Chapter 15: Student No More

"Hey, boss. I got something."

A nicely dressed man with brown combed back hair spoke out loud. He was currently inside the main base of operations for the Los Angeles Police Intelligence Section; this section is responsible for investigating the most serious and complex crimes within the city of L.A. One could only enter this large room by having access to the security gate or being buzzed in by the front desk of the police headquarters, overseen by Sgt. Trudy Platt.

Rows of desks sat beside and in front of one another in parallel. These were used by the members of the Intelligence Unit. At the end of the room was a well-sized office meant for Sgt. Hank Voight. The commander of the intelligence unit. Said commander nodded and walked out away from a very busy whiteboard. The whiteboard had pages and pages of information and pictures. A map marked with X's and O's was taped in the middle. To the side of the whiteboard, sat a crude drawing of a dark figure with a hoodie. Underneath the picture was one word written with a marker. Vengeance?

"You got something, Mouse?"

Detective Jay Halstead asked from his desk. This caused the rest of the unit's members to look over in Mouse's direction.

"Yeah. I finally found a surveillance video with the man of the hour on it." Mouse said he continued typing away at his keyboard. "Unfortunately, this doesn't have any audio."

"Let's see it." Voight said as he walked up to Mouse.

Mouse nodded and turned his monitor towards the whole team. The footage that started playing was of a man being thrown into a wall and landing harshly on some bins of trash. Next, a man in a leather jacket and hoodie enters the picture.

"Holy shit. That him?"

Officer Kevin Atwater said. He was a tall and strong-looking dark-skinned man with a full beard; he had on a dark blue jacket over a black button-up shirt.

The video continued playing as Vengeance picked up the man and started punching him in the face repeatedly. The hooded vigilante then threw the man away from the wall onto the ground. He then walked over him and kneeled on top of him.

"Jesus, this guy doesn't hold back." Detective Antonio Dawson said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He's well trained."

What happened next confused them all. Vengeance pulled the man up from the front of his jacket and held him in place for five seconds. The man then started silently screaming and crying. Vengeance then let him go and walked away, leaving the man in a fetal position behind, slowly rocking himself back and forth.

"Wait. Is that it?" Officer Kim Burgess asked. "That can't be it."

"Mouse." Voight spike. "Are there any other angles of this?"

"Unfortunately, this is all I found. There aren't any more cameras in that area."

"Something isn't adding up." Detective Alvin Olinsky said. "He just stared at him. I didn't see him inject any drugs, no gun, nothing."

"Maybe he threatened him? Said something close and personal?" Officer Adam Ruzek theorized. "It has to be that."

"Whatever it is, we have to find out his methods. We can't just let him keep attacking people and leaving them in that state." Jay said as he shook his head.

"I don't know, Jay. Whatever he's doing seems to be working. We would never have caught James Whitlock and all his associates as easily if he wasn't doing what he's doing." Adam started. "He even left us a list of all his warehouses and known partners."

"Adam! He's working outside the law!" Kim said in frustration. "It's our job to find these guys and bring them to justice. The right way."

"Burgess is right. Good police work is what helps this city and its people. Not some vigilante." Voight walked in front of the whiteboard with all their information on Vengeance. "We're going to bring him in, no matter what. I want to know who he is and where he's at. In the meantime, let's work on finding Derek Keyes."

•••

"Harvey? Harvey! Harvey, you alright?"

"Hm?"

Harvey turned to look at Luke. The sounds of the noisy hallway slowly filled his ears, He then looked at his locker and came out of his trance. Putting down his math textbooks in his locker, Harvey turned to Luke. A apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry about that Luke. I had a hard night yesterday."

"Oh, Everything okay?"

Harvey rubbed his face. His eyes had dark rings around them. It wasn't due to insufficient sleep; his new body only needed two hours to function. No, it was because Roberto's death still hung heavy over him. It was only natural. It had only been three days since that terrible night; it didn't help that his teacher had something important to tell him later today after school.

"Yeah, Yeah. I couldn't sleep. I guess I needed another cup of coffee."

"Oh, Bad dreams? I always can't sleep after watching a horror movie." Luke said. "I usually dream about being in the movie myself."

"They sound pretty vivid then."

"Luke!"

Luke and Harvey turned to look at Alex; she was walking in their direction. Books held tightly in her arms. She had an annoyed look on her face; Harvey inched closer to Luke and whispered something in his ear.

"What did you do?"

"Today? Nothing yet."

"Luke! I can't believe what you told Sienna!"

Alex whispered to them as soon as she was close enough. Luke started to look nervous.

"Wait! She told you!?"

"Yes! She told me! How could you possibly have thought that was a good idea?"

"It looked like a good idea at the time!"

"Just forget it! We'll talk about it at home."

Alex sighed in frustration and looked over to Harvey. She smiled shyly at him until she noticed his eyes.

"You okay? You look sleep-deprived."

"Hit the nail on the head. I'm fine, really."

Alex hugged the books in her arms closer to her chest; it appears she didn't buy what he said. Harvey's smile became awkward, and he closed his locker; he should have counted on Alex to question everything.

"Are you sure? You know, sleep deprivation is actually a big indicator tha-"

"Hey, Miller!"

Harvey sighs and turns his head lazily in the direction the voice came from. It was Thompson and some of his cronies. The Dunphy siblings looked confused at the small group walking up to them. Once Thompson was close enough he stopped walking, a broad, annoying smile on his face.

Ever since Harvey began training with his Teacher, he left school as soon as it ended. Not giving Thompson, who was the only one to bully him physically, the chance to mess with him. They never shared any classes and usually could go all day without seeing one another. Harvey could ignore the jabs and comments from his fellow students, but dealing with Thompson was another thing.

"Seems like you decided to stick around today. Usually, you run off with your tail between your legs. What's the matter? You decide to work out a little and make some loser friends?"

"Not today, Thompson."

"Whose this jerkwad?" Luke said. "Wait- aren't you the guy who lost us the game last week?

"Shut up, little dipshit."

Thompson shoved Luke into the lockers, causing an audible bang to echo. Some students stopped walking and looked over in their direction. Alex had a look of surprise on her face but then became upset. She then stepped in front of Luke.

"Hey! Don't touch my brother, you troglodyte!"

"Move it, nerd!"

Thompson shoved Alex harshly, causing her to drop her books. Some of Thompson's team members started to look uncomfortable; they knew that Thompson had a short temper. Ever since the loss they've suffered, he's been on a short fuse. Now, seeing him hurt other people than just Harvey was something they couldn't stand by and watch.

"Thompson, you need to-"

BANG

A loud slam echoed throughout the hall. The students who stopped to watch were surprised if their expressions were anything to go off by. Thompson was being held up by the front of his shirt, his back hurt after being slammed into the wall of lockers. A shocked and hurt look was on his face. In front of him was Harvey; his eyes were sharp and enraged. Harvey's arms never shook, even after holding Thompson ten inches above the ground. An excruciatingly painful silence rested in the hall; everyone held their breath in anticipation. Finally, Harvey spoke.

"...Never touch my friends. If you have something to say to me. You say it to ME." Harvey said in a whisper. "If you ever lay a finger on them again, I promise you, you will regret it."

Harvey then let Thompson go. The football player collapsed due to his legs failing to catch him. Looking up, he saw Harvey stare down at him; Thompson could have sworn he saw his eyes glow for a second. Quickly looking down, Thompson nodded shakily.

"Let's go."

Harvey bent down and picked up the books Alex dropped; after handing them back to her, he wrapped his arms behind Luke and Alex and guided them out of the hall. Sounds slowly started filling the halls, returning to normal. Thompson continued to sit there until one of his teammates finally approached him to help. This event would be spoken and talked about through new rumors and whispers by the students who stood by and watched.

•••

"Harvey, That was AWESOME!"

Luke said as they walked towards the pickup area of the school, they saw Claire drive up and wait in line. Luke was walking in front of Harvey and Alex, Who were walking side by side. Alex continued to remain silent as Luke continued to speak in excitement.

"You put the fear of god into that dipstick! So cool!"

"Alex. You okay?"

Harvey said as they continued to walk. Alex looked up and nodded; she gripped her books and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine. The situation got a little out of control there. Are... You okay?"

Alex asked as she grabbed Harvey's arm. Harvey looked down at her hand and nodded.

"Yeah. You know what my father did. A lot of our classmates heard about it and decided to relive their frustrations on me."

"That's not fair." Alex said. "You didn't do anything!"

"Maybe... but it doesn't matter if I did or not. They'll believe what they want to believe. I just have to keep moving forward." Harvey said, looking up at the sky. "After all, we just have two years of high school left. Stupid rumors like these won't matter after that."

"I... was one of them. I thought you were involved, too. I was just part of the thoughtless mob. I judged you before I had a chance to know you... I'm sorry." Alex stopped walking as she spoke. "Now, you're one of my closest friends."

Harvey stopped and looked at Alex, he then smiled. Harvey nodded and put his hands in his pockets.

"You too, I'm glad we met."

"Harvey?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you... want to come over for dinner?"

•••

"As of today, you are no longer my student."

"...what?"

Harvey stood in front of his teacher- Bone. They were in the front yard of Ms. Johnson's home. A greenish-brown bag lay next to him on the ground.

"My business here is over. I told you from the beginning that I could only teach you while I was here." Bone said. "With it over, I have to move on."

"But Teacher! I-I'm not-!"

"Harvey. You have been one of the best students any master could have. You absorbed my teachings like a sponge." Bone spoke as he laid a hand on Harvey's shoulder. "Continue your training. I'm sure you will become even more skilled than I am one day. When that day comes, how about you and me have a spar?"

Harvey stood still with a look of shock on his face. To hear his teacher praise him was something he has yet to hear. Throughout their two months together, Bone was strict and harsh with him, only demanding better results. There were times when they drank tea and talked, his teacher would give him training exercises and katas for him to do and master once he left. Those were the few times they bonded; Harvey knew his teacher was more demanding on him because he saw potential in him. He also wanted to live up to his expectations as well. It was the reason why he always pushed himself so hard when they trained together and when he trained by himself at home before going out as Vengeance.

Harvey nodded and shut his eyes tightly. It didn't matter that his teacher was praising him or not. Another important person in his life was leaving him as well. It hurt, but Harvey would be damned if he showed such a weakness to his teacher. He would stand strong and wish him well.

"T-Thank you, Teacher!" Harvey then bowed, showing proper respect. "For everything. I won't let you down!"

"Good, Good. Take care, Harvey. I'll see you around." Bone then picked up the bag and started to walk off. He stopped for a second and looked back. "Take care of them."

Bone looked over to Ms. Johnson, Angela and all of the kids who were waving goodbye. Harvey turned to look at them and then back to Bone. Harvey nodded with a serious expression. Bone smiled and nodded back. He then walked off and spoke to a waiting Pinball for a minute until he walked away, deeper into the city.

"Harvey."

Turning around, Harvey saw Ms. Johnson walk over to him. She was holding something in her hands; it was Roberto's chess set.

"I think Roberto would have liked it if you kept this." Ms. Johnson said as she held out the chess set.

Harvey looked at her and then down at it. A heavy feeling rested on his chest. With a deep breath, Harvey accepted the chess set with a small smile.

"Thank you, Ms. Johnson. I'll be sure to take care of it."

"I'm sure you will." Ms. Johnson said. "Take care of yourself, young man."

"...I will. Thank you."

•••

Later that evening...

"We really do live close to each other."

Harvey said as he looked up at a two-story olive green house. Plenty of trees and bushes adorned the home; it felt warm and inviting. Smiling, he looked over to the Toyota Sienna he almost walked into all that time ago. Walking up to the front door, he heard the sounds of yelling and chaos. Harvey chuckled lightly and rang the doorbell. Ready for whatever the Dunphy family had to offer.