Hawk and Dove

"Mutants Extraordinaire"

Soon after the broadcast, the boys left the pub. Even in his slightly inebriated state, it only took a moment for PJ to get the car running again. Then he climbed into the backseat with Chris, allowing Dan to take the front beside Phil. Their drive back to school was long and dark and mostly silent, until Phil spoke up, rousing Dan from his half-asleep state.

"Dan?"

He turned his head towards the other boy, but still rested against the window. "Yeah?"

"What do you think?" Phil asked him, "About what the Prime Minister said?"

Dan sighed heavily. "I don't really know. Either he's lying about not having a bunch of us locked up in The School, or the administration is lying to us," he said.

Phil was silent for a few moments. "Plus what happened with the firewall today," he said.

"Exactly. Even without the alcohol... this whole situation would make my head hurt," grumbled Dan.

Even in the darkness, Dan could vaguely see his friend pursing his lips. "I don't like thinking about it. Whichever part of the story is true, our lives are going to change. And we thought we had it bad before," he muttered.

At this point, Dan didn't really know what to think. Phil was right. Either the lot of them were going to be cut open for experimentation, or everything they knew was a lie. "We'll find out, Phil. We'll no doubt talk to the others-"

"Dan."

He closed his mouth. Phil had never interrupted him before, let alone has his voice ever wavered like it did just uttering his name. "Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?" Phil asked quietly.

Dan swallowed. "Okay."

"Whatever happens, you and I will stick together. I can't... we wouldn't do well on our own," he whispered. Dan smiled to himself. He was right they did well together. "We're a team, Dan. Promise?" Phil continued.

"I promise," Dan replied.

He wasn't sure if he actually slept at all like Chris and PJ did, but the ride back to the facility seemed much shorter than the ride out. The car ended up right back in the spot they found it, and the foursome was silent as they walked back inside. No one really knew what to do next, except sleep off the alcohol and see if that helps with discovering a solution.

The next morning, even before the daily alarm went off, PJ was sitting on Dan and Phil's couch. Phil sat beside him, and their voices woke up Dan earlier than he was prepared for.

"I think we should bring this up to Jenna," Phil said as Dan stood in his doorway, rubbing one of his eyes, "She might know what's really going on."

PJ shook his head. "She doesn't. The firewall, remember? She was going to investigate it more," he said.

"We can at least ask her if she found anything, then mention what Page said. If she found out you were right, we'd need to bring it down and keep anyone from finding out more about us. Who knows what the consequences are... and if you're wrong, we somehow have to stop the mole," Phil said pensively, tapping his fingers against his knee.

Dan groaned, leaning against the doorjamb. "This is really hard to think about this early in the morning," he grumbled.

PJ looked sour. "I guess we could start with Jenna and Alfie. They're in charge, and I feel like we're getting a little too big for ourselves here."

Phil nodded and PJ got up. "See you guys at breakfast," he said and left out the door. Shortly after the alarm went off. Even though it was at the same time every day, it still made both boys jump.