Benji and his friends sat near the front of the classroom, exhausted from their efforts. Duncan pulled out his sketchpad while Alex kept staring at his hands. Meanwhile, Benji was still angry at the Killian brothers. He knew nothing would come of police involvement. They would find a way to evade responsibility for their actions like they always did. He looked towards Lu Bu who was standing near the doorway. Lu Bu could have killed them both in a heartbeat.

Benji’s thoughts were interrupted by footsteps outside the classroom door causing Lu Bu to take a step back, his halberd held off to one side ready to strike. The door opened showing a very surprised Mr. Kemper put his hands up in an effort to show no threat.

“Let him in, Lu Bu.”

The tall man stood to the side but never took his gaze off the middle aged man. Mr. Kemper nodded gratefully at Benji and walked over to take a seat at his desk and sighed before speaking. “Of all this things I imagined might happen, watching a Chinese General from two thousand years ago protect three students from a pair of half steel bullies was not one of them.”

“For what it’s worth, sir, I tried to end it as peacefully as possible.”

“Benji, the camera footage would prove your word. It took some convincing but security finally let officers from Central PD examine the audio and video evidence. I imagine that by the end of the day formal charges will be brought against Chad and Brad. They will also be investigating why on-site security didn’t alert the police when the Killian brothers started robbing people.”

Lu Bu slammed the butt of his halberd down on the classroom floor. “The miscreants should be executed!”

Benji shook his head and spoke. “It's not that easy, Lu Bu. Nowadays we don’t just execute people. They are given the chance to correct their mistakes.”

Lu Bu shook his head. “My lord, if they are not adequately punished now they will return to cause trouble later.”

Benji sighed. “You may be right but I'd rather not get arrested for murder.”

Lu Bu fell to one knee in response. “As you wish, my lord.”

The modern history teacher looked on in awe at the exchange. “Benji, you know how this will look to government officials don’t you?”

Alex looked up from his hands at the question. “What’s the problem? He stopped two criminals before they got the chance to hurt more people. In my eyes he’s a hero.”

Benji looked over to his friend. “Alex, he’s talking about how a two thousand year old Chinese General is effectively my slave. I can think of half a dozen laws that are being broken by him existing. Slavery and unreported biological contamination since he hasn’t been vaccinated, just to name a few.”

“But that’s not your fault!” Alex slammed his hands on the desk, causing the wood to groan from the impact.

“Everybody calm down.” Mr. Kemper spoke with the stern voice of an experienced teacher. After silence fell over the room he spoke. “The AI has said nothing about Benji’s crimes. Now, what does that mean?”

Duncan broke his silence. “Either the AI is malfunctioning or certain crimes are being ignored.”

Mr. Kemper nodded. “Correct. Now, we can’t know which is correct but we have to assume that, unless the AI warns you, the actions you take are within your legal right. It's the only conclusion I can come up with. Benji certainly can't be the only person on Earth do something like this.”

Benji couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Two hundred years of strict government oversight was thrown away in just a few hours. Benji checked the time on the wall clock; nearly 1:30 pm.

“Mr. Kemper, thanks for your help but we need to head to the orphanage to file their graduation paperwork.”

As Benji stood from his desk Lu Bu moved to the door and opened it to peer out into the hallway. Duncan put away his sketchpad while Alex stacked the broken parts of the desk off to one side of the classroom.

“You all be safe out there.” Mr. Kemper reached into his pocket and handed a business card to Benji. “If you need anything don’t hesitate to contact me.”

Benji nodded as he shook the man’s hand. Lu Bu stepped through the doorway and motioned to Benji to follow. Nobody dared get close as Lu Bu led the way through the halls, his halberd resting across his shoulders. As they walked through the front doors the AI congratulated them for successfully graduating. Benji chuckled as he brought up the address to the orphanage on his GSP. He gave the directions with Lu Bu who strode down the busy streets with confidence towards their destination.

The next hour passed without incident. After arriving at the orphanage, Duncan and Alex filed their paperwork as quickly as they could, eager to leave the place. Benji and Lu Bu helped them gather their meager belongings and the four made their way back to Benji's house.

After he and his friends had arrived back at his house he decided to spend some time looking through various websites for any information he could find related to the World Spike. His friends were left to their own devices while he worked on his room. Unsuprisingly, not much was known other than it's height which was an astounding ten kilometers. With no external markings whatsoever and no ability to take a sample of the spike itself, scientists were left to guess at what it was.

Benji stoood up from his chair and walked over to look out his bedroom window. Since the houses in his neighborhood were built so close together he couldn’t see much but it was enough to let light into the room during the day. His stomach growled reminding him that he hasn’t eaten since earlier in the day. He grabbed his GSP and left his bedroom. Lu Bu stood against the wall just outside his room.

“Your orders, my lord?”

“Just going downstairs to see what Alex and Duncan are up to.” The large man nodded and walked downstairs with Benji close behind.

As he guessed, his friends were busy practicing their powers. Both of his friends had changed clothes once they had found a place to store their belongings and now wore normal clothes. Alex was busy practicing while Duncan continued to draw.

Benji walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. His mother had the habit of not having much food on hand. There were staple foods like eggs, rice, and milk but most everything was bought on a daily basis. There was always the grocery store a few blocks away from his house so he decided to make a trip. After returning to his room he changed out of his uniform into a pair of tan shorts and a brown hoodie and grabbed his credit stick from his dresser. His mother had deposited what he considered an absurd amount of money on the card each month but he rarely used it other than buying new games when they came out. He walked downstairs, put his GSP into his pocket, slipped on his shoes.

“Guys, I’m heading down to the grocery store to grab us something to eat. I’ll be back soon.”

Benji walked outside but was followed closely by Lu Bu, who closed the door behind him. The large man still carried his massive halberd but chose to leave his bow and quiver behind. Benji stopped and turned to face his retainer.

“Lu Bu, we're only walking down the block so I don't expect we'll see any trouble. If there is, subdue them as quickly as you can.”

“As you wish, my lord.” The man bowed his head and walked out the gate at the end of the sidewalk. As they walked down the sidewalk Benji looked around the neighborhood. Everything looked calm in comparison to the chaos he experienced earlier in the day. People seemed to have adjusted to the days events and were living their lives normally.

A few minutes later they walked through the door to the convenience store. Benji waved to the clerk at the cash register and took a basket from a stack near the entrance. As he walked the isles and threw whatever seemed interesting into his basket. He quickly accumulated a collection of snacks and candy. He grabbed his favorite ramen flavors from the noodle isle. At the ready to eat food counter he took all five boxes of chicken nuggets and a half dozen potato croquettes since they were made fresh daily.

On his way to the register he grabbed a half dozen bottles of lemon ginger ale. He placed his overflowing basked on the counter and the clerk swiftly began scanning his items. He grabbed a few bags of gummy candy from a display near the counter, added them to the pile and patiently waited for the clerk to finish. After paying he thanked the clerk and walked outside with his bags. Benji slipped off his backpack and dropped the bags into the darkness of the bag.

While waiting at the crosswalk his GSP chimed from his pocket. It was an email from Zoe asking if she could pay him a visit. For a moment he just stared at the screen. He wondered why she wanted to visit. He had known her for a few years but never spent much time talking to her. Now she wanted to come to his house. He bit at his thumb nail as he debated whether to say yes or no. Finally, he sent a reply to her with his address and said that he stepped out for a moment but would be home soon. As the crosswalk sign turned green he took off at a brisk walk, anxious to get back home. Most of the house was clean but he needed to double check. His mother would be upset if he had company over with the house looking like a mess.

“My lord! Are you in danger?” Lu Bu said as he walked beside his master.

“Something like that. A girl is coming over to visit.”

After tossing his backpack on the couch he took off his hoodie and began tidying up the first floor. He wiped down the counters and took the recycling bins to empty at the main collection containers at the end of the block. Upon returning he cleaned up the laundry room. Finally, he walked upstairs to check the bathroom and his bedroom. Satisfied that everything was clean, he returned downstairs to see both of his friends staring at him.

“Bro, what’s the rush?” Alex was using a hand towel to wipe the sweat off of his chest.

“Zoe Weaver is coming over.”

The short reply sparked both his friends into action. Alex jumped over the couch and ran up the stairs two at a time. A moment later he heard the shower running. Duncan hastily stacked up his drawings into a neat pile at the end of the table while his paper knight panicked to find some way to help his master.