Jumping out of the car, Luna waved to her sister as she left, not that the older sister noticed. Luna shrugged it off, walking towards the school. Steel Armor and Sharp Tool fell in line behind her as she walked up the stairs. Steel stepped forward to open the door for her, and she slipped inside beside him.

The early morning bustle faded rapidly at the entrance of the trio. The sea of students parted as everyone recognized the tall lackys, but whispering swept through the crowd as they spotted the new individual heading off the posse.

“Who’s that with the Sanford Gang?”

“Isn’t she a freshman?”

“I heard she kicked Cole Sanford’s ass behind the school during lunch yesterday.”

Luna smiled to herself, empowered by the fact she no longer had to watch her back for the terrors that engulfed her daily routine. She marched down the halls, finally coming to a stop in front of her locker. Steel Armor and Sharp Tool flanked either side of her like secret service members to the president.

“Give it up!” A male voice shouted. Shortly after, the sound of someone being through against the lockers crashed down the hall. “I know you’ve got something!”

“I don’t have anything! I swear!” A meek voice pleaded.

“Bullshit! Don’t lie to me!”

Luna’s eyes snapped over to the noise’s source. A junior clad in lots of denim and leather was pinning a freshman to their locker. Luna recognized the freshman as a quiet, reserved, artsy classmate of hers. They’d never spoken, but Luna related with her on more things than most.

“You two.” She snapped her fingers at her lackeys and pointed to the freshman. “Help her out.”

Steel and Sharp looked at each other and shrugged. They marched up and encircled the junior.

“What the hell do you two want?”

“Let her go.” Steel ordered.

“What?” The junior laughed. “Go fuck yourself, I found her first.”

“We’re not playing, Carve.” Sharp warned.

“What are you to trying to do here.”

“Let. Her. Go.”

“Go. Fuck. Your. Self.” The junior sneered.

Steel and Sharp glanced at each other again, and nodded once. Turning back, Sharp ripped him off the freshman and pinned his arms behind his back. Steel reared back and socked him in the stomach, and the junior wheezed as he fell to his knees, Sharp dropping him as he went limp. Sharp walked around to the junior’s side and kicked him, his steel toed boot giving no give as it made contact.

“Last chance.” Steel repeated. “Let her go.”

The junior groaned as he pushed himself up.

“Fine.” He shuddered out. “Have at her.”

He wheezed as he limped down the hall, clutching at his stomach as he did. Steel and Sharp turned to the freshman, who was cowering against her locker. They nodded to her in greeting before returning to their post beside Luna. The freshman followed them with her eyes as they left, finally landing on Luna. Luna smiled sweetly as she closed her locked and waved.

“Have a nice day.”

Steel had departed as Luna headed to homeroom, but Sharp reassured her that she wouldn’t have any problems from anyone else while he was around. With Cole gone, it fell to Steel and Sharp to continue the gang. What they say goes, and they select the next head of the gang. Sure, a few people would have protests, they always do. But they’d get over it, one way or another.

They entered the classroom, Luna beelining for her usual spot with Sharp right behind her. The other two boys that sat behind her were surprised to see Sharp with Luna, but a quick glare from Sharp told them everything, and they quieted up. Sharp was big for a freshman, but that could be attributed to the fact that he was supposed to be a sophomore, like Steel and Cole, but he’d gotten held back.

As tough as he was, he wasn’t ever too good with schoolwork, unlike his companions who could skid by enough to pass. Bullying someone to do your homework only got so far once testing season rolled around. You couldn't bully someone into taking your state mandated standardized tests with your name. Regardless of the reasons why he was where he was, he was still extremely intimidating to the freshmen, which is why he still held the rank he did among them.

Luna took her seat and pulled out her notebook, same as she did everyday so far. And just the same as always, the teacher stood in front of the room and mindlessly read of the list of students for attendance. After affirming to the teacher that she was present for the day, she drowned out the sounds of the rest of the class by writing.

Beating up Cole was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ve not just got him off my back, but I’ve got his dumb friends on my side too. They just mindlessly follow me around like servants. It’s the best. I was even able to help a freshman girl who was getting bullied. I suppose this makes me some kind of hero police commander kind of thing.

Speaking of police, McNab is still away for training up north. He called me last night to check on me, which was sweet. He’s more of a brother to me than anyone else has been. Including my actual sister. Dad tries, but even he knows it isn’t enough. But he does. Which I guess I can’t blame him for. I just need to stop making such a big deal out of it. He feels bad all the time about it, and I cause most of it.

Anyway, that doesn’t matter. I didn’t tell McNab about what happened, and that I now have these two on my side. I feel like he’d oppose it. He’d probably think I’m just becoming the same as Cole. He’s great, but I can see he just wouldn’t understand what I’m doing here. If I could help that one girl, I could help so much more. Especially if Steel Armor and Sharp Tool get the rest of Cole’s gang on my side. I’ll talk to them about it during lunch, but I think I’ve got something going on here. I won’t let people like me suffer if I can help it. They’ll love me for it. Maybe I’ll even be more popular than Celestia.

Luna smiled as she mulled over the thought of surpassing her sister in popularity and fame. She stared out the window in thought, watching the clouds as they obscured the sun.

“So what do you two think?”

Luna watched with bated breath for the reactions of the two in front of her. Sharp and Steel looked at each other, which Luna noticed they do lot.

It’s like that’s how they connect their brains in some kind of weird telepathy thing. Luna thought.

The two shrugged reluctantly.

“We’re just here to do what you tell us to do.”

Luna frowned.

“Don’t you two ever think for yourselves?”

The two looked to each other again, and shrugged.

“No.” They said in unison.

Luna stared blankly at the two.

“Right…” She said. “Well let’s change that. I’m giving you two some autonomy. We’re going to end bullying in this school by bullying the bullies. And I want you two to lead it. Get as many together as you can, in whatever ways you feel fit. Then if any of you see people bullying others, help the person getting bullied. Got it?”

The looked to each other again, and Luna had to suppress a scream in frustration.

“Yes.” They said.

“Fantastic!” She exclaimed. “Get on it.”

Luna stabbed her fork into her food, but paused. She looked up from her food to see the two still sitting in front of her, staring at her like a dog waiting for an order.

“That means now.” She repeated.

The two finally had a look of realization, and they nodded as they stood and set out. Luna sighed and shook her head as she leaned back in her chair.

“Hey Steel.”

“What’s up Sharp?”

“If we bully all the bullies, doesn’t that mean we’d have to bully ourselves since we’re bullies?”

“Uh... “ Steel paused. “I guess it does. But maybe it cancels out. Like in math. Two negatives make a positive.”

“They do?”

“Hell yeah they do. Numbers, man. They do some crazy shit.” Steel shrugged. “But yeah. We’re the good guys in this scenario.”

“But what if everyone joins us? Then who do we get to fight?”

“I don’t know, Sharp.”

“We should ask Luna about it.”

“We can’t. Don’t you remember? She wants us to do this ourselves. We ain’t supposed to bother her.”

“I guess.” Sharp shrugged. “Well what do you think we do?”

“Maybe we can… I dunno.” Steel thought. “Maybe we can convince her. Show her what’s going on here. She ain’t like the others.”

“What if she doesn’t wanna do all that? What if she decides that she’d rather leave?”

“You’re overthinking it, Sharp. Just let me deal with this. Besides,” Steel looked at Sharp. “It ain’t like we’re gonna get everyone to just stop beating other people up. It just won’t happen. This way, we got it more organized. Keep everyone from getting on each other’s turf. Y’know?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Sharp nodded. “That’s why you’re in the big leagues, man.”

“Of course, bud.” Steel nodded. “Now let’s go get us a gang together.”

Next day at school came, and Luna was once again strolling down the halls with her boys on either side. The early money hours had gone easy. A few here and there that were quickly dealt with by the boys. Once school started, there wasn’t really anything going on. It started seeming that people just weren’t bullying when Luna and her boys came around, which made her smile at the thought.

Lunch came around, same as usual. While Luna was heading to the lunchroom, Steel and Sharp pulled her aside.

“Hey, Luna.” Steel said. “We’ve got a place we usually hung out at with Cole. It’s in the basement. A lot more privacy than the lunchroom.”

The basement? Luna thought.

Everyone had their own ideas of what was in the basement, and how to get there. Some didn’t even believe there was one. Given Luna’s past history with Cole and his friends, she knew it was real. She’d heard them talk about it plenty of times. But to actually go down there? That was something different. She nodded slowly. If she was going to do this, she had to go all the way. To show she was here to stay.

“Alright.” She said simply. “Let’s go.”

Steel and Sharp smiled, with Steel leading the way down the hall. After a short trip through the building, they came to an unassuming door marking only with “Electric” on the a nameplate next to it. Steel walked right up to it, and produced a key from his pocket. Unlocking it quickly, he swung it open for Luna to go through, and the two fell in behind her as he closed it.

Luna squinted to see in the darkness of the stairway. The halls upstairs had bright fluorescent lights blaring on the white linoleum floors. The stairs were much different. The old lightbulbs in the dusty fixtures were yellow, most likely due to age, and the stairs were painted a dark grey, almost black. The bare cinder block walls were darkened by years of weathering and moisture. The whole atmosphere of the thin corridor could be described as bleak at best. But as they came to the bottom, the thing stairwell opened up into a much larger room, albeit the lighting here wasn’t much better.

There were various chairs, from various parts of the school, with equally mismatched tables scattered in between. There we even a few couches and lamps thrown in, making the whole place look a lot more appealing.

“Cole scored this place a while back. Janitor was his uncle, and he got him to make him a key. They don’t use this room for anything anymore, used to be boiler room before they got actual heaters on the roofs.” Steel flopped down on one of the couches. “Either way, it sure as hell beats pretty much everywhere else in the school. Plus this gives us a ‘homebase’, I guess you could call it, that teachers don’t get in on.”

Luna walked through the chairs, her eyes falling on the arm chair at the head of it all. It was a plush, modern looking thing she’d seen in the office. Steel noticed where she was looking, and grinned.

“That was Cole’s spot. Which, at risk of soundin’ like a broken record here, is now yours.”

Luna walked up, and dropped her back next to it. She looked it over, like a pilot might inspect an airplane before take off. It was a perfectly ordinary lounge chair. She shook her head. She was overthinking it. It’s just a chair. She told herself. Shrugging, she sat down. After nothing happened, she let out a sigh and relaxed.

It was “just a chair” much in the same way that a king’s throne is just a chair. While the statement is technically correct, it’s the significance of the object that keeps people away from it. To Luna, this chair was her throne. This cheap mass produced armchair signified her victory against her tormentors. Her victory over Cole. And her future victory over Celestia. She leaned back in the chair and smiled to herself.

“There we go!” Steel smiled big. “That’s our benevolent leader!”

“And what a strong leader she is, ain’t she?” Sharp added.

“Yeah! She didn’t need no charity to get where she is. She earned her way up! Through tough work and hard fightin’!”

“Yeah!”

Luna, although initially confused by the two’s rambling, started thinking. They had a point. She did earn her way up here. Unlike her sister, who just piggybacked off the popular people on the sport teams she was in. Luna had suffered for months, possibly even years, and it was through her strength alone she got here. She smiled proudly as she nodded at what they were saying. Steel and Sharp looked at each other, and Steel grinned.

“Told you.” Steel whispered. Sharp grinned and nodded. Steel stood up and paced around Luna. “So, Ms. Luna. We all know it was your strength that got us all here. So what’s stopping the others from getting here themselves?”

Luna’s smiled faltered.

“I’m sorry?”

“Hey, I ain’t saying I would do anything like that. But what about those people that were just like you. The weak ones that don’t know their left hook from their right. What’s stopping them from coming up here and stealing your hard work?”

Luna stumbled over a response.

“W-Well, I guess they could…. B-But… Well y’know, they would never…”

“But they could. You did it. Why don’t they?” Steel shrugged. “It’s ‘cause they’re not strong enough.” He pointed at her. “But you are. You…” He nodded. “You’re the strong one. Besides, you made it out on your own. So why should they get handouts?”

“I-I don’t think I understand…”

“Luna, you climbed up on your own. Why don’t they?” Steel paced around in front of her. “You don’t feed birds because then they become dependent and useless on their own. It’s the same with these sorry kids. Survival of the fittest.”

Luna shook her head, thoughts racing as two voices duel in her head.

No. He’s wrong. We have to help those who need it.

But look at them! They’re weak! You fought your way up, just as he said. You beat up Cole, not someone else. No one fought him for you.

But, Jake taught me how to fight. He helped me when I could help myself.

Oh come on! He taught you how to punch, nothing fancy. It was your skill set, your courage, and your strength that actually took down Cole. This is how it has to be.

Luna nodded, convincing herself.

“You’re right. They have to get stronger on their own.” Luna’s face fell into stony determination. “We have control now.”

“That’s the spirit.” Steel glanced at Sharp, and the two shared a victorious nod.

“Well what the hell are you two waiting for, then?” Luna said. “Get out there.”

Steel gave a two finger salute.

“Yes ma’am.” He turned and started heading out. “Come on, Sharp.”

The two climbed the stairs, the only sound being the fading echo of boots.

“She’s down here.” Luna heard Steel say from the stairs.

Looking over, she watched as her two lieutenants led a several others down the stairs. In between them was a cocky looking guy with a smug grin. Luna had seen him around often. He was another one of the many people Cole had working for him. He usually stayed off of her, since Cole went after her personally. Despite their relatively little interaction, she’d heard of how much of a dirtbag he was.

The small group walked up, the smug kid having some kind of conversation with Steel and Sharp, not quite seeing her due to the low lighting. As they came up, Steel cut off their conversation.

“We’ve got some folks here for you.”

The cocky kid grinned.

“I’m excited to meet the tough bastard who kicked Cole’s ass.”

Luna looked up, meeting the cocky kid’s eyes. His light hearted attitude dropped as he recognized her.

“What the hell is this?” He laughed. “Nah. No fuckin’ way I’m out.”

“Woah woah woah, Gear.” Steel said. “That ain’t how this works.”

“The fuck are you on about?” The cocky kid known as Gear said. “I said I’d go under the bastard who kicked Cole’s ass. Not this bitch.”

“You seem to be assuming something here.” Luna said. “I am the one who fought Cole.”

Gear laughed.

“Yeah and I passed my fuckin’ Algebra class.” Gear sauntered up. “What? Did you brood so hard until he exploded?”

Luna nodded patiently. She turned to Sharp and Steel, and waved a hand. The two grabbed him by his arms and forced him to his knees.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Gear yelled. “Get off me!”

“You are making this more difficult than it really needs to be.” Luna said as she stood. “I beat Cole, so I would be the one you’re under.”

Gear spit at her feet. Luna sighed. She gripped the flashlight in her hand as she pulled it out of her pocket.

“Guess I’ve gotta prove it to him.” She muttered.

She stepped forward, keeping her arm low and close to her side. Her weight behind the hit, her knuckles made solid contact with his stomach in one solid blow. She stepped to the side as he groaned and coughed violently. He’d have fallen over if it weren’t for the two holding him up. His breathing was ragged as he stopped coughing.

“Are you feeling more cooperative?” Luna asked.

“F-Fuck you.” Gear muttered. Luna shrugged, stepping back and throwing another thundering blow directly into his stomach. Luna kneeled down, getting in his face.

“Let me be real clear. I’m in control. You are not. You are mine, or you are nothing. Decide right now which side you are on.” Luna muttered. “Now tell me, are you on my side, or not?”

Gear nodded.

“I’m with you.” He choked out.

“Good choice.” Luna said.

She waved her two lieutenants off, who dropped him to the ground. He sputtered and gasped, rolling on the floor. He pushed himself up, and stumbled off into a seperate part of the room, away from Luna. Luna just smiled politely at the crowd in front of her.

“Next.”

Author's Note

And we're back! Luna's gotten in with a rough crowd. Let's see where this goes...

Anyway, I'm not sure a new chapter will be out this weekend, because I'll be off on a bus to New Mexico and we'll see if I have the time. That being said, I will be on a very long bus ride to New Mexico... and the buses have wifi... so maybe it'll be the opposite problem. Who knows!

Thanks for reading! As always, I'm looking for editors/pre-readers/people to bounce ideas off of. PM if interested.