Beverly Hills Karate Kids

Our Lady of Too Many Sorrows

It felt like a terrible nightmare that Diana awoke from. She could barely remember the events of the past week, the flurry of work that her allies put into sequestering Diana away from New York and into this remote place on the west coast. One minute she was played by the demon in her sword into heinous acts, the next, she was on a plane to California, to attend school.

She found herself in a more familiar setting- school. The warm weather, the coffee shops, the kids- all reminded her of how her life used to be, as did the uniform and the school bag. She had also lost her long hair for a Go-Go Tomago kind of tomboyish short hair. The school itself had a diverse population- Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, whites, queers, cool kids, nerds, jocks... and all the unique people in between the cliches. People on campus were... normal. Some people were friendly and greeted the newcomer, others immediately passed judgement and put her in the 'hot asian' or 'nerd asian' group.

The newcomer was absently led by the School's App (Yes, each school had its own app now) to the guidance counselor's office to get started. Inside the GC's office were posters for clubs. She was quickly eyeing non-violent clubs, but it seems Karate, Archery and fencing were a thing here. Diana was seated by one of the student assistants, a cheery, slightly overweight blonde, whose cheer was reduced a full 50% when she saw Diana. "Oh great, another Asian chick." She thought to herself.

"Asian Culture Appreciation Club" One sign said, and Diana quickly saw it had only five members. It seemed like the best place to lay low in. She'd check it out after her first classes.

"Danny-sama." A portly kid with curly black hair dripped pizza grease on his untucked uniform shirt. He gave himself the name Spock. Only teachers and administrators called him by his real name, but he did the most to get rid of the stigma of being named Leslie. Most of his classmates called him nothing. No one really dealt with him other than the other kids who in the AV club, who of course called him Spock. "I think I've got a shot. You know Danny talkd to me yesterday?" Spock chewed up the pizza and put it back on the plate. "I dropped something on the ground, and she said 'hey, you dropped that'. It's like she knew." Spock's parents spent a great amount of time developing microprocessing for apps to decrease lag on mobile devices. Spock had the know how, he designed the app the school used to navigate everything, but mostly he made it to catch the eye of Danny Tamamoa. He even knew her real name, but did not know she would deck him if he ever said it.

The sound of Danny's horn honked as she locked her camaro with her car, throwing her bag over her shoulder. Her school uniform was freshly pressed and even though winter crept through the area, Danny decided against any kind of hosiery and just went with knee sock with her skirt and cardigan with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. The doors to the mansionesque school opened once Danny stepped passed the central water fountain and came to the motion detector scanning her for recognition. Her parents did not pay hundreds of thousands for Danny to get kidnapped. That was what Prodigy was for.

Inside the hustle of the school picked up, but before Danny could get a whiff of Loser Alley, a plump blonde girl grabbed her. "Hey Danny, what's up. How was your weekend?"

"Um, great. Did a few things." The invasion caught Danny off guard. The Junior class Treasurer and President of the Welcoming Committee was far stronger than Danny would presume.

"Oh, that's great, you're always doing something." A goofy wag of the blonde's hair struck a girl walking by in the face.

Danny could outrun this girl. She knew she could, but where could she hide? "Is there something you need from me?"

"Uh yeah, there's a new girl here, and I was wondering if-"

"I could do your job for you?" Danny's eyes drooped down into her high cheekbones.

A laugh broke out that almost sounded rehearsed until a snort came out. Did she purposely snort? Could people do that? Danny wasn't even sure pigs could do it on purpose. "Oh my god, Danny you're hilarious."

"That wasn't a joke. Listen Pearl, I'm a little busy with stuff, so-" The prerogative popped forward. Wearing the same uniform and with the same look on her face as the last time. "Aw, shit."

"Whoops, gonna be something for the swear jar." Pearl pulled out a glass jar and pushed it next to Danny's face. The reflection of Danny's gaze cast several glares at Pearl. "I'll comp you this one since you're doing me a solid. I guess that means I owe you a favor!" Pearl chuckled as Danny walked forward to greet Diana.

"So, what's the deal and where's your sword?"

Danny walked past Pearl and led Diana out of the main office and into the hall, brushing by a portly kid with greasy, curly hair and glasses. He brushed his shirt clean and started to try and say something to Danny before she walked straight past him. "Danny-sama?"

The fastest way went straight through Loser Alley. Even at nine thirty in the morning an assortment of dilettante's gathered to smoke and skip class. Punctual to school, but still did not go to class. If Danny would ever skip a class, she would probably not even bother to show up, but why would Danny tell these bunch of kids what to do. "You know you can just sleep til eleven and just skip the afternoon classes."

"There's a toll now for underclassmen." A senior with long greasy hair stood with a lanky build. His uniform hung off him, but he still towered over Danny at around 6'3.

"We're in the same class, asshole." Danny stopped. She could easily walk on through, but something deep down in her actually wanted to pick a fight. Verbal of course. No need to get written up for fighting in Loser Alley. "Even though I wouldn't know it by attending it, Denny."

"The name is Damian and, she isn't. She looks like a freshman to me." The cigarette fell to the ground as Denny blocked the hallway.

A little blond kid no older than fourteen chuckled as he held his knees. "Hey, Danny, I saw some villain captured you and put it on Instagram. That's embarrassing as-"

The lightning grip of Danny wrapped around his collar and pulled him towards her face. "I will break you in half!" She threw him back into a trashcan.

"We're just joking Danny." Denny put his hands up and backed away. He knew Danny could kick his ass, and really did not want to have his friends watch him get demolished by her. Joking always made for the better image. "Hey new girl. Are you cool or what?"

"Let's go Diana." Danny would try to grab Diana and lead her out of Loser Alley into the main hallway.

Diana looked up when the door opened. It was that girl she helped back during Christmas. "Oh... It's... you. Wow, I didn't expect to see you here." She said with unflattering dull surprise.

Diana gave Danny a rather safe and obvious answer when asked about her most obvious defining character feature. "Um... can't... bring edged weapons to school, can I? I transferred here. My uh, papers finally got through." Her tone should have been snarky and confident, the tone of a warrior... but today Diana's voice was crackled, weak, stammering. The voice of a person whose spirit had been defeated. The eyes of someone who witnessed a true atrocity. For someone who was a hardened mercenary with her own profile on craigstlist, that was saying something.

Diana took the cues and followed Danny out of the wood and carpet furnished neo-classical office. She looked around the school, noting that it was much higher quality than even the posh schools back in Manila. There was proper, even generous provision of open green spaces, abundant trees, wide walkways. Without the app she'd probably get lost. There were vending machines for healthy snacks around.  

The duo run into a pack of privileged kids along the way. Danny was assertive and grabbed-threatened one who decided to try and mention something about her crime fighting life.

Some  tall, white creep who was violating the male hair cut code by several inches thought Diana was going to be easier prey, and tried to shake her down for lunch money. "Suuuure. Do you guys have a scanner for E-Wallets?" The snark was slowly returning to Diana.

"Ooooh. New girl got a smart mouth." The ringleader, a greek girl with purple highlighted hair, liked Diana's comeback. Spock decided to spoil "Er, ah, I do, in fact take e-wallet transactions!" Diana shot him a killer glance, her chi making him suddenly fall to his knees.

"...Suddenly I don't miss going to school anymore. Seriously, did you guys come out of a Japanese high school manga? or the 80's from Back to the Future?" Diana's snark mechanisms were now in full swing.

Spock again, snort-laughed at Diana's references. He was quickly silenced by his peers. But, that was sort of funny.

Things were about to come to a head when a sizable authority figure arrived, a real brawnhilda of a woman wearing the school nurse's uniform, but with pants. And Combat boots. She comes across the scene and places her big meaty fists on her hips. She looked like a woman who could take on a bear and win. "Allo children. Vat on earth are you doingk in ze hallvay? Do you not have classes Hmmmmm?"

A "Uhhh..." "Oh crap it's Helga..." A girl with a cigarette remarked, not exactly excited to see the school nurse. Or was she the disciplinarian?

Looking over the frightened kids, Helga's eyes wandered over to the smoker. "YOU.... misz Bellona Warfield. vat... vat is zat... zat sting in your mouthz?" She said, aghast at the sight of tobacco on her grounds.

"Uhhh... We're taking recess, miss Klein..." she said in mock respect, smiling as she hid the cigarette behind her back.

With an indoor voice that would make Brian Blessed Blush, The nurse marches over and slaps the puny little cigarette out of the girl's hand. And stomps on it. Poor cigarette, we hardly knew ye. "ZERE IN NO SMOKING ON CAMPUS! GEHEN SIE ZURUCK ZU IHRHEM KLASSENZIMMER!" She breaks out into a fit of bilingualism and pointing, but the message was pretty clear. The students run for the proverbial hills, that is, their classrooms.

"Fucking Nazi..." The apparent ringleader cursed, throwing the weakest insult ever towards one of German descent.

"I HEARD ZAT! And you.... " The nurse takes out folders, which came from the counselor's office. "Misz Tamomoa, Cheerleading. Misz Mendoza, Karate. Students in ze physical extra-currrricularsz must report to ze gymnaaasium after today's classes fo ze annual physical. Iz. zat. clear?"

"But... I'm not in Karate..." Diana wondered.

"Vat? But your record sayz you vere varsity back in ze Philip-pines! Karate, Kendo and archery! a ferocious warrior, a valkyrie zat would make ze all-father proud!" She said with Brian Blessed conviction and a shaking fist, apparently impressed by Diana's background.

"All...father?" Diana reveals her pitiable lack of knowledge in classical norse mythology, the best kind.

"Odin! Speak vit a bit more life girl! Didn't you have breakfast zis morning!?" Helga spoke up vit a bit more harried concern.

"No... er, Yes. Ma'am."

"Good. Children zes days... vit your fancy no-carb diets... you girls should eatt like Helga, and be big and strong! Misz Tamomoa, keep up ze good verk. Auf Wiedersehen, frauleins." Helga leaves the much smaller girls with a hearty pat on the shoulder, one that might've dislocated bones if they weren't such kick-ass heroines already.

Diana rubs her shoulder afterward. "...Are all the teachers here like that?" She asked Danny with a bit of a smile. It seemed Helga's cheerfulness managed to make Diana's day.

"Manga? What the Hell is a manga? Did you just pronounce mango like an idiot." A sour look crossed the face of the denizens of Loser Alley.

The little blond kid pulled himself out of the trashcan, brushing off his pants. "They're like comic books, but lamer cause those weird AV kids like them, because they're Japanese."

"You're going to make one of those fat weebs one Hell of an awkward first time." The laughter of the hall continued as Danny grabbed Diana by the arm and tried to pull her away.

"Let's go Diana. They're not laughing with you or at you." Danny spat out as Helga pulled her out of the hall. A number of the younger neophytes to entitled socialites scrambled, but he older of the group took their time removing their cigarettes and walked away under cool heads.

"Later Danny." A cigarette landed on Danny's shoe, spreading ash across the toe of her shoe.

Helga continued to make the rounds for a number of moments as Danny just rolled through her accent and lack of clarity. "Sure thing." Danny continued to nod her head. "I will definitely see to that." And a few rounds of. "I understand." It finished out the rounds with a much more quiet Loser Alley, but in about fifteen minutes the delinquents would make their way back.

This time Danny could steer clear of them. Not, that she wanted to avoid them, but Danny could not use her bracelet on kids in school, and without it Bella would destroy Danny, but that would be a problem for later. "Who Helga? She isn't a teacher. I think she's a nurse or something. She is always going on about physicals, but I got one done before basketball season."

They wandered through the same oddly constructed halls made by a famous architect notorious for his drug use as Danny showed Diana to her homeroom. "Alright. Here's your class. Those are your classmates. If you don't like them it's fine; they probably don't like you. I'll see you at lunch."

Spock popped around the corner, but quickly hid as Danny pulled her headphones up to her ears and started to walk down the hall.

Diana made it to class without further fuss. She returns Danny's lunch invite with a nod.

DANNY'S CLASS

Danny would endure her classes with modern day e-bullying, as the classroom tables, which were actually enlarged tablets, all received a GIF file shared over the classroom network. It was a GIF of Danny in one of her less than flattering hero moments where she fought and floundered against some villain. Complete with the GTA "Wasted" screen. The class snickered at her expense... The file originated from Spock's desk, but the maker remained to be discovered.


FRESHIE CLASS

Diana meanwhile spent half the time staring out the window of her classroom, her thoughts drifting between nothingness and the events that led up to her year as a mercenary.

After ten minutes or so of wishful window viewing, The school nurse suddenly came in.

"Guten Morgen, children. zeveral members of ze faculties are on sick leave, so I vill be substituting. But before ve begin your lesson, I vould like to call your new classmate to introduce herself. Frau Mendoza!" Helga's strong voice and authoritative tone quickly got the drifter to her feet and in front of the class. She was chided for putting her hands in her pockets by the more proper and poise nurse, standing At-The-Ready.

"Er, hi. My name... my full name... is Princess Diana Lucia-" The class erupts into laughter at her expense at the first name. It was intentional on Diana's part.

"Schweigen! Vat is wrong vit her name, hmmmm? It iz a beautiful name based on a beautiful historical figure taken before her time! Ugh. Children..."
Helga grimaced at the boorishness of young people in general.

"Well... now that I got the main thing people tease me about out of the way... I was also disqualified from Karate U.S. Open for beating the crap out of my opponent in the locker after a match. So... find the video of that too and upload it. I dare ya." Diana said with a tired, Been-there-done-that tone. The laughter died down a bit, as the implied threat of violence scared some of the less ballsy classmates.

LUNCH

Lunchtime rolled around pretty quickly and people were keen on getting their energy levels back up for their shenanigans. Diana's heart was uplifted when she saw the ample selection. The cafeteria looked more like a high-end hotel buffet, with different cuisines available- including Southeast Asian. She hastily assembled a hearty plate with roast pork, some crispy pork skin, a mountain of salad, pickled papaya, grilled tuna belly and some brown rice.

She was heading for the fruit section when some little blonde girl was determined to make a scene. She cut in front of Diana carrying a sandwich. She called out one of the waiters and tossed the plate into an assembly of Japanese Entrees. In a very attention grabbing voice, she gave the poor young man a piece of her mind. "YOU! WHAT IS THIS?! I didn't order a baloney sandwich! I ordered Abalone Sandwich! And what is this, a paper plate?! UGH! GET ME MY ORDER OR I WILL SO SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER!" The girl stormed off, taking some Maki rolls to tide her over.

Entitled Brat. Diana thought to herself. Judging from the lack of reaction from the students, it seemed this kind of thing was normal. She looked around for Danny, and also looked at the Baloney Sandwich, sitting among the entree platters, rejected and alone.

The bell rang a minute after Danny got situated at her mixing table. She pulled out her chemistry lab book and opened to the chapter she half did the night before. She hoped to finish the pre-lab write up before class, but managed to get roped into working as a welcome committee. None of the formulas took a lot of thought, but it did take up a good number of time. Her proctor sat behind his desk, finishing up some last minute changes to his lesson. A blinking light flashed on Danny's phone. If it is American Cheese in America, why is it not just labeled cheese? The early morning questioning from Tsukimi started sooner everyday and her familiarization with American life led her questions to be far more minuet in what details she needed interpreted.

While the Mr. Lexicon began to walk around class to check on the pre-labs, Danny moved the knob on the Bunsen burner in front of her and moved her safety glasses down. A small message appeared in her recent displays. A chuckle began to work its way around the room. She pulled out her tablet and saw the video everyone else found so entertaining. When Danny escaped from the chemical lab without being blown up, she thought figured the worst was behind her. She forgot about high school. "Who the hell is Spock?" The Bunsen burner in front of Danny shot into flames.

"Danny, turn it down." Only in his mid thirties, Mr. Lexicon did well enough to earn a spot among the other science teachers who all excelled well enough in their fields to be invited to lecture at Our Lady. "You're going to burn yourself."

"Danny's getting burned all over the place." A guy slightly younger than Danny with slicked back brown hair and a filled out blazer looked up from his tablet at Danny.

The fire died as the fuel source cut out. "How would like to get laid out?"

"I don't know. Was it painful when it happened to you?" A few boys cracked up as he made his quip. "Now how about you take the word 'out' from that sentence and-"

"I will show you pain-"

"Mr. Cunningham, principal's office. Tamamoa, calm down and don't take justice into your own hands during the school day." The bespectacled man did his best to remedy the situation by removing an effect of the actual source of the problem, but he was hired to teach, not referee fights between seventeen year olds.

Danny sat back down and looked at her half done lab report. "Can I go the principal's office too?" She showed the first page of her lab report to try and coax him into believing she did the whole thing, before asking for her reprieve.

"Sure. But hurry back."

Danny made her way out of the class and made her way to the girl's bathroom. She closed the door and punched the wall hard enough to cause the stall down the way open up. Bruising started to form up around her knuckles. A little cold water did the trick to calm her nerves and rest her hand. She sat down on the couch in the restroom and filled in the rest of her lab report in peace. At least for a few minutes until a timid freshman came out from one of the stalls and slowly creeped her way out of the restroom.

The quiet reprieve did Danny some good. The rest of the morning went by uneventfully, but Danny still wondered about who sent out the video. The upload came from someone named Spock, but she could not put a face to the name. Who could even get that video? It was security feed footage from a chemical plant, and no one in the school would even know Danny went on patrol that night. The mystery would await her. Right now, she needed lunch.

Meeting up with Diana slipped Danny's mind. The junior went to grab her sushi rolls and head back outside to eat under a tree. Typically she would gravitate towards either the table with the other cheerleaders or the rest of the student council, but today she wanted a little time to herself. She bit into an apple and poured the soi sauce into one of the compartments before dipping one of the rolls.

Diana found herself an empty table near the green spaces. She decides that lunch took precedence over speaking to her new friend at school. Ass-kicking action girls needed their space after all. And their protein. She looks around and sees all the usual groups, the most prominent and dominant being the blonde cheerleading co-captain whose name yet escaped Diana. Her top Enforcer, Bellona, sat with them, being also a line cheerleader.

Diana grabs a cup of fresh orange juice from the vending machine, which showed the actual oranges being juiced by some blenders. A few ice cubes drop into the cup to take the edge off the pulpy drink.

The trouble making kids were able to do cheat at lots of things, including finishing lunch earlier. Bellona the Italian-American combat sport queen, stood up from her seat with the Cheerleaders and approached Diana. She decides to try a different angle.

"Hey new girl. I heard from your classmate you talk tough." She said, easing into the bench beside Diana. This time her tone was flattering, her approach more... respectful. Diana simply ignored the girl named after the war goddess of their pantheon.

While Danny's video was trending that morning, people quickly got bored and threw some likes for the noontime show. Bellona tapped her phone a few times, and the Lady of Too Many Sorrows' Merchandise ad playing on the lunchroom screen changed to a candid video of Diana beating the tar out of rival athletes in lockers. It painted her as a sore loser... and someone not to be messed with.

"Look. We started off on the wrong foot earlier... Danny's a nice kid but she doesn't hang out. It's not good behavior for someone who's co-captain of the cheer squad. You though... you look like someone who knows how to get along. And you definitely don't let disrespect slide."

Diana wasn't even fully listening to Belle. The video was clearly being taken out of context. She responds to the flattery by stuffing a fork of salad into her mouth and masticated quietly. Bellona would have been flustered by now, but she played the game.

"We're not all that bad you know. This isn't some high school drama where you got your cool loser heroes and your alpha bitches. We're all just kids trying to get through the day. Why don't you give us a shot?"

Diana remained silent yet again. The crackle of roasted pork skin came her mouth, if little else. Orange juice siiiiip.

At this point Bellona was tempted to flip Diana's food tray. Or her table. But no, she didn't want to give Diana a reason to hang out with Danny more. She had to find something on Diana first, to make her warm up to somebody. "So, if you're none too busy, we're hosting a welcoming Soiree for the freshmen at my place... after the freshmens' Physical. Just a casual meet-and-greet to promote camaraderie between schoolmates. Anyone can go. Infact us seniors are the organizers, and we got free transportation."

"kay." Diana finally uttered, if only to get Bellona off her back. She chomps on the baloney sandwich that she ended up getting. Belle chuckled, helping herself to a piece of lettuce of Diana's tray.

she gets up and gives Danny a friendly wave after that. The seniors would get the text later about the soiree.

Still no way to figure out who posted this on her own. Using the bracelet to channel ghosts of warriors went all the way up to disarming bombs, but she did not know if cyber terrorism would fall into the spectrum of war. But, before Danny could think into that mode, she spotted Diana off in the distance, possibly threatening her with an open fist. Oh, no wait. She was waving. "I forgot all about her."

Danny started to move with a little more purpose to get over to Diana. She spotted Bella moving away, back towards the table with a few cheerleaders. Some of the seniors, but Danny still could not remember Bella being particularly close with any of the cheerleaders Danny hung out with. Something felt off, but Danny would let it go for the moment. She passed a few classmates and exchanged a few waves and smiles before making her way back to Diana. "Was she bothering you or something?" Danny stepped up while looking over towards Bella. "Anyways, how was the morning? Only three more years and you can be done with it all."

Someone on the side of the cafeteria snickered as he looked at Danny then back to his tablet."I am going to kill whomever Spock is when I find him. Or her. I wonder if Bella could be Spock. Or, maybe Veronica." Danny dropped her arms. "They're both lacking in the skills to do that, but they could manipulate one of the AV nerds I guess."

"I think she was trying to get on my good side... and invited me to a freshman welcoming party. I might go..." Diana explained, having an understanding of what Bella might have been trying.

"... though for the most part I just need time alone. School's fine, Nurse Helga substituted for a teacher this morning. Classmates laughed at my first first name, Princess. What a bunch of pricks. Got nothing to do." Diana nitpicked at their attitude, and perhaps maybe why her mother named her Princess.

Diana polished off her meal with some yogurt and a banana. She still had her appetite at least. She looked at all the popular kids as they slowly left the lunch buffet one by one, or group by group.

"What do they want anyway? Don't they have competitions to be preparing for? And I find it strange in the first place I run into you here." She lowers her voice for her next question. "Do you do your goody-goody hero thing around here too?"

"Maybe she just wanted to see what a good side looked like." While Danny stayed well liked by most people in school, those who did not like her really did not like her. "We don't have competition until late March. This is when cheerleaders rest on their laurels about how popular they are. It will pass, but not for a few months. Well, I've been going to this school for a few years, so I think it might be more on your side." The bell to dismiss lunch rang. "I don't typically do stuff like that around here unless Alpha tries to steal from an exhibit like he did that one time. Other than that, I don't need to do anything heroic." Normally. "I guess I'll see you after school. Helga probably wants a physical from you."

The second half of Danny's day usually lowered in pace. She would sit through two electives and then head to gym for her athletics period. Most of the ruckus on the GIF passed with cooler heads shutting down the more immature kids around the school, but Danny still could barely hold back the interest of herself wanting to hurt whomever passed that picture around. Normally her time went to cheerleading, but basketball season was still in full swing. She hung her uniform up and slipped into a pair of basketball shorts and a practice jersey before tying her hair back.

On this occasion, Danny stumbled on to something she could not help but overhear with some interest. She could hear Bella on the other side of a door. Whatever occasion she would speak about Danny could get a little insight into, hopefully something regarding whatever plan she hoped to pull on Diana.

The physical exam under Nurse Helga was feeling more like an army fitness test. For Special forces. Girls were made to line up and do pull ups, and they couldn't do any, to Helga's disappointment.

"Don't dissapoint me now, fraulein." She said to Diana when her turn came.

Diana jumped up and got a grip, tensing the requisite muscles to make this an effortless move. but seeing that some seniors were watching, the same kids from Bellona's clique, Diana decided it was better not to show off. She fakes a struggle and pulls herself up, barely getting her nose over the bar, then dropping down.

"Ow. my arms... hurt..." Diana rubbed her arms in feigned soreness.

"...Half a pull up. Better than most today, but far from what was expected." Helga said, taking note of it on her important clipboard.

The rest of the test proceeded as such. Diana called no further attention her herself, content to match the time or speed or quantity of the girl in front of her and add a little if it was lacking. Treadmill, balance beam, and a few whacks on the punching bag, Diana put effort into actually being unremarkable for the first time in her life. She needed... time away from her combat history.

Helga made no further comment, but seemed disappointed with the transferee now. Somehow it made Diana sad, but the curious seniors too were showing disinterest in this average girl from the East.

"Okay, frau Mendoza. Your physical is updated. Go und hit ze showers." She said in a flat tone, having completed the physical and given her an average result on her fitness report.

The seniors in the room were definitely planning something in there. They were planning on getting Pizza Cappadocia to make them a ton of 18-inch pizzas for eating, and getting some desserts from the local community college bakery.

The door suddenly opened as a generic senior student opened the door. Bellona looked at Danny. "Well well, if it ain't Tamamoa."

She slowly approaches her with a sneer, arms crossed, looking down at her a moment as she was pulled into the room. "Say, what do you say to being useful and getting us some soda for the soiree? We can't serve hard drinks to Freshies, and we gotta hit the pizza places." She asked with a grin, this completely innocent question and favor from a fellow senior.

A few words of importance came close to piquing Danny's interest. They were planning something, and given the direction their lives currently looked to be going, they did not plan much. Danny rested her ear against the door, probably not the greatest move on her part, but the hollow lining gave her perfect ambiance. Then she got better acoustics by having the door removed.

Danny stumbled forward, but found two girls grabbing either of her arms. Whether they knew it or not, if Danny could not reach her bracelet, she could not access any of her fighting styles. Even with her better than average athleticism, she would be unable to take down three or four girls, let alone Bella who would give Danny a threat even with the bracelet. "I have no clue what you're up to, but it's not going to happen. If you want sodas, pick them up yourselves, because first of all, they're sugary and lead to a high level of obesity in school children, and second, I'm not giving you anything to use to prank a bunch of freshmen. Now if you'll excuse me-"

But the excuse did not come. Both of the hands gripping Danny stayed tight, leaving her to deal with Bella.

It would just so happen Diana was finished with her shower and scouting the hallway for her next destination when, lo and behold, she runs into the room people were using for their diabolic party committee. "Hey excuse me do you know the way to the infirmary..."

"Two rooms down the hall, now beat it freshie. Private meeting. Seniors only." The generic tall white blonde bully senior tries to push Diana back out into the hallway, but even the tired and jaded ex-merc wouldn't have any of that. Her fast and furious fist connects with a sensitive spot on the senior karate member, so fast nobody normal could catch it.

"auuughh.." The senior clutches his stomach like he suddenly realized he had taco bell. Not feeling so good he goes lean against the window to lose his lunch.

"Hey, are you alright? You look like you ate something bad." Diana asked nonchalantly.

"Ahahaaha Vince, don't be such a Jerk, see what you got yourself into, Vince?" Bellona remarked. Vince was always an idiot who couldn't stick to the plan.

"So. Is this some kind of senior bonding activity or are you all fighting over who gets to date Danny?" Diana joked.

"Not at all... Danny here made a suggestion we do fresh juices instead of soda, to promote a healthier lifestyle for the freshmen. Great idea Danny. So I guess we -or you- should hit the supermarket and grab some apples and oranges and watermelons and whatever." Bellona was determined to stick to the game plan, whatever it was, of being nice. She has the seniors let go of Danny and pats her cheekily.

"Right. The room Vince described isn't the infirmary by the way, it's the information center." Diana hesitates a moment before heading for the infirmary.

A girl grabbed a bandanna out from her bag as the two girls held Danny. "I guess we don't want her ruining any surprises..." If Danny could get to her bracelet, she would rethink her policy on fighting in school, but she could only try to fight to get either of her hands free. Before any of the girls could make Danny take a vow of silence, the one of the boys guarding the door spilled over. Good. Danny hated Vince.

"Danny's not a senior, so we she can go bond by herself."

The clique dispersed, but not before Bellona brushed up against Danny's cheek. No response came from Danny. How this prank would play out still remained in the dark for her too. "How about you just stay away from them until I figure out what it is they are up to. And in case you were waiting on me to get juice for anything, you'll be waiting a while." Danny fixed her ponytail and headed off towards the gym.

Every play ran through Danny as she played the floor general until they finally finished their practice. She would talk with the cheerleading coach after practice, but she took this week off, leaving the cheerleaders in a state of flux as Veronica cared little for ordering or structuring, and cared even little for telling people what they were doing wrong. Of course the practices only lasted twenty minutes before Veronica dismissed everyone and headed off to her own hovel of vanity, but Danny found a few sophomore and juniors still at school hoping to work on their own skills. They smiled warmly as Danny approached. One day Danny would take over, and that day could not come soon enough. She loved hearing gossip about Veronica, but needed to go see what Diana was getting herself into.

Hopefully nothing terrible. At least nothing too terrible.

Diana was always a good listener. She had this thing where she waited a minute before replying to conversations. It made her look like a deep thinker, but really, her brain was just typing out and editing what to say. "I can always... beat up everyone who gets in my way. Well. You take care too." Diana said that like it was a completely normal thing.

Diana stopped by the infirmary and got some aspirin for her headache. She felt good enough to catch up to the archery club's practice. All those movies with young heroines and bows had uplifted archery from obscurity to being a relatively participated in sport. Of course, some where aghast that it required immense upper body strength, but it hardly mattered to Diana, using a traditional yew bow on display to nail several near bulls eyes. The male Scottish team captain quickly hands her the application form and a team jacket.

After all the school affairs of the day were done, Diana lounged a bit at a nearby cafe. Her expression, as her thoughts, were mostly blank, as she waited for the sun to set and her milk tea to run dry. Once the sun once down, she decided it was time to walk the five blocks to the marked property on her GPS. A walk at night would be good for the lungs.