Miss da Costa."

"Baking," Beatriz said.

"Yes!" Prof. Stein said with a grin. "That is exactly right. When you mix up cake batter it isn't a cake. If you leave it just sitting out the counter it will not turn into a cake no matter how long you wait. But when you place it in the oven a chemical reaction occurs that alters its molecules." Stein turned back to the board and began to write again. "This is different from a mere physical form change, like crumpling a piece of paper. Of course, there are varying degrees of reaction… a chemical reaction and a nuclear reaction, of course. Now then..."

Diana subtly passed John a note. The Green lantern waited until no one was watching before taking a peak.

'Any thoughts on how we should reveal ourselves?'

John shook his head no before mulling on that topic. Two days earlier Clark had brought up the fact that, at some point, the league was going to have to reveal their existence to the world. They'd been, so far, doing patrols in secret, stopping a few purse snatchings and an attempted breaking and entry without ever truly being seen. The only major fight they'd had was when they'd helped Green Arrow go against Werner Zytle but thanks to all the Vertigo Zytle had breathed in at the end of the battle he was a complete mess and no one took his ramblings of a team of costumed heroes taking him down seriously. Clark had said they couldn't hide forever and that he was sure Anarchy wouldn't be happy just watching them take care of some petty crimes. The titan-god of chaos wanted to be entertained and all seven of them knew that sooner or later major threats would be sent their way. The only question was when. Thus Clark felt that they needed to reveal themselves before something so bad happened that they were forced to do so or worse they were hindered by their need to keep hidden.

Clark had suggested they take a day or two to puzzle out their best approach and so far John had nothing. He didn't want to simply hold a press conference because that seemed so... cheesy. And he didn't want to just have them get spotted a few times as that ran the risk of some newspaper editor deciding he'd use the lack of details to make up any story he wanted. No, they needed to figure out a way to reveal themselves to the public in a way that let the world know they were there to help but didn't come off as a bunch of glory hogs wanting attention.

The end-of-period alarm went off and John blinked, checking his watch. It was about 20 minutes early for them to be let out for the day.

"Remember," Prof. Stein said, "today is your first chance to sign up for afterschool clubs and groups. All of you are expected to attend the sign-up drive even if you choose not to join any. No homework for tonight but be ready to work on our first chemical reaction tomorrow!"

The teens quickly hurried out of the classroom, most of them chatting loudly about what they wanted to sign up for or what plans they had for after school. Diana and John kept to the back, ignoring the odd looks they were getting from their classmates. The school was still buzzing about how the seven had suddenly become best of friends. The wealthiest kid in school, the star running back for the JV squad, the broody loner, the head of the cheerleading squad, the snarky girl who liked hoodies, the class clown, and the new foreign kid were suddenly as thick as thieves. Yes, they didn't all eat lunch together (though Diana was still trying to find a way to break away from the cheerleader cliché and eat with them; her current suggestion was that she fake a head injury and claim she had lost all her memories) but they were seen chatting with each other all the time. Some, like Chloe and Michael, just chalked it up to them meeting new people, while Lois and Lana and Arestia all feared what this might mean and were being not so subtle in their disapproval.

"So, any idea of what you want to sign up for?" Diana asked, glad she had managed to wiggle out of running the cheerleading booth. While the team was set up for the most part they did allow for latecomers to sign up and see if they could be on the practice squad. Diana had reasoned with Artemis (and oh how it depressed her to see the tall and powerful amazon warrior she knew reduced to a giggly redhead who hadn't even hit her growth spurt yet) that such things were 'beneath her' and thus she could do other important things. Important things, weighed against cheerleading, included flossing her teeth and checking for sock fuzz between her toes. She sometimes feared she'd go mad before the next semester when she'd be able to officially quit.

'Oh, being mad isn't that bad!' Anarchy called out in her head. 'I mean, someone you care very deeply for is quite mad and I personally think he is a swell and, not to get gushing here but can't help saying, handsome fella.

'Your mental state does little to cheer me up,' Diana thought back.

'I meant Bruce!" Anarchy said, sniffing sadly. 'That was just mean! You know a lot about hitting people but not about being nice!'

"Diana?" John said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry," the amazon said, rolling her eyes. "Anarchy was getting emotional."

"To do that he'd have to have emotions in the first place," John stated.

'Diana, Green Lantern's picking on me!' Anarchy whined.

Tuning out Anarchy's demands that John get a time out Diana walked into the gym with John at her side, looking at all the decorated folding tables where students flowed about, stopping to look at different fliers the different clubs and groups had printed up. There was almost a carnival atmosphere with students laughing and joking around, balloons bobbling up and down, and crete paper as far as the eye could see.

"They sure went all out," John said. "I don't remember this when I was in high school."

"It is all rather boisterous, isn't it?" Diana asked as she moved among the tables. "And a wide variety of choices."

"I know!" Wally said, hurrying over to them (though thankfully not at superspeed). "Isn't is great? I wanted to join so many different groups and clubs but I had to narrow down my choices."

"What did you finally pick?" John asked. "Track and Field?"

"Nah, I get enough running zipping around town... I'd leave them all in the dust. I decided to join the computer club. Always found computers interesting and I figure it wouldn't hurt to have someone else who knew how one worked in case Bruce strained his spooky muscles being spooky."

"I'm sure that is the only reason why," Diana said, John following her eyeline to the computer club's table... which was being run by two pretty blondes. One was the girl Green Arrow had saved a week early while the other was a tough yet pretty athetlic teen none of them recognized.

"Hey!" Wally complained. "There is another guy there too!" He pointed at Curtis Holt, who was shamelessly flirting with Felicity Smoak.

"Kid..." John said, shaking his head.

"What?"

Clark ambled up to them, Chloe and Michael right behind him. "What did Wally do this time?"

"He joined the computer club because there are pretty blondes in it," John said.

"Well, I am part of that club and I am very pretty," Chloe said with a smirk. "So I can't fault him for noticing the obvious." She glanced over at her boyfriend and Clark, her smile fading slightly as she huffed, "at least he is doing something other than tossing a ball around."

"Hey, I'm doing part-time work for the school paper!" Clark complained.

"Chloe, we talked about this," Michael said with a sigh. "Football is going to eat up all our time. Next semester I will glad join whatever club you are in and you can educate me with that big sexy brain of yours."

"Sweet talker," Chloe teased. She glanced around Clark and grimaced. "Uh oh... the Wonder Twins are zeroing in on you, Clark! And look, Diana's little clique is right behind them!"

The Teen of Steel gulped when he turned and saw Lois, Lana, and the cheerleading squad all hurrying towards him. "I... need to pick up my Cheese of the Month package. See ya!" Clark hurried off as fast as he could without using his superspeed.

"Cheese of the Month?" Wally mouthed, John shrugging.

Lois and Lana continued their pursuit of Clark but the cheerleading squad stopped before the teens, Arestia flashing a grin as she gave Diana a hug (the amazon, for her part, looked like a landed fish that was trying to escape a hungry bear). "OMG! Diana, we got so many girls signing up for tryouts! I know none of them can take our spots but it is still a great turnout! We are going to be one of the most popular groups in school. Not that we aren't already, of course"

"Of course," Diana said. her gaze caught hold of something and Diana suddenly grinned. "Which is totes awesome! You'll have so much work to do but I, like, know you can, like totes, handle it!"

"It really creeps me out when she talks like that," Wally whispered to John.

Arestia frowned. "What... what do you mean? You are the head of the cheerleaders-"

"And as head I am, like, delegating my tasks to you! I'll still cheer but I'm gonna be totes busy with debate club!"

"Debate club?!" all the cheerleaders exclaimed. From the way they wailed one would have thought Diana had just announced that they were having their legs chopped off.

"Yup!" Diana said, her voice overly perky as she SKIPPED over to the table which was being run by their English Teacher Mr. Scott. "I'm, like, so ready to debate and junk."

"You are?" Mr. Scott said in surprise before catching himself. "I mean of course you are! Fill these out, Miss Prince."

"Well, you don't see that every day," Chloe said. "Come on, let's wander around a bit more." Michael shrugged and followed his girlfriend, nodding politely to Shayara, J'onn, and Bruce as they joined John and Wally.

"What did Diana do?" Shayara asked.

"Joined the debate team," Wally said with a grin. "Freaked out her little band of bimbos. So, what club did you join?"

"None," Shayara stated. "I figure I can use the time practicing my guitar. It's weird... I just learned how to play when Anarchy plopped us down in this world but I find I love it."

"What about you, Bruce?" Wally asked.

"Drama club is already locked up for me," the Dark Knight said. "I would have found a way to get out of it but I want to keep an eye on Selina, Harleen, Harvey, and Pamela."

John nodded. "Thinking you might be able to spare them becoming villains?"

Bruce nodded, a rare flash of optimism appearing in his eyes. "I'm not one for mindless hope but all of them had a bad turn. Harvey had a great life until he was scarred, Pamela was betrayed her mentor, Harleen fell in with the Joker, and Selina allowed the pain of her past to drive her to crime. I'm not happy to be in the world but it is clear Anarchy isn't setting us up to merely replay old parts... he desires change and I mean to give it to him."

"That is very noble of you," J'onn stated.

"What about you, big guy?" Wally asked J'onn. "What club do you want to join?"

"I... am not sure. There are so many of them and quite honestly I don't know which would be the best fit for me."

"Well, you still have a bit of time to figure it out," Principal Longfellow said, walking up to the teens. "I know most people will decide today, Mr. Jones, but technically you can sign up for any class all this week and the next. Don't rush into anything. Maybe you can go to the first meetings of a few different clubs that interest you and figure out which works best for you."

J'onn nodded his thanks to their principal. "A wise idea."

"Hey, I'm full of great ideas-oh, sorry!" he waved to his secretary Dawn. "Miss Granger needs to see me! Have fun kids!"

"That is a good suggestion," Bruce stated. "You'll blend in better if you find something you can at least have a bit of enjoyment doing."

John nodded in agreement, patting the martian on the shoulder. "Exactly. Which is why I'm going to go sign up for my club right now." Leaving his friends and teammates behind John walked over to a table in the corner that had different tools scattered on it and pictures of old muscle cars hanging off its lip. He noticed a brown-haired young man standing next to the table and grinned. "Joining the Mechanic Club too?"

"Heck yeah!" the other teen said. "Been itching to get my hands deep into an engine for some time." He stuck out his hand. "You're John Stewart, right? Ronnie Raymond."

"Nice to meet ya," John said, shaking his hand before looking at the unmanned table. "Any idea where the sign-up people are."

"No idea," Ronnie said. "Been waiting for 10 minutes now for them to show up." He craned his neck, looking over the crowd. "You hear that this year they are going to have us work on restoring a camaro?"

"A '77 camaro," Prof Stein said, walking up to the table and taking a seat. "Gentlemen."

Ronnie staring in shock at the chemistry professor. "Wait... you're the one in charge of the club?"

"But of course!" Prof Stein said, amused by Ronnie's reaction. "Just because I teach science doesn't mean i can't appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of a fine automobile! Now then, let us get your forms together..." John merely shook his head as Ronnie continued to stammer.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Anything on the East Side?" Superman asked, pressing his finger to the comm in his left ear. He was flying about 50 feet above the streets Happy Harbor's financial district, keeping himself just high enough to be hard to spot while also allowing him to quickly notice anything unusual on the streets below.

"Nothing," Batman stated back. "Everything is clear."

"I suppose you think that is a bad thing?" Superman said with a chuckle.

"The fact that you don't is troubling," Batman said gruffly. "You are old enough to know that the old saying 'quiet before the storm' isn't just a cute little comment. When the criminal element isn't stirring that means a bigger fish is somewhere, ready to pounce."

"Technically I'm not old enough to know that," Superman said with a smirk. He could practically hear Batman's face twisting into a scowl. "Kidding."

The League had decided that, for now, it would be wise to rotate who patrolled each night, keeping it at 2-per sweep. With their odd numbers that meant that they'd be able to shake up the pairings and thus never get too comfortable working with only one person. Superman had told his folks that he was visiting Bruce while Batman had told Alfred and his mother that he would be at Clark's; a common teenage lie. Unlike other teenagers Batman had hacked into the manor's phones to ensure that any calls to or from the Kent Farm would be routed to him and Superman, thus avoiding any chance of a parental discovering the ruse.

"Want to take another lap or should we head back in?" Superman asked as he came to a stop, hovering above Kenway Avenue.

"One more lap," Batman said. "I don't want to be back before 9pm."

Superman raised an eyebrow at that odd working choice. "Can I ask why?"

"There is some program on Lifetime my mother watches," Batman admitted. "Last week I discovered it is rather... adult... and caused her and Alfred to get rather amorous."

"...okay, i did not need to know that," Superman stated. He paused, his superhearing picking up a faint alarm. "I might have something."

"I'm open to suggestions on getting them to stop," Batman said in a rare showing of vulnerability.

"Not that... alarm just turned on in Johns Street Bank." Superman zipped two blocks over, his eyes flashing electric blue as he scanned the building. "I've got five bank robbers."

"I assume you can handle it?"

"If I can't I'll comm you. Superman out." Diving down, the Teen of Steel timed his descent so he could quickly rise up before lowering himself to the ground feet first, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the collection of criminals. The five of them were dressed in black bodysuits with yellow detailing along the arms, legs, and chests. There was only one kind of logo on their outfits, a simple yellow diamond on their shoulders and on their left breasts. "The Royal Flush Gang," Superman said, internally wincing at the way his voice cracked.

"Like, who are you suppose to be?" the shortest of the group, a brunette girl with her hair up in a ponytail asked.

"My name is Superman and I'm going to ask you to put the money away, Miss..."

"Ten," the thief said with a sassy grin. "And, like, I'll totally, like, give it to you!" She walked over, her duffelbag full of cash held out for Superman to grab. Not born yesterday, the Teen of Steel was on high alert for any traps but as she got closer Ten failed to pull a weapon or take a swipe at him. Instead she kept walking... right through him and down to the street. "Oops. Have to, like, be able to grab the money first!"

Superman spun around, eyes narrowed. "I'm in no mood for-AAAAAAAARRRGGG!" He let out a cry as he was struck from behind, a blast of energy hitting him right where his spine met his tailbone. He shot past Ten, who merely waved goodbye, and slammed into a parked car, crumpling it like it was a soup can. He pulled himself free and turned, just missing another blast from one of the male robbers. He'd lifted up his sunglasses and fired a blast of blue energy right at Superman, almost hitting him.

"If I were you I'd stay down," Ten said before phasing her hand through Superman's chest… and solidifying it. Clark cried out in pain, the phaser pulling away as he stumbled back. "King, I think it's time to go!"

"Ten's right, bub," a short, hairy man growled, fingers clenched so hard around his bladed brass knuckles it was a wonder he didn't snap his fingers into bits.

"Ace is right," Queen said, her ruby-red hair billowing slightly as she turned to the final member of the team. "Jack, teleport us out of here!"

"Da!" the hooded figure said, Ten hurrying back over to them and grabbing hold of his shoulder. "Auf Wiedersehen!" There was a brumpf! sound, a cloud of black fog... and the Royal Flush Gang was gone.

Superman slowly got to his feet, rubbing his forehead. "Bruce is so going to kill me…"

~MC~MC~MC~

Author's Notes: So… this chapter. About a month and a half ago a fan asked if I could update the story as a birthday gift for her. Luckily I still had a chapter written before I hit a wall with my writer's block and this is me fulfilling her promise.

No promise when I update again… all depends on when I get the desire to write. I know where this arc needs to go its just a matter of WANTING to write, sadly.

A No-Prize for everyone who gets just who the Royal Flush Gang is based on.

As with the last arc, this arc shows that Anarchy is bringing in many different people from across the multiverse for his little toy box. And yes, I see Victor Garber playing Stein.