Billy Kaplan tried to walk out of the school building, but someone had grabbed onto his backpack, yanking him back into the hallway. Billy fell to the ground, rubbing his shoulders were the backpack had pulled at him. Billy looked up to see who his captor was, and it was the biggest bully of them all, Greg.

Greg was the quarterback on the football team, and built like one as well. He worked out every morning, not to mention the practice he had every night. With Greg's winning streak, his parents doted and spoiled him, allowing Greg to have anything he wanted. Greg took this message to heart, ruling the school with his unlimited funds, good looks, group of strong lackeys, and his own beastly size.

"Hey, twerp, your smart, aren't you? I saw your grades, you have a brain in that head of yours. Now, because your grades are so high, I have a mission that you will help me on. Sound like fun? Great, cause we're leaving now," Greg said with a malicious smile, pulling Billy out of the school by his backpack. Billy tried, but failed, at escaping, unable to pull his backpack off or pull harder than Greg. The other students didn't bother a glance. They were all too aware of Billy's treatment at the hands of Greg.

Greg led Billy down the New York streets, no one batting an eyes at the scene that was reminiscent of a kidnapping. Greg only stopped when the sun was sinking in the sky, the pair very far away from their school. They ended up at a stone building, a sign with the fading words of "Juvenile Department of Redemption" telling Billy just where they were. He had heard of this place, but the memory was vague and dim. In front of that sign was two of Greg's sidekicks and Teddy.

"Okay, boys, our mission tonight is to release a prisoner. My girlfriend, Lisa, is trapped in there, and the damsel in distress needs our help. Billy, the smart lad, I need you to hack the system," Greg said. "My other men, we're the brawn. We're gonna tear this place apart. And Teddy, I need you to do your special trick."

"Greg, we can't do this! This is illegal!" Billy said, trying to run away, but Greg already had a hold of Billy's backpack, keeping Mr. Kaplan from leaving. Billy fought extra hard to get out of the grip, but he wasn't the strongest man in the world, not even close next to Greg. A fly would have faired better than Billy.

"Illegal? Keeping kids in there like that should be the illegal thing!" Greg said, narrowing his eyes angrily at the building, his voice rolling around in his own seething anger. Billy didn't like the look of the building, but he wasn't sure what he could do. He needed to listen to Greg for now, and call 911 later on. If he explained everything, they might let him off the hook.

Greg didn't say anything more as he handed Billy a computer, one that was very clearly not his or Greg's. When Billy looked into the computer, he found out that it was already logged into the Department's mainframe, ready for some extra hacking so the security camera would come off. Billy looked at everyone, trying to figure out an escape route. When none came, Billy gave a low sigh, doing what needed to be done.

****

Tommy was laying in his bed, muttering math facts until his brain hurt. The math test was tomorrow, and Tommy wasn't sure if he was ready for it or not. Tommy wasn't a good student, but it's not like he failed all of his tests. Tommy wasn't sure when the last time he failed a test was, but he knew it wasn't at this center.

Almost suddenly, a man slammed through the wall beside him, in Lisa's cage. The girl let out an unconvincing yelp, jumping to the side of the cell. She had thrown herself onto the cell wall. Tommy stood up quickly, watching four men walk into the cell, one of them taking charge by talking to Lisa. She had calmed down immediately, almost like she was never afraid at all.

"Rescue Tommy, and I'll go with you. The bars are old, they should be easy to crush for one of you," Lisa said loud enough for Tommy to hear. A blonde haired, blue eyed man gave a sigh, breaking the bars apart like they were twigs. Tommy knew his eyes widened. Who had that kind of strength?

"What's happening? Lisa?" Tommy said, backing away from the escape route to his freedom. Guards were surely coming there way, and the other prisoners were watching with interest, making unnecessary racket that would attract more attention to the small corner of the department.

"This is my boyfriend, Greg, he's here to rescue us. Now, let's go," Lisa said, grabbing Tommy's arm and yanking him out of the hole in the wall. The four men followed along, but Greg pushed his way into the front, taking the lead as he led everyone to where Billy was waiting with a laptop in his hands. Tommy noticed that the boy seemed petrified.

"Gah, this wasn't just illegal, Greg, this was reckless. What did you drag me into?" Billy complained, putting the laptop away, trying to run away with the group. Unfortunately, there exit path was blocked by a huge truck, filled with agents from the department that wanted Lisa and Tommy back; they probably wanted to to put Billy, Teddy, Greg, and the other two in jail. Tommy internally groaned. How could Lisa's boy toy plan such a horrible escape?

"They have guns, but maybe we can overpower them?" Greg questioned, raising his fists into a fighting stance. Almost instantly, Greg and his two sidekicks were hit with tranquilizer darts. Lisa would have been next if she hadn't dodged that dart from hitting her shoulder. Tommy knew that it wasn't worth it to save Greg. How could that dimwit think he could take on trained guards with guns with brute force alone?

"We need a plan!" Lisa said, tripping back into Tommy. Instead of catching her, Tommy fell back into Billy, who held them both up. However, when the Tommy and Billy touched, blue lightning arced between the two. No one noticed but it happened. There was no denying what happened because Billy and Tommy felt the affects immediately. An energy unbound within their hearts, pumping outward to their every muscle and blood cell. A force raced through their veins, taking over every cell like a fire that couldn't stop; a power to be reckoned with.

Another dart was shot, this time aimed at Billy. The boy couldn't dodge, only throw his hands up. A blue cloud of energy coated his arms, a similar substance coming around the dart, making the projectile stop in midair. Billy watched with wild eyes as the dart followed his hands directions.

While Lisa and Teddy were freaking out about that, time seemed to slow for Tommy. He looked around, his own speed unaffected by this bubble of slowed time. Tommy walked towards the dart, suspended in a blue cloud of mist and lightning. Tommy grabbed the bullet, pushing it out of the way of the entire group. With a calm breath, time returned to a normal speed, with Tommy somewhere else in the groups perspective.

"We found the mutants, but we require assistance in bringing them in," One of the guards said in his radio. The group looked at the man, needing to find an escape route. Billy thought about something, focusing his new found powers at the guns. With his mental strength, Billy tugged all of the hands towards him like metal to a magnet. The guns quivered in the guards' hands, shifting back and forth with lightning rippling across their surface towards the mist that surrounded the mechanical machines. After a few moments, the guns finally wretched out of the guards hands.

Out of the five guns there, only one actually came close to the group. The other four were thrown in every which direction, slamming against different surfaces. Lisa quickly grabbed the gun, shooting the darts at the guards, knocking them out one by one. Lisa pushed the hair out of her face, setting the gun in her back pocket.

"Okay, we need to go. And there's only one place I can think of. I have an associate who works at Stark Industries. If we can get to him, he'll help us. He owes me a favor," Lisa said. "Unfortunately, the only way into Stark Tower is through a party their having tonight. We could sneak in, but it all depends how good your acting skills are."