Natalie was sprinting down the street. She woke up late again; this would be her third tardy in a row. Huffing down the road, she stopped at a bus stop to catch her breath.

  "I've made it. Holy shit, I've made it!" she gasped. She stood there impatiently, hoping she could beat the clock. She didn't have a watch, or even a phone. Natalie didn't live a life of luxury. She wore black, from her hair and hoodie down to her precious steel-toed Doc Montys.

  "Come on, where's that goddamn bus?" Natalie wondered.

  Suddenly, sirens wailed. Frantic shouts of civilians followed as they scattered from the downtown area. Large mischievous bug creatures from beyond the moon are attacking the city and they're not just any bugs, they were Weevils!

  The city was in chaos. These bugs were busy stuffing their faces with hot dogs from stolen carts, flipping over cars, and spray-painting walls. They terrorized citizens with Beetle Blasters, shooting everyone on sight.

  Natalie, however, didn't hear any of that. She had her headphones on and was listening to music on her cassette player. It was ancient, but it got the job done. Living off hand-me-downs, Natalie banged her head to classic rock songs from yesteryear. A ball of fire flew above her head, crashing into the ground just a few feet away.

  "Bitchin'. I love this part," Natalie hummed to the instrument solo. The banging drums and electric guitar made mundane life much more exciting than it usually was. If only she turned her head to the left, she would see all the destruction around her.

  The Weevils had completely trashed the downtown area. Standing alongside them was the Paladin Beetle. He puffed out his chest and laughed victoriously.

  "I declare this land conquered in the name of Emperor Sylak, Conqueror of worlds!"

  The Weevils cheered and clapped. The city had fallen. Humanity had lost. Natalie was still waiting for the bus.

  Suddenly, when all hope was lost, a blur of pink and blue appeared!

  "Hold it right there!" shouted the girl in pink.

  "You've gone far enough!" shouted the blue-haired girl in silver armor.

  It was the Starlight Princess and her best friend, the Lunar Knight, ready to take on the Weevil threat.

  "Oh? And who are you two clowns supposed to be?" cackled the Beetle Paladin.

  "Fighting for peace and love, Starlight Princess!" The pink warrior struck a pose.

  "Fighting for order and justice, Lunar Knight!" The blue warrior posed.

  "Together we are… CUTIE PRINCESS!" A flash of light erupted behind them. Confetti and sparks flew everywhere.

  The Weevils paused, exchanging bewildered looks.

  "Cutie Princess? I'll be sure to write that on your graves! Weevils, ATTACK!" the Beetle Paladin ordered.

  The Weevils rushed the girls, scattering and making gibberish sounds. Starlight Princess pulled a heart-tipped wand and swung it around her fingers. The heart glowed bright pink. "Ready?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be, Milady." The Lunar Knight gripped her shield.

  Both girls screamed a unified battle cry and lunged toward the Weevil threat.

  Natalie's bus finally arrived. The doors swung open.

  "It's about fucking time!" she growled. She entered the bus, driving away and leaving the epic battle behind in the rearview mirror.

  At the high school, Mr. Riviera was going through roll call. The students were bored and chatting with each other quietly.

  "Kevin Garcia?" Mr. Riviera began.

  "Here."

  "Gracie Knolls?"

  "Here," another said.

  "Courtney Sinclair?"

  No answer. Courtney was glued to her phone, texting furiously.

  "Courtney Sinclair?!" Mr. Riviera repeated.

  "What?!" Courtney snapped, looking up with irritation.

  "You're supposed to say 'here' or 'present'!"

  "Fuck that," she sneered, crossing her arms. "What difference does it make? You can see me right? I'm right here in front of you!"

  A ripple of laughter went through the room.

  "Nice one!" A boy held a high five for Courtney only for her to leave him hanging.

  "I'm not touching that hand, I've seen the way you look at other girls." Courtney looked back down at her phone, tapping her thumbs away at the screen.

  The boy's face turned red and he put his hand down.

  Mr. Riviera sighed. "Look, Miss Sinclair, I don't want to get into a debate with you, so please put the phone away or I'm going to have to send you to the Principal's office."

  Courtney slammed her phone down. "FINE!"

  Faint, distant booming could be heard through the classroom walls, a muffled rumble in the background. Had the students bothered to look out the window, they would see the local bus flipping in the background, exploding in the distance. The rumble, however, did not bother any of them.

  "Natalie Smith?" Mr. Riviera called out.

  Silence.

  "Natalie Sm-"

  The door swung open, and Natalie stepped in. Her Doc Montys boots clicked on the smooth floor. Her eyebags had dark circles as she took off her headphones and cassette player, tucking them safely inside her Jans Backpack.

  Mr. Riviera tapped his pen on the clipboard. "Natalie, this is your third tardy. You know what that means."

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  "Look, I'm sorry," Natalie said flatly. "The bus was fucking late as always."

  "See class, this is a classic example of welfare and poverty, our tax dollars in action!" Courtney loudly announced with a smirk.

  The class bursts into laughter.

  Natalie's jaw locked. "Listen, you banana-haired bitch, I had just enough of you talking shit about me every fucking day!"

  "Whoa, ladies! STOP!" Mr. Riviera slammed his hand on the desk. "Don't make me call security again."

  "You mean like the time she tried to poke my eyes out with pencils?" Courtney growled.

  "You deserved it, you classist egomaniac," Natalie sneered. "You're not so special."

  "Um, I'm Courtney Sinclair bitch! At least learn my fuckin name before you insult me!" she announced. "Everyone here knows who I am! Isn't that right, losers?"

  The class erupted in applause. Boys whistled. One girl's voice cut through: "We love you, Courtney!"

  "Thank you! Now sit the fuck down!" Courtney hissed at her lackeys.

  Natalie clenched her fists. "You may have them fooled, but who are you bullshitting? You lashing out is probably a cry for attention. Well, news flash! You're not that important and neither are those marks you're hiding under your fucking sleeves!"

  Courtney gasped, genuinely offended. "I HAVE FUCKING ISSUES!" she shrieked.

  "SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Mr. Riviera yelled, his voice cracking. "If I hear so much as one more peep, you're both going to the principal's office!"

  Natalie dropped her backpack onto the floor and slid into her seat. Courtney immediately pulled out her phone, updating her socials on how much Natalie sucked and how unfair school was.

  A low, deep rumble shook the classroom. The lights above rattled gently.

  Outside, Starlight Princess and Lunar Knight were finishing the last handful of Weevils.

  "There's just no end to them!" Starlight Princess grunted, punching a Weevil into the curb. She kicked another one away, then glanced at her wrist-watch. "Oh no! My perfect attendance! I'm gonna be late!"

  "NOT ON MY WATCH!" Lunar Knight roared.

  She threw her sword directly at the Weevils, slicing through a mob of them as the sword returned back to her hand.

  She didn't stop there. She also grabbed a 16 wheeled truck and, with a massive heave, swung the whole thing like a giant baseball bat, sending the remaining Weevils flying across town before planting the truck back onto the road with a resounding THUD.

  The massive, final thud sent a visible quake through the classroom.

  "Oh my God, was that an earthquake?!" Courtney panicked, clutching her chest.

  Natalie scoffed, leaning back in her chair. "Probably the shit you've been snorting under the bleachers. Calm down, you paranoid fuck!"

  "How the fuck do you know that?!"

  "Please!" Natalie let out a humorless laugh. "Everyone knows you score Coke from the football team. I wonder how long you had to be on your knees to get it?"

  "YOU BITCH!"

  Courtney launched herself out of her seat, leaping over her desk and tackling Natalie to the ground. The students erupted, cheering and chanting.

  "Get her Courtney!"

  "Yeah fuck her up!"

  Natalie was getting smacked by Courtney's slaps, but she threw a punch right at Courtney's face.

  Courtney responded by biting down hard on Natalie's arm.

  "AHHHH YOU BITCH!" Natalie roared, trying to pull away. "I hope you got great insurance, because I'm gonna knock your fucking teeth out!"

  "AT LEAST I CAN AFFORD INSURANCE!" Courtney spat back, maintaining the death grip.

  "SECURITY!" Mr. Riviera shrieked.

  The door slammed open. Uniformed men with radios rushed in, tearing the two girls apart. Natalie and Courtney kept swinging their arms and legs helplessly, screaming venom at each other.

  "You're so fucking dead!" Courtney yelled.

  "Come at me, bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" Natalie shrieked.

  The security guards dragged the two screaming delinquents out of the classroom.

  Mr. Riviera sank into his chair, rubbing his temples. "Jesus Christ," he muttered, "I hope they do something about the delinquents in this goddamn school…"

  Outside, the dust had settled. The Weevil minions were dead, splattered and turned to mush. Only the Paladin Beetle remained.

  "How can this be?! We're invincible! We're unstoppable! We're-"

  "Silence! I, the Lunar Knight, have made a sacred decree to purge all evil from this world. So long as your kind exists my crusade against you shall never cease!"

  The Starlight Princess stood forward and pointed her heart tipped wand at the grotesque Beetle.

  "It's time to put you away for good!"

  The Beetle Paladin hissed and pressed a button on his wrist, teleporting him out of the scene.

  "He's gone…" The Starlight Princess sighed.

  "He'll be back. Now Milady, shall I escort you back to school?" The Lunar Knight offered.

  Meanwhile, at the Principal's office, Natalie and Courtney were handcuffed to their chairs while still hurling insults at each other.

  "When I get out of here I'm gonna make sure your reputation is fucked! You're cancelled bitch! CANCELLED!" Courtney shrieked.

  "Joke's on you, I don't give a fuck about that social media shit, so do your worst!"

  "Alright that's enough!" Principal Stone bellowed.

  "It's clear to me that you two cannot behave like proper human beings. So here's what's going to happen. You two will be forced to do a mandatory 180 hour after school program or I'll send you two to alternative school where they'll kick your asses EVERYDAY!"

  Courtney blinked her eyes.

  "What's alternative school?"

  "It's a shittier school that is much shittier than this one…" Natalie grumbled.

  Courtney took offense to that idea.

  "What?! Fuck that! It took me 4 years to get all the friends and losers to obey my every command! I'm not gonna go through all that again!"

  "Then you'll agree to my terms?" The principal leaned forward.

  "Whatever, as long as I don't go to juvie I don't give a shit," Natalie sighed.

  Before Courtney could answer, the door opened and a cranky looking old lady walked in. It was Ms. Anker, the guidance counselor.

  "Whatever it is you want from me it better be good, I already have a 2 o'clock scheduled with two annoying little brats."

  "Deborah, meet your first two members in our after school program." The principal held his hand at Natalie and Courtney as if they were prizes.

  "I didn't agree to shit though," Courtney spoke up.

  "Don't make me pull up your priors! Your snorting habit is going to get you behind bars, do you understand!?"

  "My Daddy has the best lawyers and can make that shit go away!" Courtney smiled smugly.

  "Actually, your father told me it would be good for you if you joined our after school program, because then you'd stay out of trouble. So, HA!"

  "Ooooh! Goddamn it Daddy!"

  Ms. Anker cleared her throat.

  "So what exactly am I here for Harold?!" Ms. Anker was losing her patience.

  Principal Stone turned back to Ms. Anker.

  "As I said, these two punks will be your first students along with the other delinquents we'll be gathering for the new program I want you to be starting."

  "ME?! Why in God's name would I be in charge of that?!"

  "God? GOD?!" Principal Stone laughed hysterically.

  "You think God is here? These two little shits have driven God away! GOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!"

  "Heh, I consider that an accomplishment!" Natalie grinned.

  "You see Deborah? This is the kind of trouble I'm talking about! So you go back to your office, take all the At Risk students your cabinet is filled with and get started on making this program! If these punks can't survive our rehab courses they are OUT OF HERE! End of story!"

  Ms. Anker didn't want to go through with this idea but what choice did she have? Plus, if these at risk youths get kicked out of school, that's less work for her.

  "Fine. Whatever." Ms. Anker turned and left the room with a SLAM.

  "Well that sure was inspiring," Natalie muttered.

  "You want inspiration? Read a poem which you little bastards will be doing every goddamn day for the rest of your senior year!"

  "FUCK!" Natalie and Courtney spat out together.

  Ms. Anker walked down the long hallway, her mind screaming, begging for a solution.

  "Where the fuck am I going to find someone to help me with this shit? I don't want to waste my after school hours babysitting a bunch of gang bangers and trashy girls. God please, if there's only a way to unload this disaster onto someone else."

  Ms. Anker opened the door to her office and sitting in there waiting were the school's star students Harmony Celestia and Joan Knightly.

  "Good afternoon Ms. Anker!" The girls said.

  Oh shit, I forgot about that 2 o'clock!

  "Good afternoon ladies," Ms. Anker growled with frustration. "To what pleasure do I owe you two today? Are your classes too easy? Perhaps you want a medal?"

  "Another one?!" Harmony squealed with joy. "You're so thoughtful Ms. Anker!" She grinned, her cheeks blushing eagerly.

  "I was just kidding… So, what did you two want?"

  Harmony and Joan looked at each other and nodded.

  "We decided to take up an extra curriculum!" Harmony began.

  "We want something that challenges us," Joan continued.

  "Something that we can do that proves we're very capable women!"

  "Something that will follow us into our careers for years to come."

  "And what the heck would that be exactly?!" Ms. Anker barked. "You finished French."

  "Oui!" Harmony chirped.

  "You did Spanish!"

  "Si!" Joan smiled.

  "You practically finished every homework assignment given to you, you've finished your AP courses at record speed, you've been awarded outstanding achievement awards by the mayor and medals by the President of the GODDAMN United States! What the hell else is there to give you two?"

  Ms. Anker breathed heavily. Harmony and Joan were sitting there, their eyes wide and expressions set to stun.

  "Sorry… I had a rough afternoon." Ms. Anker sighed and sat down on her chair.

  "Whatever it is that's bothering you, we can help," Harmony offered.

  "Yes please, do tell us what is the matter," Joan pitched in.

  "It's nothing, it's just this stupid-" and Ms. Anker had an idea. An awful idea. Ms. Anker had a bastardy awful idea.

  "Heeeey… how would you two fine ladies like to be my teacher's assistant to our new after school program? There's an extra credit in it for you two." Ms. Anker smiled a creepy grin.

  "Extra Credit?!" Harmony's eyes glowed.

  "What kind of after school program?" Joan raised her eyebrow.

  "Oh, it's the umm… At Risk… Youth Group? Yes! The At Risk Youth Group!" Ms. Anker proclaimed.

  "You want us to assist you in an after school program meant for kids who lost their way?" Harmony tilted her head.

  "A room filled with delinquents and the worst of the worst?" Joan spoke up.

  Ms. Anker had a terrified look on her face; she has completely oversold her premise.

  OH FUCK I BLEW IT!

  "I LOVE IT!" Harmony beamed with energy.

  "You do?" Joan looked surprised.

  Harmony held Joan's hands and was practically jumping up and down.

  "Joan can't you see? We can teach them the values of books! Friendship! We can color, play boardgames, and I'll even give them all journals so they can write their thoughts and feelings!"

  A blush grew in Joan's face, her hands holding onto Harmony's. She gripped firmly onto Harmony's delicate small hands, the pink sparkling nail polish glimmering under the office lights.

  "I understand… Very well, I also accept!" Joan declared.

  "That's wonderful!" Ms. Anker stood up, sighing in relief as she wrapped each arm around Harmony and Joan.

  "There's no better students in the whole school I can trust this assignment than my star pupils Harmony and… Umm.."

  "Joan!" Joan grinned.

  "Riiiight Joan." Ms. Anker grinned viciously.

  Meanwhile, in the deepest, darkest part of space, inside a beetle-shaped spaceship.

  Emperor Sylak, Conqueror of worlds, sat at his throne, his claws gripping the armrests, glaring down at the Paladin Beetle with disgust.

  "I'm so sorry my liege, I was overwhelmed, beaten by those awful creatures called Cutie Princess!"

  "I don't want excuses, I want results! Do you know why I chose the Earth as my next planet to rule?" The Emperor asked.

  "Umm. Because humans are primitive creatures?"

  "No stupid, because it's convenient for plot! If we're gonna squeeze 50 episodes of this shit, we can't do it back at my house can we? We're here to spread mayhem, doom and destruction! And the Earth will be my last and final planet to rule!"

  The Paladin Beetle stood up and drew out his sword.

  "I see now, my liege, I will fight for our cause and die for your dreams to be the ultimate ruler of the universe!"

  "Good, now go and make me proud and bring back more of those cinnamon rolls, that shit is pretty good!" The Emperor chuckled.

  Once the Paladin Beetle teleported off the Ship, the Emperor was all alone, surrounded by his smaller Weevil minions who were pressing flashing buttons that don't do anything, and looking at screens that projected a static image of the Earth.

  "Soon the world will know the name Emperor Sylak and I will wipe out this human plague! WE WILL PREVAIL!"

  The Weevil minions all cheered and clapped while the Emperor laughed maniacally.

  "GLORY TO THE BEETLE EMPIRE!"

  つづく

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