Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

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The teen's blue eyes slid to her left, to Maggie Mui who was sitting beside her, leaning slightly forward as if she was about to stand. Both were tall enough (although Maggie was more so) to see over and around the seats of the charter bus out of the large windshield. Their weight shifted towards the aisle as the bus began a sharp turn onto an overgrown road by order of the hijackers. They both tensed, knowing that if they disappeared into those leaves they might never come out again.

In fact, most of the adults on that bus tensed up, realizing the exact same thing. The only ones who remained calm were the young students on the right hand side, who were all intent on observing the wetlands as the last part of an apparent field trip. One girl with a ponytail was even asking her teacher why she was crying.

“Stop talking! All of you!” bellowed one hijacker as he walked down the aisle, pointing his gun in the face of anyone who did more than twitch. The kids looked up at him with big eyes, the threat barely registering.

That was the moment Maggie met her eyes. Although it was such a little gesture, it was the exact cue the teen was looking for. She didn't take a deep breath to calm her nerves; she didn't even waste that much time. As the hijacker walked passed her, her right arm shot out in a straight punch and landed a crippling blow right into his solar plexus.

The hijacker gasped out in pain as he crumpled over, clutching his stomach. She was on her feet within a second and swept her right arm in a circular motion, chopping his back as if it was a karate block. He went down like a dropped watermelon and groaned, but didn't move.

BANG! BANG! At the front of the bus two gunshots fired, causing all of the passengers to take cover behind their seats. The girl's black rippled from the force of the air. Someone screamed.

Maggie had reacted the exact same moment as the gunman. From out of a hidden pocket she pulled a stack of notecards. They came to life in her hands, linking together at their corners and extending like a whip. The bullets stopped and scrunched flat the moment they hit her whip, which continued like a snake, wrapping completely around his gun. With a definite jerk, she yanked the weapon out of his hands and sent it through a window, glass fragments showering the people crouched below it.

The hijacker didn't even have a moment to react in surprise. After seeing Maggie using her paper powers, the other lady leapt forward, springing on the corners of the seats to avoid tripping over the suspicious hockey bags that the hijackers had placed across the aisle. She spun on the second to front seat, landing a high kick to the man's head and busting his lip in the process. He slammed into the windshield but fortunately didn't crack it. He managed to get his feet under him as he slid to the ground, cursing under his breath.

He stumbled around as if he was floundering for a way to fight back. She didn't give him a chance. Trying to move freely despite the narrow quarters, she drove her elbow into his stomach, forcing the wind out of his lungs. She then immediately swung her fist up to his face, using her elbow as a pivot. It smashed his nose and he slid to the ground in a heap.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Her eyes went wide as the whole world spun.

Once the driver realized he was no longer under gunpoint, he jerked the wheel away from the off-road path that he had been directed and hit the brakes. In his anxiety, he hit the breaks too hard, slamming them to a stop and throwing everyone forward through inertia.

During the same time a pudgy guy from the back of the bus had leapt to his feet and pulled out a third gun. While she had been busy fighting the second hijacker, he had aimed and fired three rounds directly at her.

Fortunately, Maggie seemed to have been anticipating this. In an instant she transformed her paper whip in a blanketing shield, cutting off the back of the bus from the front. She not only protected her still unnamed partner, but also the students and other innocent bystanders from his careless attack.

The third hijacker continued to fire wildly, but once more her paper sprang to life. All of the notecards shifted together, forming what appeared to be a small swarm of bats. They encircled the man, diving in, clinging to his limbs and weighing them down, blinding him and preventing him from firing his gun. He bellowed in frustration and fell forward, tightly bound by paper.

During the same moments this was all going on, the first hijacker was sent flying face forward from the momentum of the bus stopping. With an audible crack his head collided with one of the hockey bags and he blacked out, blood beginning to trickle down his forehead.

There was even more commotion and yelling as people were tossed into the backs of the seats in front of them, trying to hang out, just screaming from the fear and chaos, noises from bags sliding across the floor, and the loud screech of the brakes. A person in the front seat scrambled for a cell phone and tried to dial 9-1-1 with a shaking hand.

The teen by the front of the bus picked herself up, rubbing the back of her head which had hit the hand railing when she had slid forward. She brushed herself off and looked down the aisle at Maggie. Maggie's brown eyes suddenly went wide and she spun, gaping at the hockey bags. The teen looked at her bewildered, then she too heard the ticking.

“They're bombs?!” she gaped in horror. Her mind raced, thinking of something that she could do. But her martial art training taught her nothing on dealing with explosives.

Her exclamation didn't help the situation or the other passengers more. It only alarmed them. A few even stood, preparing to flee. If they did, it would be impossible to deal with the bombs since they were right in the aisle.

Once more, Maggie was the one who saved them. She snatched the precious book she was reading off of the floor, where it had fallen in the confusion. Within her hands it broke into the separate pages that it was composed of. Paper walls extended from both of her hands, blocking people in their seats and keeping them away from the bombs. Paper shot through the air with purpose, coating both bags in a cocoon. More and more pages fell into place, laying the bags in a thick, protective coat.

Everyone heard the bombs the moment they detonated inside of the cocoon. Moments later the bus was filled with whimpering and the smell of burning paper as the layers peeled away and floated to the ground freely, turning into ashes. Maggie quickly smothered the ignited pieces with her own power, looking mournfully at what was left of her book.

The passengers looked at both women in shock and alarm. Maggie knew that when, and soon, the shock of the danger would leave them all and the questions would begin. She grabbed the black-haired teen's backpack and book off of the floor and calmly walked to the front of the bus and handed them to her. Without waiting for her or asking anything, Maggie opened the bus door since the driver was like the passengers, too shocked to move. She stepped out and away from the bus before anyone budge, the entire time watched with large eyes.

It was the teen who moved first. She looked at the backpack in her hands, then everything came flooding back. She threw the strap over one shoulder and raced off the bus, leaping right over the steps. The breeze from the wetlands cooled her sweat as she looked left and right, instantly spotting Maggie's tall form.

“Excuse me!” she called, racing over, not stopping to catch her breath, calm her nerves, or control her heart rate. “Maggie Mui! Ms. Mui! Please! Excuse me!”

The paper master stopped and turned as she caught up. She appeared slight uncomfortable by a confrontation, possibly from the questions she was expecting and possibly from her introverted nature.

“Yes?” she replied, simply.

Much to her surprise, the girl dropped to her knees and bowed forward, her palms placed a foot away on either side of her head, her torso paralleled with the pavement. “My name is Saphira Twyla. Please, I beg you Ms. Mui. Teach me...teach me to become a paper master. I beg you!”

Maggie opened her mouth to reply, it hung open in surprise for a moment, then she closed it again. She started at the teen, who hadn't moved from her bowing position, silently pleading by her stillness. No thoughts would surface on how to handle a situation like this and she wished her sisters Michelle and Anita were there to help.

In the silence, they both heard the faint but quickly approaching sound of sirens. Saphira didn't move, still intent on waiting for a response in her prostrate position. Maggie let out a small exhale.

“Come on,” she told the teen. “A paper master always avoids answering the awkward questions that police have.”

Without waiting to see if she would stand, she turned and quickly started walking away, her long legs carrying her fast. Saphira stood, her eyes lighting up with happiness and relief and she raced after the paper master.