Chalk strikes across the board with swift strokes, revealing the headline for Mr. Harris's class: "Momentum vs. Inertia".
"Alright, since Inertia is a subject of which you all know plenty. Why don't we start with momentum." Harris turns to the class. "Danny. What do we know about momentum?"
"It's a product of mass and velocity." Danny answers. "The more massive something is the faster it's going."
Issac interrupts. "Mr. Harris, can I use the bathroom, please?"
Harris gestures him to go and Issac bolts out the class. Kathrine who is also in the class sighs 'what are they up to now' she thinks.
"Mr. Harris, I have to go too." Scott says suddenly, standing up.
"One at a time," Harris tells him.
But Scott insists. "I really have to go. Like medical emergency have to go."
"Mr. McCall, if your bladder suddenly exploded and urine began to pour from your every orifice I would still respond one at a time. Is that enough hyperbole for you or should I come up with something more vivid?" Harris asks.
"No. No, that's pretty good." He slumps back down, eyeing the closing door with trepidation.
~~~~
Barely having gone a few steps from the classroom, Isaac stops. Down the otherwise empty corridor stand Ethan and Aiden. Waiting for him. Waiting for a fight.
Fully willing to accommodate, Isaac starts forward. Until something odd happens--
Aiden reels back and punches Ethan in the face. The twin staggers forward, trying to stay on his feet. While a stunned Isaac watches, Aiden hits his brother again. And again.
Grabbing him by the shirt, Aiden smashes Ethan against the lockers, bouncing him from one side of the corridor to the other until, finally, he hurls his brother to the floor, sending him rolling to a stop--
Right at Isaac's feet.
Classroom doors burst open at the commotion. Harris pushes past students still pouring into the corridor.
"What is this? What's going on?"
Right behind him, Scott and Kathrine see Ethan on the floor, bloodied and cowering in front of Isaac. Danny pushes past to help him up.
"You all right?" Danny asks worried.
"He just came at me."
"Isaac? What the hell did you do?" Harris asks.
Finding Scott and Kathrine in the crowd, Ethan's bloodied lips part to give him a small, cruel smile while Isaac simply stares back at Harris, utterly helpless.
~~~~~
"What do you want?" Derek asks. "You want to kill me?"
"Kill you? No. You really think I'm that boring? Don't throw me in with sociopaths like your uncle. I'm a man with far more vision than simple murder." Moving with care, Deucalion lowers to face him. He removes his glasses and turns his cataract eyes to Derek's. "In fact, I'm here to show you just how much vision a blind man can have..."
Astrid chuckles. "That's quite the sells pitch."
Deucalion turns to her. "I'm quite curious. How come I haven't heard anything about you?"
Astrid shrugs. "When you live as long as I have? You pick up a few things to stay out of the radar. The names Astrid by the way."
Kali scoff. "Don't Kidd yourself. You barely look older than 19,"
Astrid and Derek smile at that. "Looks can be deceiving, my dear." Astrid tells her. This coaxes a growl from Kali.
~~~~
In the rush of students between classes, Scott follows Isaac to his locker.
"Don't let it bother you. It's only lunchtime detention. If all they want right now is to piss you off, then don't give in. They're just trying to get to you." Scott says.
"Don't worry, Scott. Karthrine's already given me this talk." Issac tells him. Oh, and it's not just me."
Scott follows his look. Down the hall Lydia leans against her locker, flirting with Aiden. Scott's hearing adjusts, picking up on their conversation.
"What about tonight?" Aiden asks.
"Nope. Studying." Lydia responds.
"I could help you." Aiden insists.
"Do you have an IQ higher than 170?" Lydia asks.
"I infact have an IQ of 171," Bella says smiling as she stops infront of the two. "Do I get to help you study?"
This coaxes a smile from Lydia. "Yes, you can." She grabs her hand and they walk away leaving a frowning Aiden who walks away after a bit.
"We got this handled," Issac tells Scott.
~~~~~
Stiles waits outside the administrative offices, glancing about. Nervous, he's unable to stand still. Finally, the door opens and he scrambles back. Kyle's girlfriend, Ashley, walks out, escorted by a Deputy.
"Hey, Ashley? Sorry--Ashley--hey."
Both she and the Deputy look at him, confused.
"I need to ask something and it's going to sound really, unbelievably insensitive, but it's super important and I kind of have to know, so, I'm sorry but--was Kyle a virgin?" Stiles asks.
"What?"
"Your boyfriend. Was he a virgin? Or did you guys--you know--did you--"
She slaps him. Hard. Stiles's hand comes up to his cheek, but he's more stunned than stung.
"No. He wasn't a virgin." Ashley tells him. The Deputy takes her away giving Stiles a wtf look.
Rushing out of the office, Stilinski pulls Stiles aside. "Have you completely lost your mind?
Do you know what's going on here? I've got four murders. You see those guys in suits in there? That's the FBI. They're pulling together a task force to help because it looks like we have a full blown serial killer on our hands. Do you get that?"
Stiles sighs. "I get it, Dad."
"Then what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Stiles meets his father's bewildered gaze.
"Trying to find a pattern."
~~~~~~~
"You might want to get to the point, Duke." Kali says. "I'm getting tired of their faces."
"Now you see the one problem with being in an Alpha pack. Everybody wants to make the decisions. Me? I'm more about discovering new talent. Like you two." Deucalion says.
"No thanks," "Not interested." Derek and Astrid say at the same time.
"You haven't even heard my pitch."
"You want me to kill my own pack." Derek says.
"No, I want you to kill one of them. Do that and I won't have to ask you to kill the others. You'll do it on your own. I did it. Ennis did. Kali did. Tell them what's it like, Kali.
To kill one of your own."
"Liberating." Kali says.
"Listen to her. You really want to stay beholden to a couple of maladjusted teenagers bound to become a liability? And believe me, they will become a liability. In fact, I have a feeling one of them is getting himself into trouble right now..."
~~~~~~~
In front of the chalkboard on which is written lunchtime detention, Mr. Harris eyes a group of students which includes Isaac and Kathrine. He points to the first of his detainees.
"The two of you will wash all of the boards on this wing." To the next two. "Re-shelving in the library." To Kathrine and Isaac. "Restocking the janitor's closet." With that everyone goes to their designated area.
Down in the murky darkness of the school's basement, Kathrine wheels in a cart of boxes while Isaac carries several of his own. They head into the janitor's closet in silence and get to work restocking the shelves. Backs to each other, Isaac bumps Kathrine with an elbow.
"Sorry."
"You okay?" Kathrine asks.
"Just not big on small spaces." Issac tells her.
She nods in understanding. "Then talk to me. Get your mind distracted."
"Okay. Um, why did you get detention?" He asks.
"I may have punched a guy in history class."
Issac chuckles, "what? Why?"
Kathrine turns to him pouting. " He was being mean to me."
That gets a laugh out him. The door clicks shut behind them. They share a nervous look. Isaac grabs the knob and gives it a turn. When he pushes forward, though, the door won't move.
"Maybe it locks from the outside?"
"I think something's blocking it."
Keeping the knob turned, he pushes again. Then turns his shoulder to it, giving a harder shove. But the door won't budge. He steps back, breath tightening noticeably.
"Okay, maybe we should--"
Isaac slams his shoulder against the door. Then again, harder and harder, anger and desperation taking hold.
"Isaac--"
With a shout of frustration, he pounds a fist against the door. Seeing he was too lost in his panic she pulls him away from the door and shoulder slams it with all her strength. The door breaks off it's hinges and the vending machine that was blocking the door slams on the other side of the hallway.
Kathrine carefully guides him out and hugs him until he calms down. She notices Allison and Scott tuning over to them.
"What happened?" Allison asks.
"We need to up our game," Kathrine simply says.
~~~~~~
"See, the reason I'm always invested in new talent is simple. We all know a pack is strongest due to its individual parts." Deucalion says. He holds the cane broken down to thirds between his hands. "The stronger the individual parts, the greater the whole."
With a flick of his wrist, the cane whips out, extending to its full length.
"When I lost my sight, one of my Betas assumed I wasn't fit for my role anymore. He thought he could take it from me. He was wrong." Deucalion pulls the top third of the cane loose. "Killing him taught me something I didn't know an Alpha could do. His power was added to mine. I became stronger, faster, more powerful than I'd ever been. I tested this new ability to subsume the power of your own by killing another one. In fact, I killed them all."
He breaks down the middle of the cane, reducing it to thirds.
"I took the individual parts and became a greater individual whole."
A flick of his wrist. The cane snaps back to its full length.
"Wait hold up," Astrid says interrupting him. "You're saying you didn't know that Alpha's can absorb the powers of others. Man, that should have been self explanatory. I mean if betas can take the powers of Alphas then it stands to reason that Alpha can take the powers of betas. It's just that when we kill a beta we don't feel that much of the boost that we get. The only reason you felt it was because you where weakened. I'm guessing they felt it when they kill at least 3 or 4 of their betas and they where actively trying to feel if they got a boost."
Deucalion turns to Ennis and Kali and they nod. He turns back to Astrid. "When you put it like that it should have been obvious. Still think on my offer."
Placing the cane on the bench, he rises to approach Derek again. He gently touches the young Alpha's face, fingers drawing over every feature.
"You were right, Kali. He looks like his mother." Deucalion turns back to pick up his cane. "You'll get to know me, Derek. Like she did."
"I know you. I know what you are."
Deucalion pauses at the challenge in Derek's voice.
"You're a fanatic."
The word falls on Deucalion like a sour note.
"Know me? You've never seen anything like me. I am the Alpha of Alphas."
Cane gripped in both hands, his eyes begin to glow behind the dark lenses. His voice rises to a demonic rasp, volume almost seeming to shake the walls.
"I am the apex of apex predators."
Eyes flaring red, his face contorts momentarily, cheeks pushing out, fangs extending.
"I am death, destroyer of worlds."
His face shifts and reverts, sudden and terrifying.
"I AM THE DEMON-WOLF."
The right lens of his dark glasses cracks under the phenomenal power of his voice. And suddenly, he's perfectly calm again. Gently pulling the glasses from his eyes, his thumb feels over the crack in the lens.
"Hate it when that happens." He drops the glasses in his pocket.
Astrid nods. "I'll admit Deucalion. You are pretty strong for just a werewolf but you are no where near being an apex predator or an Alpha of Alphas. Just remember there are always bigger fish in the sea, Deucalion."
"We'll meet again, Astrid." Deucalion says. He holds out his arm for Kali. She takes it, leading him out with Ennis following.
~~~~~~
With Isaac standing watch, Allison kneels by Aiden's motorcycle. She twists a small, copper wire between her fingers and gets to work pulling out the bike's fuse.
"How long is this going to--"
Allison pushes the start button and the bike roars to life. Isaac gets on, placing his hands around the grips. Beside him, Allison points to the left pedal.
"Okay, you kick that down and press the clutch with your left hand to put it in gear."
She places her hand over his. "This is the front brake and this is the throttle."
She squeezes his hand to demonstrate. The engine revs. She points to the right pedal.
"And that's the back brake. For stopping. So try not to crash."
"Yeah, been there, done that."
Allison takes a picture with her phone and clicks send.
Hurrying in behind the other students, Scott raises his cell phone to see the picture of Isaac on the bike. Ms. Blake follows, the last to enter.
"Okay everyone, I know this is the last class of the day. To be honest I want to get out of here too and... and I think I forgot my point. Just--you know--take your seats." Ms. Blake says.
Scott grabs a desk next to Ethan. He gives him and his brother, Aiden, a polite nod as he reaches into his backpack to take out a book. He reaches in again for his note pad. Then pulls out a large steel front sprocket. He sets it down with a clunk.
Ethan sits up, alarmed. Scott pulls out another gleaming metallic piece, torn wires attached to it.
"This looks kind of important." Scott tells them. He pulls out another mechanical part. "No idea what this is."
From his own desk, Aiden looks up, enhanced hearing catching the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle engine.
"Aiden, wait--dont!"
But he's already on his feet and gunning for the door as a surprised Ms. Blake turns from the board.
Engine roaring, Isaac tears down the corridor on the motorcycle. He soars past the locker room, heading right for Aiden who comes hurtling down the stairs. Isaac hits the brakes, skidding towards him.
Aiden grabs the handlebars, stopping the bike short. The tires screech and spin, kicking up smoke. "Get off my bike."
"No problem." Feet jumping up onto the seat, Isaac flips off the bike and right over Aiden's head. He lands just as the hall fills with teachers and students.
Blake pushes through the crowd in time to see Aiden turning off the bike, engine sputtering to silence.
"You've got to be kidding me. You know this is going to result in a suspension?"
From Aiden's fuming look it's clear he did not know this. But a few other satisfied witnesses look as though it's exactly what they were hoping for. That being Issac, Allison, Kathrine, and Scott.
~~~~~~
A black pen sketches out the branches of a leafless tree on the blue-lined page of a notebook. Danny leans over Lydia's shoulder to watch her drawing.
"You're really good at that."
"I know, right?" Lydia responds.
"Maybe you should be in Art Class." Danny tells her.
"Maybe."
"Since you're not in Music." Danny holds up his trumpet. Confused, Lydia glances among the students, each with musical instrument cases, sheet stands in front of their chairs.
"Fifteen minutes!" A student calls out.
"What? What's that?" Lydia asks.
"Fifteen minute rule." Danny says. "The teacher didn't show up."
While the rest of the class bolts for the door, Lydia slowly closes her notebook. While Danny follows the last student out, Lydia lingers behind.
"This is like the pool, huh. No idea how you got here?" Bella says from next to Lydia. "That always how it starts with our kind."
"Will I be able to control it?" Lydia asks.
Bella nods. "In time, yes and right now you need training. So here's your first lesson. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and try to feel anything out of the ordinary. It's OK if you don't feel anything on the first try."
Lydia follows the instructions, clearing her mind and trying to feel for anything. "I feel something,"
"Tell me what it is?" Bella asks.
"I feel a string tied around my hand," Lydia says clenching her right fist.
"Good, now follow that string where is it leading you?"
Opening her eyes she looks over the instruments, the music stands. She spots a tablet sitting on a table near the piano, still running a program.
"There,"
Slowly approaching, she takes a look at the application to find it's been recording for over an hour. Stopping it, she pulls the slider back to listen to a previous moment...
"Recording piano, part three..." The music teacher's voice says.
The audio waves on the application move up and down as the Music Teacher plays. Lydia scrolls forward. More piano playing. She frowns, growing uninterested and reaches to press stop when--
The piano notes hit violently. Lydia snaps her hand back from the tablet. The audio drops down. Silence...
"Do you hear it?" Bella asks standing behind her.
"Hear what?" All she can hear now is the sound of her own breathing.
"Turn up the volume," Bella tells her.
She leans closer. Then gently moves the volume slider up. Amid the static she begins to hear something strange. Voices.
Like chanting. Musical but plaintive, a chant of desperation.
Hundreds of voices becoming louder, rising in pitch, crying out in fear until the chant becomes--
SCREAMING