THE BAD GUYS IN: raising princess

The forbidden five

(A request from Flashbolt157ninja )

(I did what I could)

It started on a Monday.

The air in the hallway turned cold when the office doors opened. Five shadows emerged from Principal Regina office, walking like a death march. Every kid in the hallway froze. Even Bowser, who usually had his arm around someone's neck in a headlock, took one look and dropped his victim.

The Forbidden Five had arrived.

They were transfer students if that term could still apply to students expelled from over ten schools. Nobody knew where they came from, but everyone knew the stories: cafeteria food fights that turned into arson, gym teachers who retired after one semester, students who simply disappeared.

Leading the pack was Roxanne "Rox" the Wolf, tall, statuesque, her amber eyes cold with calculation. A black leather jacket clung to her shoulders like a cloak of command. Her hair was buzzed on one side, wild on the other, and when she stared you down, you could almost hear the voice of your nightmares saying run.

To her right was Nate the Wolf, her older brother—brute strength in a hoodie. He cracked his knuckles like they were warnings. Every footstep felt like it left dents in the floor. If Rox was the brain, Nate was the sledgehammer.

Drin the Wasp flanked the other side, skinny and jittery with a twisted smile. He had a thing for bugs, they said. Kept some in his sleeves. Laughed like a mosquito buzz—high and nasty. He liked to lean in too close when he spoke, his words sticky and sour.

Zack the Panther, silent and smug, wore black shades indoors and a sly grin that never quite reached his eyes. Things just happened around him—lights flickered, lockers jammed, kids tripped on nothing. His presence felt like a curse waiting to be activated.

And then there was Kura the Croc—huge, hunched, gnawing on a broken pencil like it owed her money. She broke a desk during second period. On purpose. The teacher said nothing. Just quietly marked it down and kept talking about algebra.

By the time third period ended, Bowser had pissed himself in the cafeteria. Word spread fast.

Princess heard about it from Claudine, who was still laughing when she told her.

"Girl, he ran out screaming! Full-on squeal mode. I think they took over his lunch table too."

Princess bit her lip. Something didn't sit right. She had known bullies. She was related to a few. But these five? They weren't in it for dominance. They were in it for destruction.

That afternoon, Zack cornered Claudine near the lockers, casually tossing a centipede between his fingers.

"You ever been told you're too hot to handle?" he asked, leaning in.

Claudine blinked. "I like girls."

Zack grinned wider. "So do I."

She rolled her eyes. "Gross."

The centipede landed on his shoe. He flicked it away like a cigarette ash.

By Friday, the school was in chaos.

The bathrooms were crawling with flies. Lockers oozed honey or glue. Spiders hung from the ceiling in the teacher's lounge. Kura had smashed the vending machine because "it didn't take her coin right."

Princess was pissed.

She marched down the hallway, fists clenched, head high. Her glittery skirt swished behind her like armor. Eddie trailed close, whispering warnings.

"Maybe wait till the principal grows a spine?"

"I'm not waiting for the apocalypse," she snapped.

She found them lounging at her lunch table—the table where she and the Dream Squad used to sit. Rox had her boots up. Nate was playing tug-of-war with someone's backpack. Drin was feeding a bug to Kura, who crunched it loudly.

Princess took a deep breath.

"Hey! Get your own table."

The Five froze.

Then laughed.

It was low, slow, and mocking.

"Oh look," Rox said. "The princess speaks."

Nate stood. "You got guts, kid."

Zack leaned closer. "Bet they look real nice on the floor."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Really?" Rox quirked a brow. "Then why's your lip trembling?"

Princess felt her heart hammering, but she kept her posture straight. "You're just bullies. And I've dealt with worse."

Nate smirked, then without warning, punched her in the gut.

She stumbled backward, gasping for air. Eddie rushed forward.

"HEY! Don't touch her!"

Kura grabbed Eddie by the collar and flung him across the lunchroom like a rag doll. He crashed into a lunch tray, groaning.

Rox crouched beside Princess as she writhed on the floor. Her voice was icy. "That was cute. Really. Next time, maybe bring backup."

She patted Princess's cheek.

"Nice try though... Your Majesty."

Later, in the office, even Principal Regina looked terrified.

"I—I can't expel them," she whispered. "They're under federal supervision. Technically they haven't broken school rules. Just bent them."

Misty Luggins nodded grimly. "They scare me too."

The school's new reign of terror began.

The Five tormented everyone. No one dared speak back. Bowser became invisible. The Dream Squad scattered. Princess endured it silently—burning with rage.

One day, Diego pulled her aside.

"I know those freaks," he said, voice low. "They wrecked two schools I went to. Burned one down. Don't get in their way."

"You think I'm scared?"

"I think you're stubborn."

"You think that's a bad thing?"

"I think that'll get you hurt."

One week later, Princess stood her ground again.

This time, they didn't laugh.

This time, she swung first.

A clean punch, straight to Roxanne's nose. Blood sprayed.

The Five went silent.

Then Nate roared.

He slammed Princess against a locker. Her vision blurred. The hallway spun.

Rox held her nose and smiled through the blood. "You're bold. I'll give you that."

"You're dead," Nate growled, cracking his knuckles.

But Rox stopped him.

"She's got guts," she said. "More than the rest of these cowards. Next time though?"

She leaned in.

"We won't go easy."

As they walked away, Zack turned and added, "Respect... but not mercy."

Princess slid to the ground, her chest heaving.

The war had just begun.