From Bullets To Billions

It was currently a Tuesday, and Max was on his way to school. He had missed Monday, taking the day to recover, catch his breath, and complete a few important tests. For now, Aron had given him an exception and was personally overlooking him.

Since the school week had started again, Aron was no longer shadowing him. Which meant Max could move freely without constant eyes watching his every step.

I did a lot this weekend, Max thought as he walked. All for the sake of building everything up. This year at high school... I really thought it was going to be a pain. But instead, it's given me a chance to create something big, something meaningful that I can actually use in the future.

Just then, a buzz from his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. Glancing at the screen, he saw a text from Wolf.

[I didn't realize you were such a stingy person. Next time I'm going to charge for an assessment.]

Max let out a small chuckle. Yesterday, after finally getting discharged from the hospital, he had reached out to Wolf. He had taken him up on his previous offer to evaluate his abilities and see how they currently stacked up against others.

Max had needed to know exactly where he stood. He'd gotten stronger, that much was clear, but whether that strength was enough if the Rejected Corps came for him… that was still the real question.

However, he hadn't exactly paid Wolf for the favor. After giving his full assessment, Wolf had expected a bit of compensation, but Max hadn't budged an inch.

With my Vow intact and linked directly to my powers, I can't be throwing money around the way I used to, Max reminded himself. I need to start stockpiling cash, earning as much as I can. Besides... I already pay Wolf way too much as it is.

Thankfully, while Max had been out of commission, the Rejected Corps hadn't reached out to him. At least, not yet.

I wonder how their gang war is progressing... he mused. At some point, they're going to start making bigger moves. Wolf and I have already proven ourselves once.

Still, I'll need to be careful. I can't make my improvements too obvious. Otherwise, they'll stop seeing me as an asset... and start viewing me as a threat.

What really had Max curious today, though, was the news Jay was supposed to deliver. He hadn't asked for many details, Jay was coming to school anyway, but Max could practically smell the opportunity in the air.

An opportunity that might just make me some money, Max thought with a sly grin creeping onto his face. Ah... I need to catch myself. I'm becoming greedy. People are going to start thinking I'm completely broke.

When Max finally made it to school, the first thing he noticed was Joe standing there with a wide grin plastered on his face. Honestly, Joe looked so excited to see Max back, it was almost like a puppy wagging its tail. It took a great deal of restraint for Max not to reach out and ruffle Joe's hair right then and there.

When he reached his desk, Max was surprised to see three folded notes waiting for him. As usual, two of them contained corny dad jokes that made him roll his eyes, but the third note was a little different. The message inside was longer, more thoughtful.

"I don't know why you were off yesterday. Jay and Joe didn't know either, so it worried me. But what I want you to know is this: if you ever get in serious trouble and you have nowhere to go, you're always welcome at my place."

"You don't have to be alone."

Once again, she managed to put a genuine smile on his face.

Old Max... you were one lucky guy, Max thought. No wonder you didn't want anyone to hurt her. I guess she's won. I'll look after her, for your sake as well as hers. If it had been the old Max, maybe that should've been his Vow.

Finally, break time arrived, the moment Max had been waiting for. Jay and Joe quickly scooted over to his side, both of them practically buzzing with energy.

"Don't worry, the girls won't be interrupting us today," Jay said, leaning in with a conspiratorial grin. "I ran into Cindy in the hallway and told her we've got some important business to attend to. I figured you'd want to keep this information from them."

Joe gave Jay a firm pat on the back.

"That's our Pink Ranger, getting comfortable rallying up the girls," he teased with a grin.

"Hey, if that's my role, then I'm going to be pretty happy with it," Jay shot back, smirking. Then he leaned forward, his expression turning serious, ready to get down to business.

"Yesterday, while you were away, three boys from Konsoon approached us," Jay began, glancing at Joe. "At first, I thought they were here to pick a fight, but instead... they wanted to talk about forming an alliance."

"Another one?" Max raised an eyebrow.

Jay nodded.

"Do you remember when we raided Clapton? Just the two of us?" Jay continued. "Well, the head of their school, this guy named Rick, he's been busy building his own alliances. Altogether, he's managed to gather four schools under him now."

"The area and territory they've got is pretty wide," Jay added. "One of the schools that aligned with Clapton had some beef with Konsoon, so... I'm sure you can guess what happened next."

"What?" Joe asked, leaning in with curiosity.

"Now that Konsoon's enemy has joined a bigger alliance, they've got no choice but to look for somewhere else to go," Jay explained. "And right now, the biggest group... is ours."

In terms of raw numbers, the Billion Bloodline wasn't exactly a massive force. They only had Seaton Academy under them, and that was an all-girls school. Hearing that Clapton had joined forces with four other schools made it clear they were a much larger power.

"Konsoon knows we'll need to start looking at alliances too. That's why they came to us. But I turned them down," Jay said firmly. "If we absorb Konsoon, it's like declaring outright that we're ready to go head-to-head with Clapton and their entire alliance. And right now... they're just too big for us to take on."

"You'd think a bunch of rich kids would know how to stay out of trouble," Joe muttered with a shake of his head.

Max's ears practically perked up as he caught those words.

"Sorry... did you just say, a bunch of rich kids?" he asked, unable to stop the corner of his mouth from curling upward into a grin.