Detention League

Chapter 1: The Brave and the Bold

"BARRY!"
A young boy snorted awake, his hands grasping aimlessly for his alarm clock. Barry managed to focus one eye long enough to see a green 12:00 blinking back at him.
"Crap!" Red sheets were kicked off the bed as Barry Allen struggled to untangle his legs. He fell with a thud to the ground before a small electric charge vibrated across his skin. In three seconds, he was dressed and ready for school.
"Come on Bear, you're gonna be late! I gotta go!" Barry slid down the railing, coming face to face with Joe West, his adopted father.
"Where's Iris?"
"She had early morning tutoring, and I have an early shift. You're going to have to walk..." Barry glanced at his watch. "Better leave now if you want to make it. I'll write you a note."
"No time, I gotta run!"
"Bring an umbrella!" But Barry was already out the door.
---

Wind whipped at Barry's face as he struggled to walk straight against the rain. Barry was a lanky kid, standing at about 5'11", and he wasn't much of a presence, as all of his clothes were a size too wide to account for his height.

He glanced at his watch again and cursed under his breath. School was going to begin in less than a minute and he was still three blocks away. Turning into a nearby alleyway, Barry took a breath and felt time slow.

When he opened his eyes, the rain in front of him was suspended in midair, little droplets defying gravity as Barry's perception sped up.

He turned the corner, the lightning under his yellow sneakers seeming to help him propel across the wet ground. And he ran. Barry Allen ran faster than any other human being, past cars and people with umbrellas. He ran until he entered the school gates. Luckily for the young speedster, no one else seemed to be in front of the school. He might just make it-

BRRRRIIIIINNNGG!

The sudden, jarring sound of the school bell caused Barry to loose his balance, and not notice the person ten feet from him.

He tried to stop, his superspeed fading away as he planted his feet, but the pavement below was too slick. Instead, he went barreling right into another boy, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Barry barely had time to get his bearings before a voice boomed like thunder across the campus.

"ALLEN! JORDAN! MY OFFICE!"

---

"I don't understand it." Barry sat soaked and ashamed in a chair next to Hal Jordan, a boy his age who also looked like he had just gone swimming, but with more of an annoyed look on his face.

"Skipping class, two weeks into your junior years, and smoking on school grounds! This is grounds to suspend you both!" Barry flinched at this but did not look up. He knew better than to talk back to someone of authority, living with the Wests. It was best just to look ashamed and promise to not let it happen again once they were done chewing you out. He may scrape by with just a warning.

The boy next to him, Hal, slouched further in his chair, seemingly bored by the lecture.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"It won't-"

"Sorry we got caught." Barry's stomach dropped as Hal crossed one leg over the other and smirked.

Utter silence followed his statement. Then, a single word made Barry's whole world begin to unravel.

"Detention." The principle spat.

---

"Now you all know why you're here." Mr. Kane paced the room, looking down upon each of the seven students. "What you did was wrong, and you're here to correct it. So, with that in mind, I want this room quiet, while you think about what you've done. No talking. Is that clear?"

The room was silent.

"Good. I'll be in my office. But be aware, I can see everything through that window, including moving lips."

Mr. Kane took one last look at the students before proceeding to close his door.

Barry sighed, opening his book bag and pulling out a small novel about Albert Einstein. If he was going to be stuck in after school detention, he had to pass the time somehow.

He ignored the sounds around him as he began to read, and paid little attention to the sound of paper rustling behind him.

Barry felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck and he turned, noticing a small paper airplane had fallen on the desk behind him. He looked around to see Hal smiling a couple desks behind him. Annoyance bubbled in Barry's stomach and he picked up the paper airplane, crushed it, and threw the paper ball at the trash can. He missed, but the message was quite clear: Fuck off.

Barry turned back to his book, until, a couple moments later, another paper airplane hit him on the back of the head. Barry swiveled around to glare at Hal. Not only was he annoyed that this kid got him in detention and was now picking on him, but for some reason, the thing that annoyed Barry the most was the amount of accuracy Hal seemed to have when throwing airplanes. He hadn't missed Barry once from across a room.

This time, Hal made a motion like he was opening something up, then pointed at the paper plane at Barry's shoes.

Barry dissected the plane to see a small sentence scribbled in a leaky, smudgy pen.

Sorry I got you in detention.

Barry made eye contact with Hal again and this time, Hal's smile seemed a little more sincere. Barry turned back to his book, folding the airplane into the back cover.

There was a small scuffle and then Barry was tapped on the shoulder. He barely turned enough to see with a certain green-eyed, brown-haired boy had moved to sit behind him.

"It was Barry right?" Hal's voice was barely a whisper as he eyed Kane through the window. The teacher hadn't looked up from his computer. "I'm Hal. What are you reading?"

"It's Einstein's theory."

"Which one?" Barry blinked at him. "What? All I know is E=MC squared." Barry stifled a scoff. Even though Hal was getting on his nerves, its never polite to make someone feel inferior just because they may not know as much as you about one thing. "Have I seen you around here?"

"We've had the same math class since middle school Hal, I'd think so."

Hal's cheeks flushed and he rubbed his neck. "Oh... Nice to finally make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Barry didn't look up. Hal frowned.

"Can I buy you a soda?"

"... What?"

"I feel bad for making you go through three weeks of after school detention. Can I buy you a soda?"

Barry blinked. Hal Jordan, the most popular guy in school, felt bad for inconveniencing him, the nerdiest. Was Barry dreaming?

"Make it two sodas and I'll stop glaring at you."

"Deal."

---

First chapter, what do you think??? I'm trying to follow characters individually and let all the stories unfold.

More coming soon!

(Characters based off of the ones appearing in DC Comics)