No-Ones-Fool

By the end of the semester, Lydia was beginning to be fluent in sign language.  She also finally understood math.  The day she got her last midterm back, she was ecstatic to find a 98 on the upper corner.  Desiree just smiled and shook her head at her older friend.  "It's funny to see you get excited over a good grade," she said. "I'm just so happy that I'm finally getting math!" Lydia answered as she tucked the test into her math folder.  "You probably don't know what I'm talking about; you love math, Ms. I-Got-A-Perfect-Score-On-Every-Midterm." Desiree smiled modestly.  "Math always just clicked for me."  Both girls got to their feet as c

By the time Lydia got to her second math midterm, she was beginning to understand math pretty well.  She took to meeting with Benjamin right before class, to go over her homework, and he was always ready with an encouraging smile and a red pencil to mark mistakes.  During the eleventh week of the semester, Desiree noticed that Lydia was acting differently.  "I noticed that you're happier," the pretty African-American woman said during the break in class one day.  "Why?  Meet a guy?" Lydia blinked at her friend.  "Umm, yes, but not in that sense.  I found a math tutor, and

A month and a half later – it had taken that long to put the galaxy in order and finish off any vampire contingents – Kristal put the finishing touches on her hair and turned to Nalana.  "What do you think?" she asked, striking a pose. Nalana grinned.  "Very nice.  How about me?" She twirled around.  The knee length, coral pink dress she wore flared out slightly.  Her hair was up in a simple yet pretty updo, her curls cascading down onto her shoulders, and she wore light pink lipstick and pink shoes that somehow managed to match her dress perfectly. Kristal grinned.  "You never need to ask, Lana, you always look lovely."  The door

Denied the right to be with Nalana in the operating room, Kristal was reduced to pacing the waiting room.  She walked back and forth, chewing her fingernails and praying that her friend would be all right.  Vortex had been banished to the waiting room as well, and he waited in tense silence.  Addie and Jada were crying in the corner of the waiting room, and Widow was curled up against Kyle, her face buried in his shoulder.  Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kristal decided that her brother and the Denebian had to be in love, but Nalana took precedence in her mind at the moment. Finally, after nearly three hours, Tobias appeared in the waiti

The next three days passed quickly.  Thaddeus regained his strength rapidly, and Vampira made no further attempts to attack the group of Heroes and Villain. Finally, it was time to retrieve Faith and Raene.  Kristal was eager to see her sister again, and she insisted on going with Geoff to pick them up.  Even though Thaddeus was recovering, he still wasn't strong enough to transport long distances. Thaddeus gave Geoff the exact coordinates of the monastery, so they didn't have to go by Werewolf this time.  They appeared in the main courtyard.  Brother Theo was just walking out of the large building, and he jumped in surprise.  "We're here f

The entire group passed a very pleasant night with the Werewolf tribe.  The pup that Thaddeus had saved took an immense liking to him and spent the whole time sitting on his lap, mimicking everything the Peace Keeper did.  It turned out that the pup was a little boy.  Kristal sat down next to Thaddeus, and the pup turned to smile at her.  "He likes you," Thaddeus said with a small smile. She blushed.  "I guess.  He likes you more," she answered quickly.  And who wouldn't? her treacherous mind added.  She didn't say part out loud.  "So you simply saved his life, and the tribe made you an honorary member of the pack?" "It appears that way," T

The little group arrived back on Homeworld right in front of Addie, who was carrying a pile of canteens to where the group of ex-prisoners was waiting to go home.  She dropped the containers in surprise.  "Ack!  Oh, you guys scared me!" "Well, apologize!" Kristal said to Thaddeus, who had done the transporting. He rolled his eyes slightly, making her jaw drop, but acquiesced.  "I'm sorry, Addie, I didn't mean to startle you." "Better," Kristal nodded, and missed the small, amused smile that the Peace Keeper sent her way.  "How did you cope without us?" she asked Addie. Addie shrugged.  "Well, we've been in kind of a bind as far as water g

"The Song?" Seth remained un-convinced.  "What kind of weapon is that?!" Galen shrugged.  "The kind that takes away all of her vampire powers and leave her how she used to be, before she was possessed.  I don't pretend to understand how it works." "But it's just a song!"  Seth sighed.  "Oh, well.  Let's just hope it works.  Where do we find this Song?" Galen shook his head.  "Sadly, that was not in the information that I was given.  I have no idea where the Song is." "Well, that's helpful," Kristal said grumpily.  She was still upset that Vampira had gone away before she'd had a chance to fry her with electricity. Suddenly, Vortex's head

Kristal instantly threw her hands out, crackling with electricity, as a warning to the figures not to come any closer.  The taller of the hooded figures made a happy noise and threw back its hood, revealing a light-haired young man.  "Seth!" Kristal squealed, and she ran to give her brother a hug.  Kyle and Faith were close behind, and the siblings shared a four-way hug in which everyone talked at once. "I missed you so much!" "Don't ever scare us like that again!" "Seth!  If she ever kidnaps you again…" "Guys!  It's great to see you!" Kristal, never one for hugging, pulled out of the hug first and turned to see Thaddeus swinging th