Okay, so this is the final chapter. I'm really happy to have gotten this far and I really want to thank everyone for their support. Now, on another note, my friend The phantom's girl asked if she could write and post M rated oneshots of the relationships of Francis and Katrina and Kathrine and Richie, which I agreed to. So if anyone is interested in reading them she said that she'd title them as A Stranger Relationship. Also, I didn't write out the events of episode 51 of Static shock because it would have been too long otherwise, but know that Mr. Hawkins is aware that Virgil and the others are superheroes.

Guest: I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I hope you like this last chapter.

partygirl98: Don't worry, everything will work out.

WritingIsAGift: Thank you. I actually teared up twice writing this chapter, so I hope it's good.

.:Line Break:.

It had been a few weeks since the incidents with Aquamaria and Omnara and things were finally starting to get back to normal. Except...

"Except Francis is still missing." Katrina thought to herself, chopping up vegetables for dinner.

After the note he had left behind, Francis hadn't tried to contact her again. He hadn't resurfaced, hadn't caused any trouble, and hadn't contacted Officer Gore either. It worried her and she was having a hard time sleeping at night because of it. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach, something was about to happen.

A sharp, stinging pain brought her out of her thoughts. Looking down, she winced, seeing that she had nicked her thumb with the knife. With a sigh, she went over to the kitchen sink and ran the cut under water. Her healing abilities, unfortunately, didn't stop her from feeling pain. Drying off her thumb, she watched the wound begin to glow green. The glow then flickered and abruptly disappeared, leaving her thumb still bleeding.

Katrina's breath caught in her throat. Healing herself was something that her powers had always done automatically. It had never required any thought or effort on her part.

The healer concentrated on the wound. The green glow returned, then flickered, before fading out entirely.

"Kathrine," she found herself saying, eyes fixed on her cut, "where are the band aids?"

She hadn't needed one in so long that she couldn't remember where they stored them. She also couldn't remember the last time she had bought them. Did they even have any?

Kathrine strolled into the kitchen with a band aid in her hand and confusion on her face. "Why do you need a band aid?"

The troubled expression on her sister's face made her freeze in her tracks. The healer was cradling her hand to her chest, blood trickling down her wrist. Fear was evident in her wide blue eyes.

"It won't heal. I don't know why."

Instead of looking surprised, Kathrine's face was grim. "Watch." She raised her hand in the direction of the potted cactus they had sitting on the windowsill above the sink. Her eyes turned white and one of the pebbles rose out of the pot. It quivered, the glow around it flickering until it faded out, dropping the pebble back into the pot.

Kathrine handed the band aid to her shocked sister. "I didn't want to scare you, but I've been feeling my powers slip away for the past few days."

"What?"

Kathrine stared sadly at her hands, "Yeah. It's like there's a switch on my powers that's getting flipped on and off. At first, I thought it was just some kind of power flux, but now that you're having trouble too... I don't know..."

"Do you think that Virgil and Richie are experiencing this as well?"

"Don't know, but at this point we should definitely ask."

.:Line Break:.

The next day, Kathrine and Katrina met up with Virgil and Richie outside during lunch. Kathrine noticed the sour look on her boyfriend's face and spoke up.

"What's the matter, genius? You look like someone just kicked your puppy."

Richie narrowed his eyes in annoyance and pulled a piece of paper out of his textbook. "I got a B-, okay?"

Virgil took the paper from him, shaking his head. "No way! A B- for brain boy?" It was obvious that he was joking by the smile on his face, but Richie didn't find it amusing.

"Well, lately this brain has been having some serious mental lapses." he admitted, taking his paper back from Virgil, "Sometimes I'm lucky just to remember my name."

Kathrine and Katrina shared a look. It seemed that they weren't the only ones having power troubles. Katrina opened her mouth to voice her concern, but was cut off.

"Richie Foley, Virgil Hawkins!"

"And Kathrine and Katrina Blake!"

Daisy and Frieda approached the group of four, irritation radiating off of them as they glared.

"Didn't you say that you'd help us with the recycling campaign?" Frieda asked.

"Yeah, and then not show up? Again!"

"Well... uh... I..." Richie stuttered.

"I guess we... uh..." Virgil proved to be just as tongue tied.

"What is with you guys?" Daisy demanded, "You say you'll help, then you disappear! Poof!"

"Have you been talking to my sister?"

"Virgil, we're being serious! If our friendship means so little to you, then... Agh!"

"Frieda, Daisy, we can explain!" Virgil called out to them as they stormed off.

"Are you sure about that?" Kathrine asked dryly.

He glared at her before correcting himself. "What I mean is, we're real sorry."

Daisy and Frieda paused. "Well..."

Suddenly, they heard what sounded like an explosion, followed by an alarm.

"Hey, that sounded pretty close."

The four heroes glanced at each other and ran off while Daisy and Frieda were distracted.

"Do you think that Frieda and Daisy will be mad that we ditched them again?" Katrina asked her sister, feeling guilty.

"Probably, but we'll have to deal with that later!"

.:Line Break:.

"Hey, me feeling kinda light on me feet!"

Mage smiled from her seat in the corner of Kangor's hospital room, noting how pleased he sounded to be normal again.

"Better than before, when you were light in your head." Static joked.

At that moment, the door opened and Dr. Todd walked in. "Thank you for calling me."

"Well, Dr. Todd, we figured if anyone can explain what's up, you're the guy. This is Kangor. He's-"

"Human again, yes. And before long the same thing will happen to all of the bang babies."

"Did you say... all?" Static asked, hoping that he had misheard the doctor.

"That's right. Including the four of you. Within a few days, your powers will be gone. Forever." Dr. Todd placed a hand on Gear and Static's shoulders in an attempt to comfort them before leaving the room.

.:Line Break:.

"Dr. Todd, is it true that you've been spraying the city with this meta human antidote for several weeks?"

"Yes. The governor authorized the procedure late last month. So far, there are ten cases of bang babies reverting to human form."

"But what if they don't want to change? Don't they have a choice?"

"With a few exceptions, the bang babies are a menace to public safety. To protect our citizens, we had to use extreme measures."

Mr. Hawkins glanced at Virgil, Katrina, and Kathrine as he switched off the television. The three teens were clearly distraught. "And how are you three handling this?"

Kathrine sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back into the couch. "I don't want to give up being Alba Terra. I love it. For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm doing something that matters, something worthwhile. Now, all that's being taken from me... and I don't even get a say in it."

Katrina hugged her knees to her chest, "In the beginning, I wanted nothing more than to be rid of my powers. As Mage, there's so much I can do, helping people, capturing bad guys. When I think of all the good I can do, I don't want to lose my powers. I suppose this is one of those "be careful what you wish for" scenarios..."

"Pops, I like being Static. Even with all the bang babies gone, I still think I'd be needed."

"How does Richie feel?"

"Well... he could be taking it better..."

.:Line Break:.

"Noooooo!"

Static, Terra, and Mage rushed into the gas station upon hearing Gear's cry of despair and found him slamming his head into his keyboard. "No, no!"

Terra darted over to push him away from his desk before he could do any real damage. "Calm down! Giving yourself a concussion is not going to help!"

"There's no way to stop it! I'm not going to be a genius anymore, and your powers, they're gonna-"

"I know." Static cut him off, "I've been feeling them slip away all week."

Gear gaped at him.

"Didn't want to freak you out."

The blond shot to his feet, throwing his arms in the air. "Why did they do this to us?!" He stomped over to the drink dispenser. "We're the good guys! It's not fair!" In a fit of rage, he kicked the dispenser, hurting himself and causing the lid to pop open.

"Then again, if we're not fighting bang babies, we'll have time to study. Frieda and Daisy won't hate us anymore. Could be okay." Static reasoned as Gear shut the lid.

The blond gave him a withering look, "Do you honestly believe that?"

Static was only able to hold his gaze for a few seconds, "How long have we got?"

"I truly have no idea."

"Let's say we jet over and see if the doctor's in."

"Assuming we can stay in the air."

"Good point. Fly low."

.:Line Break:.

"It's like waking from a nightmare." Talon explained to the four heroes as she admired her human form in a mirror, "And I never want to go back!"

"We're glad for you, Talon." Gear said, gripping the metal bars of her hospital bed.

Gear, Static, and Terra were gathered around the former bang baby's bed while Mage stood off to the side. She wasn't really paying attention to the others, she was too busy thinking about the lab break in. Hotstreak had been there. She wanted to trust him, to believe that he had some reason for breaking into the lab besides just wanting to keep his powers, but she couldn't figure out why.

He had been acting strangely, off somehow. He wouldn't speak to her at all and at one point had grabbed her by her hood and shoved her away from him. It... wasn't like him at all.

"Please don't call me that. My name is Teresa."

"Okay, Teresa, but we need your help. We want to know what Ebon plans to do with that tank of gas." Static said.

"We figure he's trying to restore his powers."

"It's worse than that! He's going to set off another Big Bang!"

.:Line Break:.

Teresa hadn't known where Ebon was planning to set off the gas, so the heroes had split into groups of two to search the city.

"Hold on!" Terra shouted to Mage as the rock they were riding threatened to crash.

Mage clung tightly to her sister, closing her eyes. She could feel that they were losing altitude. Suddenly, the white glow around the rock faded, and they began to plummet onto a nearby rooftop.

"Shit!" Terra grabbed Mage and maneuvered her so that she would take the brunt of the fall instead of the healer. Terra hit the roof hard, the rock she had been using skidded to a stop at the edge of the building.

Mage quickly rolled off her sister, her concern evident. "Are you alright?"

"This is so fucking stupid!" Terra growled without even looking at her, "We have no idea where Ebon is and even if we did, how are we going to stop him without our powers?!"

"But... we can't just give up." Mage insisted, "A lot of people could get hurt."

Terra turned her head to her, opening her mouth to respond, then stopped. Her brows knit together in confusion, "What's that?"

The healer followed her gaze to a piece of paper lying next to her. Picking it up, her eyes went wide. It read, "at the docks", and it was written in Francis' handwriting. Her mind went back to the lab break in and how he had grabbed her hood.

"They're at the docks!" Mage said, quickly helping her sister to her feet.

"How do you know?"

"This is Francis' handwriting!" she exclaimed, "He must have slipped this note into my hood back at the lab!"

"I guess that makes sense." Terra said, walking over to her rock, "That IS where the first Bang happened." She concentrated on the rock and, with considerable effort on her part, it began to levitate. She gave her sister a strained smile, "You ready to try this again?"

Mage grinned and hopped on with her. As the two hastily made their way to the docks, Mage's Shock Vox went off.

"Yes?"

"Terra, Mage, we know where Ebon is! He's-"

"At the docks." Terra cut Gear off, "Yeah, we know. We're heading there now."

"Wait, how do you know?"

"He seems we have an informant on the other side. He slipped a note into Mage's hood."

"Hotstreak?"

"Yeah." Terra confirmed, "You two go on ahead, we'll catch up."

Mage hung up her shock vox and tucked it into her pocket. Terra glanced at her from over her shoulder. "I don't understand him. Why is he doing this?"

.:Line Break:.

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Talon, this'll be a lot easier if you'd stop moving!"

"My name is Teresa!"

"Well, Teresa," Hotstreak growled, "unless you want to be covered in feathers again, you'll hold the fuck still so I can untie you!"

Teresa did as she was told, watching, baffled, as Hotstreak focused on undoing the ropes that were keeping her bound to the chair she was in.

"... Why are you doing this?" she asked, much calmer this time.

"Because, fuck Ebon."

"There's gotta be more to it than that."

The redhead was silent, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Come on, Hotstreak. This isn't like you. You've been acting weird for awhile now."

Again, he didn't respond. Teresa thought for a moment.

"It's because of that girl, isn't it? The one you brought with you to get information on Wade that one time?"

Hotstreak froze, tense. Then, he nodded. "... And you shouldn't have to be a bang baby again if you don't want to."

"What exactly are you planning to do? Besides letting me go."

"I'm going to try to get the gas away from Ebon before he can start the Bang. He was going to break into the lab with or without my help. I sided with him because I knew he'd do anything to keep his powers. This way, I'd know exactly what he was planning and where he was going. When I get the gas, I'm going to try to get it off the ship, or hide it so he can't use it."

"Hotstreak," she began slowly, "that means that you might never get your powers back..."

He paused, his expression conflicted. "... I know, but... it's the right thing to do."

Teresa regarded him silently for a few minutes. "... You've changed."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it's nice. You're less of a jerk now."

He couldn't help but laugh.

"She must be pretty special."

"She is." he agreed, "She really is."

.:Line Break:.

"Where the hell are they?" Terra growled as she and Mage ran through the halls of the ship.

As the sisters rounded a corner, they spotted what appeared to be a purple light seeping through a crack in one of the doors. Terra put her ear up against the metal surface.

"What are you doing?"

"Stand back. Maybe I can whip up one more blast. One, two-"

Terra hit the unlock button on the door and pulled it open with a grin.

"Of course, that also works." Static said.

"Where are Ebon and Hotstreak?" Mage asked, her concern for the redhead growing with each passing second.

"Ebon and Hotstreak set off the gas!"

The four heroes turned to see Teresa running towards them.

"It's gonna fill the ship!" she cried.

"We'll take care of it. You should get out of here." Mage told her, turning to leave.

Teresa's hand shot out and grabbed her sleeve, stopping the healer in her tracks. She gazed pleadingly at Mage. "Make sure Hotstreak gets out okay! Please! He's changed and he's got this girl waiting for him! He-he only went along with Ebon to find out what he was planning! He was trying to get the gas away from him so he wouldn't be able to use it!"

Mage placed her hands on Teresa's shoulders, offering her a gentle smile, "We'll make sure that Hotstreak gets out safely. Just make sure that you get out safely, too."

Teresa nodded and ran for the exit.

"What do we do?" Gear asked.

"Whatever it takes to stop Ebon!"

The four then took off down the hall. Just as they turned the corner, they were hit full force by the purple gas. Katrina fell to her knees, coughing. She was reminded of the first bang and remembered how suffocating the gas was then, too. But she felt her powers return to her.

It was then that Static used his powers to evaporate the gas. Terra helped Mage to her feet.

"Bro, you got your powers back!" Gear said as he stood. Backpack beeped, crawling along the floor and up the blond's back.

"Yeah, it looks like you do, too!"

"I can interpret the data stream again!" the genius exclaimed, "Brain boy's back!"

"I can feel my powers again, too." Terra grinned, "Come on, we have to find Ebon."

Suddenly, the ship started rumbling. The door in front of them was thrown into the opposing wall by what appeared to be inky, black tentacles.

"What is that?" Gear asked.

They rushed into the room, only to find a hole burned into the ceiling. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Mage's stomach as they made their way to the deck of the ship. Terra had just managed to summon a rock to ride on from the land nearby when a gigantic two-headed fiery monstrosity erupted from the ship's haul.

"Aw, man!" Static gasped as the creature let out a loud roar, "It's Ebon and Hotstreak! They must have sucked up so much gas they fused together!"

"No!" Mage cried out.

Terra pulled the healer onto her rock just in time to save her from the fireball the monster threw at them.

"Terra, get Mage out of here!" Static shouted, hitting the monster with an electric blast, "She won't be able to fight!"

"I'm already way ahead of you!" Terra replied, flying away from the ship. She held her sister tightly despite her struggling and her protests. "I'm really sorry, 'Trina..."

.:Line Break:.

Numb. That's how Katrina felt as she watched the ship sink in a fiery explosion. He was gone. She knew that, but her emotions hadn't quite caught up to her brain yet. So she stared, blankly, at the spot where the ship once was.

Terra stood a few feet away from her, watching her cautiously while using her powers to signal to Static and Gear where they were. The healer hadn't said a word since they landed. She simply stood, unmoving, by the docks.

In a matter of minutes, Static and Gear had found them and landed next to Terra.

"... Is she... okay?" Static asked quietly, glancing at Mage.

Terra glared at him condescendingly. "What the fuck do you think?!" she hissed under her breath.

He was gone. The realization hit Katrina hard, so hard that she sunk to her knees. The pain started out as a dull ache, but it grew with each passing second until it felt like someone was tearing her heart out of her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any minute as she continued to watch the still waters.

"He's gone." She wasn't even aware that she had said the words aloud. She was in a state of shock, despite her pain. It didn't feel real, like a bad dream she was eager to wake up from. But she knew that this was actually happening. That this was real, so very real.

"Kat, can you call my pops and tell him what happened? I don't think 'Trina is in any condition to fly right now."

She nodded, pulling out her cell phone as Virgil made his way to Mage.

She couldn't comprehend why this was happening. He had come so far, tried so hard to change, to be good, even at the very end, and now he was gone. Why? It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Virgil knelt down next to Katrina and rested a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn to him. She looked so despondent and confused, tears streaming down her cheeks. Whatever words he had planned to say died in his throat. He couldn't think of anything that would soothe his friend's pain.

"Why?" she whispered brokenly, "Why did it have to be like this?"

"... I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could say.

He was gone. With Virgil's words the full reality of the situation crashed down on her. Francis Stone was gone, and he was never coming back.

Katrina's small frame began to tremble, a choked sob forcing its way past her lips. She fell forward onto her hands, her eyes clenched shut as the anguish she felt grew to excruciating levels.

He was gone, but it wasn't fair! He had so much ahead of him! He was going to clean himself up, study hard, and go to college. He had told her that he was going to become a mechanic because he loved cars and he loved working with them so much. He was going to open up his own shop and hire troubled people like himself, to try to get them back on the right path.

The memories of all the times they had spent together flashed before her eyes, blocking out everything around her. She wept, recalling all of the hardships they had been through together, as well as all of the good times they had shared. She remembered how hard he had tried for HER. How he tried to make her happy, to protect her. She remembered how he made her feel special, important, cares for, and even loved. Her arms almost gave out on her as she remembered how he kissed her in the cemetery.

He was gone, but it wasn't supposed to be like this! They had made so many plans for the future together. They had planned to be together. They were supposed to have gone to dinner together, see a movie together. They were supposed to be together.

"... I... I never told him..." she trailed off, sniveling.

He was gone, but she was still there, alone with all of her regrets. There were so many things that they hadn't done, so many words left unspoken, and she'd never get the chance to do or say any of them. He was gone, but she had never even gotten to tell him...

There was a hand on her shoulder again, only this time when she looked up she saw Sharon. Mr. Hawkins was there as well, standing several feet away from them with the family car.

"Katrina?" Sharon asked, sounding a little unsure.

"... I never got to tell him that I loved him."

That was all the older girl needed to throw her arms around the healer and pull her into a hug. Katrina couldn't hold herself back anymore. She clung tightly to Sharon and wailed, the agony she was experiencing was too great. It all hurt so much.

Sharon turned her head to her father, absentmindedly stroking Katrina's hair as she sobbed into her shirt. "Daddy, I think we should take her home. I don't think staying here is going to help."

Mr. Hawkins nodded as Sharon helped Katrina to her feet, slowly leading her to the car. Virgil followed closely behind them, looking downcast. Richie and Kathrine wore matching miserable expressions as they watched the forlorn healer. Kathrine sighed and cast one last glance at the docks.

She then promptly froze, wide eyed and incredulous. Hastily grabbing Richie's shoulder, she pointed to where she was looking. The genius followed her line of sight and immediately felt his jaw drop, unable to believe it himself.

"... Uh... 'Trina..." Kathrine began in a shaky voice, "You... uh... you might want to take a look at this."

Without turning around, she shook her head. "No," she refused with a whimper, "I don't want to look anymore..."

"Come on, babe. I know I gotta look like hell, but I'm not that ugly."

She knew that voice. Daring to hope, Katrina whirled around. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

There, hauling himself out of the water and onto the dock, was Francis Stone. He was paler than usual and his hair was soaked and hanging down to his shoulders. His shirt and shoes were missing, and his pants were tattered. He was covered in various scratches and bruises and he looked absolutely exhausted. But he was alive.

Katrina hesitantly took a step towards him, as though afraid that any sudden movements would cause him to disappear. Francis offered her a tired smile and held out his arms, silently inviting her closer. That was all the invitation she needed. Katrina launched herself at him with such force that she almost caused them both to go tumbling into the water. As he wrapped his arms around her she started crying again, though this time they were tears of relief.

"'Trina, I-"

Katrina cut him off by placing her lips on his. Francis' eyes widened in shock, then shut as he pulled the healer closer. She put her hands on his cheeks, trying to get as close as she could. Then, inadvertently and without even being aware of it, her hands began to glow green and healed his injuries.

She then pulled away, breathless. Teary blue eyes met emerald green ones as she said, "I love you."

His eyes widened again. Of all of the things he thought she'd say, that hadn't been one of them.

"I thought..." she sniffled, "I thought you were dead. A-and I thought of the promises we've made and all the things we've been through and I realized that I never got to tell you that. I love you! I love you so much!"

Francis was stunned. Katrina had been rambling a bit, but her words were spoken with conviction. There was no doubt in his mind that she meant what she said.

Francis held Katrina tightly to him, burying his face in her hair. "... I love you, too."

.:Line Break:.

"Babe, this is weird. I can feel you looking around."

"Well, you're going to have to deal with it. I want to make sure you're okay."

Currently, Francis and Katrina were sitting in Virgil's room, each wearing borrowed clothing. Once they had found out that the redhead was alive, they had all followed Mr. Hawkins and Sharon back to the Hawkins household. After changing out of their uniforms, Virgil, Kathrine, and Richie promptly passed out on the living room couch. Mr. Hawkins had retreated to the kitchen with Sharon to explain to her about her brother and his friends being superheroes. Mr. Hawkins had offered Virgil's room to Francis for the night, as his son showed no signs of moving from the couch, and Katrina was going to share Sharon's room with her.

Francis sat on the floor with his back propped up against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. Katrina was kneeling beside him, her glowing hands on his cheeks with her forehead resting against his.

"What are you talking about? You already healed me."

"I healed your obvious injuries. I'm now checking for internal injuries, early signs of dry drowning or secondary drowning, and any... unwanted attachments."

"Unwanted-" he stopped, the meaning of her words sinking in, "... You mean Ebon?"

"... Yes." she replied softly, tentatively, "I... I don't know how much you remember or even if you were aware of yourself at the time, but... you and Ebon had completely fused together. You didn't... you didn't even look like yourselves anymore. I don't know... how you split apart, but... I just want to make sure that there are no unpleasant side effects in the future. I-I..."

She stopped, feeling another wave of tears coming on. Inhaling deeply, she took a few seconds to compose herself, taking comfort in Francis' strong, steady heartbeat. "I just got you back. I want to make sure that... I'm not going to lose you again." Her voice cracked and she paused before continuing, "After the ship sank, I thought that you were... dead or that you'd be stuck in that form forever. The fact that you're back, alive and yourself again, it's... nothing short of a miracle. So, please... please let me see for myself that you're really alright. Then maybe I can finally convince myself that this isn't just some dream that's too good to be true."

Francis frowned guiltily, though the healer couldn't see it due to her eyes being closed in concentration. He knew that he had caused her a lot of grief and pain in the time he had known her. Not intentionally, of course, but he had still done it. Reaching out, he wrapped a muscular arm around her waist and pulled the healer into his side, startling her and forcing Katrina to lean against his form as she continued to work.

"Francis?"

He didn't answer right away. During the course of their relationship, he realized that Katrina had always been the one to give up information about herself before he did. This time, he decided that he'd just tell her. He owed her that much.

"... I saw my mom." he told her quietly, not knowing what she'd say or how she'd react, "... When that bastard and I were fused together, I didn't really know what was going on. I think... I think he was in control of us, fighting you guys. All I knew was that it was really dark all around me, I couldn't see a damn thing. I wasn't even sure if I was alive or dead. I was thinking. About you and how much I hurt you and how sorry I was and how much I just wanted to see you one more time."

Francis watched Katrina's face. Her brow was furrowed, eyes still closed, but he could tell that she was listening to every word he said, waiting patiently for him to finish. "And then I saw this light and I saw my mom. She was wearing this white dress and she... she was smiling at me. Said that she loved me and that she was proud of me and what I was trying to do, cleaning myself up and all. She... she said that she really liked you, that she was glad that you cared about me so much." he paused and let out a soft chuckle, staring off into space, "Then she scolded me. Said that she knew she taught me better than to make such a "sweet girl" cry. She said that if I didn't get my ass in gear, that if I messed this up, she'd haunt me and give me hell for it for the rest of my life."

Francis smiled as Katrina let out a short laugh. It sounded like Francis' mother had been a real firecracker when she had been alive.

"Then I opened my eyes. I was floating on the water and my powers were back. I don't know if I just imagined mom being there or if she..." he trailed off, refusing to say the words out loud, "... but me and Ebon, we were too unstable to stay like that, I guess. If I made it, he's probably out there too. After that, well, you know... I swam up to the dock and found you."

Finally, Katrina removed her hands from his face and placed them in her lap, eyes now open. "You're okay. I looked everywhere and I couldn't find any trace of anything that shouldn't be there." she cracked a tiny smile, attempting to lighten the mood, "Congratulations, you're officially Ebon-free."

Instead of smiling back, he wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her to his chest. "I'm sorry." he muttered, stroking Katrina's hair, "I... I never meant to hurt you."

She nodded, her hands clutching the fabric of the shirt he had borrowed from Mr. Hawkins. "Don't do it again. Please. I... I don't think I can handle going through all of this again."

"I won't. I promise." he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"... We... need to talk." Katrina said reluctantly, "What... what exactly happened, Francis? What were you... trying to do?"

The pyro sighed and rested his head against the wall. He knew that he was going to need to explain himself to her sooner or later, but he hadn't been looking forward to having the conversation. Looking back, he realized that maybe he hadn't handled things the way he should have.

"Where should I start?"

"With the incident with Aquamaria. I think that's where this mess really started."

Francis closed his eyes, thinking back to his encounter with Aquamaria on the streets. "After I dropped you off at your house, I really was going to go visit my mom. I was going to buy flowers for her, but I realized I was being followed. It was Aquamaria. Apparently, she had been watching me for awhile. Said that if I didn't do what she said that she was going to hurt you, or worse."

Katrina looked up at him, frowning, a fierce fire burning in her narrowed blue eyes. "You... did it to protect me?"

He winced. He had a feeling that he knew exactly where this conversation was headed. "W-well, yeah..."

The healer sat up, her expression unchanging. "Hasn't trying to protect me already landed you into trouble once? Not only that, but didn't it not work?"

He winced again at her scathing tone as he recalled his pitiful attempts to protect her from his father. The attempts that only served to hurt her anyway. "... Yeah, but do you think that your powers would have worked against Aquamaria? And she could have figured out that you're Mage!"

"That's not the point, Francis. Had you just come to me and told me what was going on, the five of us could have come up with something. This has to stop! When are you going to learn that you don't have to do everything by yourself?!"

"It's not that easy, okay? You've seen my father, growing up the only person I thought I could rely on and trust was myself! No one else cared until you came along. I didn't want to lose you. If I lost you..." Francis trailed off, nervousness and uncertainty in his eyes. It was obvious that he didn't feel comfortable revealing so much about himself, but he decided that he'd do it anyway. For her. "If I lost you... I'd be alone again and I can't... I can't do that again! I'm so fucking sick of being alone and forcing myself not to care! I can't fucking do it anymore!"

Katrina's gaze softened. He was right, she realized. Perhaps that's why they had turned out so differently despite having grown up in similar circumstances. No matter what else happened, Katrina knew that her sister would always be there for her. Francis had had no one. Everyone had just made assumptions about him. No one noticed how he had been suffering in silence.

"I'm sorry." she said, surprising him, "I've never had to be alone like you did, so I forget how difficult it is for you. But please remember that you aren't alone anymore. You have people who care about you. So please, no more of this trying to protect me nonsense. From now on, we face problems together. Promise me."

"I promise." he held her gaze as he spoke.

The healer smiled. "Good. Now, why did you break into the lab while they were trying to cure Aquamaria?"

Francis looked away, guilt-ridden and ashamed. "I... just wanted to make sure that she'd leave you alone. I got pissed that she was going to be able to go back to her old life while I lost everything. I... didn't mean to burn the cables. It was an accident. I... lost control." He gently grabbed Katrina's wrists, staring down at them as he remembered accidentally burning her in the cemetery.

"I'm going to get help." he assured her, his voice sounding very small, "I know that I've got issues and sometimes... I lose control of my powers. I'm... going to get... counseling and anger management. I've been... I've been trying real hard, but... I can't handle it all by myself and... I don't want to hurt you anymore."

Katrina cupped his cheek and gave him a peck on the lips. "Admitting that, even to yourself, is never easy. I'm proud of you for being able to recognize it, Francis."

Francis nodded and pulled the healer close again. "I... really wanted to see you when the mess with Aquamaria was over. But... I thought that if they could cure her, the rest of us would be next. You and I both know that not all the bang babies were just going to go along with that."

"People with power will typically do anything to keep it."

"Like Ebon." he agreed, "I figured that if I laid low and played the "everyone betrayed me" card, he'd be stupid enough to let me in. That way I'd know what he was planning."

"Then you could slip us the information." Katrina finished, already knowing the rest of the story, "You then tried to keep the gas away from Ebon, but he found you."

"Yeah, and then we fought. You know the rest."

Katrina nodded and curled into his side as silence fell over them. Francis held her protectively, rubbing her back in small circles.

"... I... have to turn myself in tomorrow morning." He didn't want to say it, but it had to be said.

She tightened her grip, closing her eyes to fight off tears. "I don't want you to go again."

"Babe, believe me. I don't want to go either. They might... they're probably going to put me back in bang baby confinement. But I broke the law and I need to answer for all the shit I've done. It's... the only way we can ever be together." He put a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him, "But I promise that this is the last time you'll have to watch me be taken away. Then... when I get out, we can..."

Katrina sniffled and wiped away her unshed tears. She wasn't going to cry again. Instead, she gave him a bittersweet smile. "Then we can go to dinner and see a movie."

Francis returned her smile with a hopeful one. "... I'd like that."

.:Line Break:.

The next morning, Francis was gently shaken awake by Mr. Hawkins. His expression was grim as Francis cracked open his eyes.

"They're here."

The pyro frowned and nodded. He attempted to stand up, but stopped when he felt a weight on him. Looking down, his heart ached. Katrina had fallen asleep on the floor with him last night. Her head was resting on his chest, her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt.

Carefully, so as to avoid waking her, Francis gathered the healer into his arms and carried her over to Virgil's bed. He laid her down and gingerly pried her fingers from his shirt.

"Francis..."

He froze when she whispered his name, but saw that she was still asleep. He felt his resolve begin to crack. He wanted nothing more than to curl up alongside her again, but knew he couldn't. He had to do this. For her.

Instead, he turned his back to her and started to walk out of the room.

"Aren't you going to wake her up and say goodbye?" Mr. Hawkins asked.

"If I did that, I'd never be able to leave."

Francis walked downstairs and passed the couch, unknowingly waking Kathrine. Officer Trina Jessup was waiting by the door, while Officer Angela Gore was outside, standing by the cop car.

Mr. Hawkins watched as Francis held out his wrists to Officer Jessup. Her eyes went from his wrists to his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Aren't you going to cuff me?"

"Are you going to put up a fight from here to the courthouse?"

He shook his head.

"Then I guess there's no need to be putting handcuffs on you." She then gestured to the car with her head, "Get in."

Francis did as he was told, avoiding the worried eyes of Officer Gore. He felt like he had really let her down and was too ashamed to look at her.

Mr. Hawkins sighed, watching as they drove away before shutting the front door.

"They're taking him to the courthouse?" Kathrine asked, peeking over the back of the couch.

"Yes. They're going to listen to what Francis has to say before they decide what they're going to do with him."

Kathrine nodded and turned to Richie, "Alright, genius. We've got work to do, so you need to get up and get dressed."

"... But... I am dressed." he sleepily protested.

"No, genius, in your uniform. They just took Hotstreak down to the courthouse." She then turned to Virgil to shake him awake, "You too, Virg. Get up."

"Kathrine, what are you going to do?" Mr. Hawkins asked.

The green eyed girl reached into her pocket and pulled out the note from the previous night, "I figured that since the idiot won't do it himself, we may as well go down there and put in a good word for him."

.:Line Break:.

"Francis Stone, have you anything to say for yourself in defense of these charges?" Judge Goodwin's voice echoed through the nearly empty courtroom.

Francis looked up at the judge, ready to accept his fate, and responded, "No, Your Honor."

The old man sighed and shook his head. Moments like these made him hate his job. "Very well, then you leave me no choice. I-"

"Hold it!"

Francis whirled around to find Dominic Slaughter walking through the doors of the courtroom, a smug smirk on his face.

"What took you so long?" Officer Angela Gore asked from her place next to Francis.

"Cut me some slack. This all happened on short notice, so I had to get evidence to plead my case." Dominic glanced at Francis, who looked downright perplexed at the science teacher's sudden appearance. "Shut your mouth before you catch flies, kid."

"What is the meaning of this?" Judge Goodwin demanded, "Who are you and what are you doing in my courtroom?"

"He's... my science teacher..." Francis said, dazed.

"Science teacher...?"

Dominic glanced coolly up at the judge, hands in his pockets. "I'm also a science teacher who has a few law degrees and has passed the bar exam. I'll be representing Francis in this matter."

"So, you're disputing the charges?"

"Not exactly. Francis Stone did break the law. No matter how you look at it, he did." Dominic stated, "Now then, before I walked in, you were about to sentence him to bang baby confinement, correct?"

"That's correct." the judge confirmed, "For twelve months."

Francis' eyes widened and he slumped down in his chair. It felt like his heart had stopped for a moment. A whole year without being able to see Katrina, the idea was physically painful. He couldn't believe how awful his luck was. Why did he always screw up everything in his life?

"What I'm here to discuss is why that is the absolute worst thing you could possibly do. First, I want you to take a look at this list I've compiled. It shows Francis' record from all the previous times he's been on parole versus this time." Dominic handed some papers over to the judge, who looked them over with a critical eye. "As I'm sure you can see, this time there's a very obvious spike in his grade point average. He's been coming to class on time, prepared, and has been studying hard. It's also, if you notice, the longest time he's stayed out of jail. Now, did you or anyone else think to ask why this time has been different from all of the previous times?"

"Well... no."

"That's right, you didn't." Dominic said, giving an intense pointed look that almost made the judge squirm in his seat, "That's because you, like everyone else, looked at him and merely saw Hotstreak, a criminal, a menace, a monster. This time when he had been released on parole, he was fortunate enough to come in contact with two people who did what no one else was brave enough or willing to do. They looked at him and saw not Hotstreak, the dangerous pyromaniac, but Francis Stone, the troubled kid who had been screaming for help for years while everyone turned their backs on him and pretended not to notice. They treated him like a person, genuinely cared for him, and tried hard to reach out to him even when he fought back. Those people and their efforts were what caused Francis to want to change."

Dominic paused and turned to Angela Gore, admiration and respect in his brown eyed gaze. "One of those remarkable people is here with us today, Officer Angela Gore. At the station, Francis' reputation was so bad that when it came time to decide who his parole officer would be and who would look after him, the other officers had been contemplating drawing straws. Officer Gore willingly volunteered for the job and even fought for it when the other cops tried to tell her that it was too dangerous. When Thomas Stone came back into his son's life, she immediately noticed that he was being beaten. She realized that he was being abused instead of simply assuming that he had reverted to his old ways. And when Thomas Stone was finally put in jail, she jumped at the chance to be his legal guardian."

Francis gaped at Angela, who returned it with a gentle smile. He had never really considered all the trouble the blond had gone through just to be able to watch over him. He had always just assumed that the job had been foisted on her because she was the newest on the force.

"The other person," Dominic continued, returning his gaze to Judge Goodwin, "could not be here today due to emotional distress, but make no mistake. She is, undoubtedly, the driving force behind Francis' reason for change. A girl in one of my classes, Katrina Blake."

Judge Goodwin took note of the indescribable expression on Francis' face at the mention of the girl's name.

"This girl is quite possibly one of the most compassionate people I've ever met. She refused to be intimidated by Francis' harsh demeanor and pushed to get to know him because she could see his pain, hear his desperate cries for help that everyone else had tuned out long ago. She helped him study, defended him, cared about him, and even tried to save him from Thomas Stone. It is because of her that Francis has been fighting so hard for months to try to clean himself up."

"Katrina Blake... That's the name of the girl who had been shot in the Thomas Stone case." the judge thought aloud.

"Yes... Your Honor." Francis confirmed, "He... he was aiming for me, but she protected me..."

"And why, exactly, was it so important to you to change for her?"

Judge Goodwin was genuinely curious. This type of behavior was by no means typical for Francis "Hotstreak" Stone.

The judge did not, could not have expected the pyro look him dead in the eyes and very seriously and sincerely declare, "I love her." Ignoring the judge's shock, he continued, "That's why I turned myself in. If I don't answer for what I've done and clean myself up, then I can never be with her. She deserves better. I... I want to do right by her."

"So you see, Your Honor," Dominic spoke up, "it was the care and guidance of other people that caused Francis to reform, not the cold solitude of a dark cell. By putting him back in there, you may very well undo all of the progress he's made. Frankly, I don't think anyone wants that."

Judge Goodwin nodded solemnly, "I... understand what you're saying, however Francis willingly broke the law in two instances. I simply cannot turn a blind eye to that."

"Willingly?" Dominic questioned, "I'll get to the other incident in a moment, but as for the incident with Aquamaria, she admitted publicly that she coerced him into assisting her."

"And is she willing to testify on his behalf?"

The teacher's lips quirked up in a smirk, "As a matter of fact, she is. And so are the scientists who were involved who witnessed their argument about it."

He glanced towards the courtroom doors in time to see the now human Aquamaria walk in, Dr. Todd and his team of scientists not too far behind her. As she stood in front of the judge, Maria briefly turned her shame filled gaze to Francis.

"I'm sorry..." she said quietly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too."

His apology pleasantly surprised her and she offered him a small, meek smile. She then turned to the judge and, with the scientists, explained what had happened. Once they finished, Dominic stepped forward.

"As for the second and most recent incident, Francis was not being forced to help Ebon in stealing the last tank of gas, but he did have an ulterior motive behind it that I'm sure he failed to mention."

"An ulterior motive? Besides just wanting his powers back?"

"That's right. And Teresa, formerly known as Talon, would be more than happy to elaborate."

At that moment, Teresa walked in, perfectly human. She gave him a forced smile, fully aware of how grim things were looking for him.

"Even when you try to do good, you still manage to find trouble."

Teresa then turned to the judge and told him what Hotstreak had revealed to her on the ship. When she finished, Judge Goodwin's eyes were closed in contemplation. He opened them and gaze regretfully down at Teresa.

"I don't mean to make it sound like I'm calling you a liar, but I must take everything into consideration. You have a criminal past with Francis, so it's quite possible that you're covering for him. I'm afraid that your testimony is questionable at best."

"What about our testimony?"

All eyes turned, shocked, to the door to find Static, Gear, and Alba Terra strolling into the courtroom.

"What are you three doing here?" Judge Goodwin asked, astonished. Were the surprises ever going to end?

Terra stepped forward, leading the other two. "We thought that we'd stop by and put in a good word for the hothead since he probably won't do it himself."

"Did you plan for them to show up, too?" Angela whispered to Dominic.

"No, this was the only thing I didn't count on. Though, I'm certainly not going to complain about it."

Terra pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to the judge. "Hotstreak slipped us this note last night at the lab break in telling us where Ebon was hiding out. With all of us losing our powers, Gear hadn't been able to interpret the data he receives about criminal activity. If Hotstreak hadn't given us this note, we never would have found Ebon in time."

The heroes knew they were fudging the truth just a bit, but they knew it was for a good cause.

Judge Goodwin was silent for a moment, then he nodded to himself. "Alright, I've heard enough. I'm ready to pass judgment." They all waited with bated breath as Judge Goodwin directed his intense stare at the pyro, "Francis Stone?"

He swallowed thickly, his pulse racing and his palms sweaty, "Yes, Your Honor?"

"I'm adding nine more months to your probation, with the condition that you seek therapy and anger management. You are on extremely thin ice right now, so you'd be wise to watch your footing from here on out. Do you understand?"

Astounded, Francis replied automatically, "Y-yes, Your Honor!"

"Good. You're free to go."

Overcome with joy, Officer Angela Gore threw her arms around Francis, while Dominic ruffled the redhead's hair. The others in the room smiled and slowly began to leave until only Dominic, Angela, Francis, and Judge Goodwin were left. During that time, a genuine, happy grin steadily stretched across the pyro's lips until it lit up his face. Judge Goodwin was taken aback by the innocent glee in his green eyes, like that of a child on Christmas.

"I can still see her." he said, quietly at first, then louder, "I can still see her!"

That's when it struck him. Francis Stone was no hardened criminal, and he was certainly no monster. He really was just a kid. A scared, misguided kid who Dakota had continually hurt and let down again and again. He had only become who they had made him out to be, until someone else proved to him that that wasn't who he really was.

As Francis grinned, Judge Goodwin couldn't help but smile as well. Moments like these, he decided, made him love his job.

.:Line Break:.

"You know," Officer Gore with a smile on her face as she, Dominic, and Francis all exited the courtroom, "when I asked you to get legal aid for Francis, you didn't tell me that you'd be the one representing him."

"Did you or did you not ask for the best legal aid?" Dominic asked conceitedly, "You'd be hard pressed to find anyone better than me."

"There's certainly no one more interesting than you; a high school science teacher with a couple of law degrees who's also passed the bar. Why did you go through all that trouble?"

"Officer Gore," he smirked, "you know that I'd be more than happy to discuss those details over dinner."

"Okay."

"Well, Officer, my dinner proposal still stands if you change-" He stopped, her words finally registering in his mind. Dominic eyed her suspiciously, as if expecting her to say it was a joke. "Pardon?"

She laughed and handed him a small piece of paper. "That's my cell phone number. Give me a call with the details so we can set up a date." The blond then glanced at Francis, "I'll be waiting for you in the car when you're ready to leave."

Dominic's cool facade was, for once, not present. Francis snickered at the dumbstruck look on his teacher's face as he gaped at Angela's retreating form.

"Isn't that cute? You have a girlfriend."

Dominic sneered at the bang baby and smacked him upside the head. "So do you, firecrotch."

Francis clutched his head and opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he saw the brown eyed man pointing at something in the courthouse lobby. Following his gaze, it was his turn to gape as he laid eyes on Mr. Hawkins standing next to a very confused Katrina. His feet moved forward of their own volition, only stopping when he was directly in front of the healer.

Katrina stared up at him questioningly, "Francis?"

"They only added nine more months to my probation." He was positively beaming. "I'm not going back to bang baby confinement! I'm free! I'm free!"

Although her eyes welled up with tears, Katrina grinned. Overjoyed, she launched herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck. Francis held her close, burying his face in her hair.

Finally, for once in his long, unlucky, miserable, lonely life, everything was okay.

.:Line Break:.

About a week later, Katrina found herself sitting on the front steps of the Freeman Community Center, waiting for Francis to come out. He had told her that he had stopped by to see if Mr. Hawkins knew of any good counselors who could help him work through his issues and asked the healer to meet him outside so they could finally go on their date when he was done. So she waited patiently for him, smiling contentedly to herself.

"Hey, I know you."

The familiar voice caused the healer to look up. It was Teresa, she had just come out of the community center.

Katrina got to her feet and offered her an apologetic smile, playing dumb for the sake of keeping her secret identity. "Then I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I'm sorry."

"You're Katrina, right?" She waited for the healer to nod before continuing, "We met once before when you were with Hotstreak, but I was covered in feathers then."

Katrina put on a good show of being confused. "Feathers? Oh! You... were you Talon?"

"Yeah, you can just call me Teresa, though."

"I see." Katrina said, smiling, "Francis has told me about you. He said that you're glad that you're not a bang baby anymore?"

Teresa wrapped her arms around herself, her expression dismal as she averted her eyes. "It's like waking up from a nightmare, you know? Sometimes, I dream about the morning after the bang. I get out of bed, go to my vanity to brush my hair, and then I look in my mirror. I see this feathered... thing there, just staring at me. And then I realize that that thing is me. I screamed. My aunt came running into my room to see if I was okay, but when she sees me, she just stops and stares with her mouth hanging open. Looking at me like I'm some kind of freak..."

Teresa paused and looked back at Katrina, who was listening attentively to every word she said. She could tell that the shorter girl wasn't passing judgment on her or criticizing her, just lending a sympathetic ear.

"That morning after the bang, when my aunt found me, she didn't say anything. I panicked and jumped out the window. She tried calling my name to get me to come back, but I didn't. It wasn't until I came home recently that I realized that she hadn't been disgusted or scared of me. She was just startled and confused, but she... she still loved me." Teresa's eyes watered. She took a moment to wipe the moisture away. "I should have just gone back to her. Everywhere else I went, people screamed and ran away from me. All I wanted was help, but no one wanted to even listen to what I had to say."

"I'm sorry, Teresa. I can't even begin to imagine how awful that must have been for you."

The sincerity in Katrina's voice surprised her. Most people still looked down on Teresa for having been a bang baby and no one really seemed to have cared about what she had been through.

"It got to the point where I was desperate for anyone to understand." Teresa continued, though she was unsure why she was revealing so much to a girl that she barely knew, "... That's when I met Ebon. He told me that I was special, unique, and that normal people wouldn't be able to understand that. He offered me a place in the Metabreed, said that it would be full of people who were different, just like me. I... I knew it was just a street gang. I don't know why I joined. The only reason I had been gassed was because I was taking a walk by the docks when the bang happened. I had never been in a gang or done anything illegal before. He just..."

"He was offering you the understanding and acceptance you had sought for so long." Katrina supplied for her, recalling how she herself had felt at the time she joined the Jade Dragons.

Teresa blinked, staring owlishly at the healer, "Yeah... But... I'm glad that I'm human again. No one should have to go through that. Actually, the reason I'm here right now is because the man who runs the community center, Mr. Hawkins, wants my help with starting a program to help bang babies, the old ones and the new ones, cope and become part of society again."

Katrina grinned. She and the others had known that Mr. Hawkins had been hopeful about starting a project of some kind, but he had refused to tell them what it was until he had the details worked out. "That's wonderful! With your help, maybe there won't be so many bang babies forced to turn to crime."

Teresa nodded, "That's what we're hoping for, too."

"And how are you adjusting?"

The question caught Teresa off guard. "What?"

"How are you adjusting? To being human again?" Katrina asked kindly, "Have you settled back into your old life yet?"

Teresa's gaze fell to the ground, "Well, I don't know if I'd call it much of a life. It's just me and my aunt in our tiny apartment, and there's a cousin of mine that I try to keep in touch with."

"What about your friends?"

She reluctantly shook her head, embarrassed to admit it. "I... don't have any friends. Before the bang, I was quieter and kept to myself mostly."

Katrina frowned, knowing firsthand how lonely that was. How much it hurt. "Do you, by any chance, have a cell phone?"

Teresa nodded, reaching into her pocket to pull it out. "My aunt just got it for me. She... she said that she didn't want to lose contact with me like that ever again."

"May I please see it?"

Teresa was skeptical at first, but decided that if Hotstreak, one of the most distrustful people she had ever met, trusted Katrina, then she could too. She handed over her phone and watched the blue eyed girl hit several buttons before smiling to herself and returning the device.

"There!" she said, sounding quite pleased, "I put my cell phone number into your phone so you can contact me anytime you want to talk. Now we're friends."

Teresa stared at her phone, then at Katrina, dubious. She had been fairly certain that people who were this nice only existed in cheesy after school specials. "Why?"

"Francis told me what you did for him, speaking on his behalf in court. I wanted to thank you for that. You didn't have to do it, but you did. It's also because I'm usually a pretty good judge of character and I can tell that you're a good person. So... I'd really like it if we could be friends."

Teresa couldn't stop herself from laughing, confusing the healer. The whole situation was too good to be true, absurd even. Though she supposed that if anyone could change Hotstreak so drastically, it would have to be someone as ridiculously kind as the girl before her.

"I'm starting to see why Hotstreak likes you so much. You really are special."

Katrina blushed and smiled bashfully at the ground. "Oh, no! I'm not... I'm not special or anything. I'm... I'm just me."

"Sweet and modest. He really got lucky with you, didn't he?"

"No. I'm the one who's lucky to have him."

It was then that Francis walked out of the community center.

"Teresa," he said, "Mr. H says he's ready to talk whenever you are."

"Hey, Hotstreak, how'd you con such a sweet girl into dating you?" Teresa joked.

"I did not con her!" he retorted, irked, "She willingly agreed to go out with me!"

"Well, you're not going to find another girl like this, so don't screw this up."

Francis scoffed and rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, yeah, like you're not the hundredth person to tell me that! I've got issues, but I'm not stupid, Teresa. I don't need you or anyone else to tell me what I have. Oh!" Suddenly remembering, he pulled out a small white card and handed it to Teresa, "Mr. H wanted me to give you that. It's his card and it's got his phone number on it."

"Okay." Teresa glanced at the front of the card, then at the back, "What's this number written on the back?"

"That's my cell phone number."

That surprised her. "Why?"

Francis visibly struggled for a minute, uneasy. "Because we're... friends." The word was strange, foreign even, but he knew that it was the correct one to use in this case.

Teresa raised a brow at him, amused. "Wow, that sounded forced."

"Hey, give me a break already! This shit is all new to me, okay?!"

Teresa chuckled at his expense, earning a displeased scowl from Francis. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. And yeah, I'd like to be friends." she said, causing Hotstreak's expression to soften, "So where are you two off to now?"

Katrina smiled brightly as Francis went to stand beside her, putting an arm around her waist. "We're going to go see a movie and then get dinner."

"I thought you hated clichés?" Teresa asked.

Hotstreak looked away, embarrassed, and mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. The two girls shared a knowing look and laughed.

"Okay, I won't hold you guys up anymore. Have fun."

"We will." Katrina said, "Bye, Teresa. See you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

Teresa waved to the couple as they walked away, a happy smile on her face.

All of a sudden, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and her body shuddered. Teresa hugged herself and looked around, unnerved. She could have sworn someone was watching her, but she didn't see anyone. She tried to shrug it off and went inside the community center to talk to Mr. Hawkins, completely oblivious to the pure snow white eyes staring at her from the shadows.

.:Line Break:.

Okay, so first of all, I know that in real life Dominic wouldn't be able to burst Phoenix Wright style into the court, but it was convenient for the story. Second, this is the end of Healing Earth, but I have a vague idea for a sequel. Would anyone want to read a sequel for this story?