After the incident with Kai, things at the detention home had gone fairly well.

Joelee was officially the big boss of the detention home, but that didn't mean everyone was happy about it.

Kai's group all tried to convince Kai to take another crack at winning back his position which he hesitantly agreed to after about a day of convincing.

Joelee's warning about breaking something was definitely more than a threat, that much was proven by the fact Kai's arm was now in a sling.

Joelee's group remained rather small but that didn't mean they weren't ruthless. After four attempts at stealing the "throne" from Joelee, the group was deemed untouchable.

Killian already was affectionately referred to as the Brain of the group due to the fact he had whatever was needed whenever it was needed. He always seemed to have access to whatever anyone asked for and if he didn't have access to it, for the right price he and Gadget would build it.

Gadget was an inventor, not unlike his roommate. Killian and Gadget had made a name for themselves long before they joined Joelee's group but now they were not only popular but now they were untouchable.

Esther and Alyssa had apparently befriended each other by getting into a fight in the lower maintenance area and came out on top with only a few scratches and bruises.

They made a good team, Alyssa being rather handy due to the fact she had grown up in a family of freak show employee's. She was graceful and quick, but painfully skinny due to malnourishment.

Esther and her brother grew up on the streets with their father who taught them to beg and fight. Esther knew her way around a good brawl and put those skills to good use.

Though Esther still didn't like Satana whatsoever, she grew to tolerate the rather loud girl who seemed to ONLY hang out with the group, seemingly not having any friends besides the ones within the group.

But that made the group that much scarier as Satana already had a bit of a reputation as being unpredictable due to her strong bipolar disorder. She was also a kleptomaniac, so nobody ventured to close for fear of losing everything within their pockets.

It had been almost three weeks since the Kai incident now and life was going fairly smoothly aside from a few incidents where an inmate would get testy... But aside from that, life was good... That was until... He showed up.

Joelee was sitting with her friends, listening to Gadget's very cheesy jokes, genuinely having a good time when the doors burst open.

A rather tall male was escorted in by at least four guards gazing around the cafeteria, his neon green eyes landing on Joelee and her group, a smirk spreading over his features before he looked away. Joelee stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide in shock.

The male was rather attractive with curly black hair that was buzzed down along the sides and back. His eyes were a bright neon green which was incredibly rare in this day and age. He was tall with a slightly muscular build, appearing to be from a military background from the way he held himself. He was rather clean cut compared to the rest of the kids within the compound as his dark skin was completely spotless.

" Dang." Joelee, Esther, Alyssa, Killian and Kai all said at the same time.

" That is one attractive man." Esther admitted with wide eyes.

" I fully agree." Alyssa whispered as she looked him up and down.

" Hey! Nathan and I are attractive too!" Gadget argued as he crossed his arms over his chest.

" Meh." Satana said to Gadget who glared at her.

" Attractive, yes. But that man is beautiful!" Alyssa exclaimed as she sat there, practically drooling over the new guy.

" I wonder what his name is..." Esther murmured while Gadget and Nathan rolled their eyes.

" His name is Alaric. Alaric Valencia." A males voice said from the side of the table.

All of the people at Joelee's table collectively jumped in surprise as they turned to look at the new male who smirked at them.

" Valencia..." Joelee mumbled with wide eyes as she stared at the attractive male.

" Can I sit here?" He asked, not waiting for an answer as he squeezed between Joelee and Killian, causing Killian to narrow his eyes slightly.

" Now. You know my name. It's only polite to tell me all of yours as well." Alaric gave them a cheeky smile which caused Esther, Alyssa, Joelee and Killian to all blush.

" Name's Satana. The hot one is Killian, the extremely jealous one next to you is Gadget and the grumpy one is Nathan." Satana introduced the boys, knowing that the boys were all either too attracted or too jealous to introduce themselves.

" I'm Alyssa, but everyone calls me Becky." Alyssa smiled shyly as she spoke, causing Gadget to roll his eyes again.

" I'm Esther. But you can call me Esther." Esther spoke up while Alaric smiled at both girls.

" Pleasure to meet you both. And you, pretty lady? What's your name?" Alaric glanced at Joelee, his smile widening as he propped his head up with his palm.

" Joelee. Call me Joe." Joelee said with a polite smile.

" Hmm, I don't like it." Alaric said causing Joelee to arch her eyebrows.

" Excuse you?" Joelee asked in a deathly calm tone.

" Joe. Seems like an insult to not use your real name, especially when it's so beautiful." Alaric said, causing Joelee's eyes to widen in shock.

" Dude, that was super smooth." Satana complimented with an impressed look.

" It was more of a backhanded compliment." Killian muttered bitterly as he kept his gaze on his plate where he was stabbing at a biscuit with his fork.

" Someone's jealousssss!" Gadget teased, causing Killian's angry glare to snap up to Gadget who quickly went silent.

" Jealous of what?" Joelee asked, completely unaware of what was happening.

" Nothing. Doesn't matter." Killian said as he dropped his fork onto his plate bitterly.

" So what landed you in here, Al?" Satana asked in an overly cheerful voice.

" That's for me to know and you to find out." Alaric winked as he popped a brussel sprout into his mouth before standing up and leaving, causing the girls to stare after him.

" That was oddly hot." Becky said with a confused expression.

" Hey!" Gadget whined, causing her to look at him with a sheepish smile.

" Oh, come on, you have to admit he's hot!" Satana rolled her eyes, causing Gadget to huff out a sigh of annoyance.

" Okay, you're right. But shut up." Was all Gadget said which caused everyone to burst out laughing while Killian stood quickly, causing the table to shake before he turned and stomped away. Slamming his tray into the trash can, Killian then whipped around and stalked from the cafeteria, leaving everyone completely and utterly confused.

" What's his problem?" Joelee asked with arched eyebrows.

" He's jealous. I already said that." Gadget said as he took a bite of his very gross meat.

" Of what!?" Joelee asked with a flabbergasted expression.

" Alaric." Nathan said, slapping his hand against his forehead in exasperation when Joelee still looked confused.

" Girl, you stupid." Alyssa said, causing Joelee to turn her glare onto her.

" I just don't understand why Killian is jealous of Alaric!" Joelee argued with an annoyed expression.

Everyone at her table besides Joelee collectively groaned, causing her to glance at all of them in confusion.

" What?!" Joelee exclaimed with an ever increasingly anxious expression.

" You're definitely super innocent." Was the only reply she got from Esther before everyone got up to leave her alone.

" Glad they finally left." Alaric's voice caused Joelee to flinch a bit as she turned quickly to stare up at the much taller male. Alaric grinned down at her, seemingly having ditched his group of guards with a look that said he didn't have a care in the world.

" Oh, hey. You startled me." Joelee mumbled which made Alaric chuckle quietly.

" I can see that. I wanted to talk to you alone so I waited until they left." Alaric said as he sat next to her, laying his elbow on the table as he leaned against it.

" Why? What do you want?" Joelee questioned as she glanced at the attractive male curiously.

" I want to talk. I heard that you're "the big boss" around here." Alaric gave her an amused smile which made her glare a bit.

" Yeah? So?" Joelee looked Alaric up and down suspiciously, the sass very evident as she spoke. She knew she could probably take him, but he was a lot more fit and well fed than she was which meant he could probably outmanoeuvre her.

" You won't be for much longer. Bye, doll." Alaric winked before standing up and leaving the cafeteria, while Joelee just sat there in stunned silence for a moment.

" EXCUSE YOU?!" Joelee jumped to her feet, causing everyone in the cafeteria to jump in surprise.

Joelee charged after Alaric who hesitated in the hallway with a grin that quickly faded as Joelee grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down to her level.

" Listen here, you cocky little snot..." Joelee snapped, causing him to arch his eyebrows.

" I know exactly who you are. And I don't appreciate being threatened. Nor will I tolerate it, so don't you ever speak to me in ever a slightly threatening manner or I will punch you in the face so hard that your kids will feel it." Joelee shoved him away, causing him to hit the wall but it didn't seem to hurt him as he grinned once again.

" Why would you hurt your own children like that? Seems kind of cruel..." Alaric chuckled which made Joelee's eyes widen in shock. Two guards quickly ran into the hallway, hands on the holsters of their guns but they faltered as Joelee got I to Alaric's face, waving a finger in his face.

" Let's get something straight. I don't like you. I will not have your children. I loathe your existence. Leave me alone and don't ever bother me again or I promise you, you will regret it!" Joelee snapped as she backed away from him, face red from anger and embarrassment.

Joelee turned and stalked away, leaving Alaric watching her go with an amused expression.

" She'll come around." Alaric said to the guard who rolled his eyes before grabbing Alaric's arm.

_-°-_

" The nerve of that guy! He can go fall in a well for all I care!" Joelee exclaimed to Satana, Alyssa and Esther. The girls were sitting out in the courtyard, waiting for the older boys to get out of their mandatory classes. Esther, Satana, Joelee and Alyssa had already finished their classes about ten minutes ago but Joelee was still fuming about her "conversation" with Alaric.

" One, did you just quote that super old podcast of Lassie? Two, would it make you feel better if I told you I stole his wallet?" Satana looked at Joelee intently as she spoke.

" One, yes. Two, Satana, did you steal Alaric's wallet?" Joelee asked with an emotionless expression.

" Don't change the subject. I asked if it would make you feel better.... Hypothetically." Satana said quickly as she put a hand on her hip in a sassy manner.

"It'd make me laugh so hard that I'd fall over.... Hypothetically." Joelee said, a small smile appearing on the edge of her lips.

" Then I think it'd be a good idea to tell you, I stole Alaric's wallet." Satana held up a black wallet with a white skull on the center.

Joelee burst out laughing, holding her sides as she laughed rather obnoxiously and loudly before she fell over from laughing so hard.

" You stole another person's wallet? You're such a thief." Esther rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.

" I'm not a thief. I'm just really good at acquiring things that aren't mine." Satana argued as she flipped open the wallet.

" He has two dollars anyway. That's it." Satana held up the dollar, revealing the face of President Joseph Stalin.

" Cheapskate." Alyssa said, causing Esther to shoot her a glare.

" Don't egg her on." Esther scolded with an annoyed expression.

" I'm not!" Alyssa argued as she crossed her arms over her chest.

" Yeah, well while you guys argue, I'm going to go visit my siblings in the lower maintenance levels. Later." Joelee said as she stood up before she turned to leave.

" Has she figured out why Killian is jealous yet?" Alyssa asked, watching as Joelee left before she turned her gaze back to her friends.

" Nope. She'll figure it out eventually though... I think." Esther said with a casual shrug.

" So... Anyone want to get some chalk candy from the vending machine with Alaric's two dollars?" Satana asked as she stood up rather quickly, waving the wallet in the air as she did so.

" Yes!" Alyssa exclaimed as she followed Satana back into the building while Esther simply shook her head in disappointment.

" I need new friends." Esther muttered but followed Satana and Alyssa regardless.

_-°-_

The Dungeon, September 12th 2021.

" Keep in a straight line. Anyone to fall out of formation gets sent to the corner." The large guard yelled, his orange eyes glowing in the darkness of the airplane hanger.

" Your main mission is extermination. Survivors are to be eliminated immediately. Any Meta's are to be brought in. Just like you, they are our property. Try to run, try to fight back? You will be terminated immediately. Understood, freaks?!" The male yelled to the large group of soldiers who all immediately saluted the commanding officer.

" Sir, yes, sir!" The soldiers all chorused in unison. They were the perfect soldiers, bound by the collar around their necks into obeying any and all orders.

They didn't dare run, the metal around their necks keeping them in check. The collars held enough electricity to take down an entire country and most had seen the aftermath of fighting against the collars.

Using their powers without permission would send enough electricity into their necks to take down an elephant. Not even the most powerful of Meta's dared use their powers without permission, especially knowing how unforgiving The Dungeon boss was.

Joelee's blood red eyes glowed in the darkness as she gazed at her fellow Meta's. Her blood felt like it was boiling within her veins as she narrowed her eyes at the male leading the team.

Tall and broad, stacked with muscles and scars, David Bellefree was the definition of a Goliath. His black hair was buzzed down to basically nothing, the scars along his face doing nothing to hide how handsome he had once been. His eyes were a flaming orange, glowing with the fire that burned deep within his skin, seeping through with the burns that marked his muscled arms and neck.

He was as ruthless as he was well known, he was powerful. He was a fire manipulator, not unlike most high ranking soldiers were. The burns on his skin and fire symbol burned onto his neck showed as much, each burn signifying the torture he went through to achieve his fire abilities.

" Silver. Eyes forward." David snarled in the face of the smaller girl, causing her eyes to snap up to meet his.

" Problem, Horseman?" David sneered as Joelee narrowed her eyes before giving him a toothy smile.

" No problems, sir." She growled through her teeth, her aura radiating danger as her eyes flashed to gold for a moment.

David's eyes flickered a bit as his burns began to spread with orange veins but he quickly backed off as he backhanded the smaller woman, hand leaving a burn against her pale skin.

" Apologize to your superior, Horseman." He warned, watching as the wound on her cheek began to heal quickly right before his eyes.

" My apologies, sir." Joelee gritted through her teeth, smile never leaving her face as she growled under her breath.

" Speak up, little girl. I didn't quite hear that." David snapped as his eyes flicked across her face, unnerved by the animalistic way she was acting.

" My apologies, sir." Joelee growled out, canines extending a bit as she tilted her head.

" It won't happen again, sir." She continued, causing David to back up, seemingly satisfied with her answer as he turned and stalked away.

Joelee's eyes returned to normal, her breathing low and labored as she struggled to keep her powers under control.

" Not yet." She whispered to herself as her smile faded, being replaced by an emotionless expression as she stared straight ahead.

" Not yet." She murmured once again, eyes flashing a blue instead as she chuckled quietly.