---

Reddened tan skin tickled a young boy's face as he stood with others, waving goodbye to a disappearing crowd. He'd turned his mother, who had unwillingly gone along to send him off to school, as a child momentarily before the crowd dispersed, earning a well deserved smack on the face. The woman didn't hold back even despite Justice having reverted to a child, he mused, holding the gate with his now much smaller hands.

"Well, time to look for some familiar faces," he grinned, pulling away from the gates and rushing past new students. Considering the actual school year didn't start until tomorrow, the day's free time allowed the prisoners-- ah, the students-- have some time to explore the school without being dressed in uniform. Some kids-- either new or just really enthusiastic about school rules-- had their black and white uniforms already on, but little children (like the kind Justice was pretending to be) were dressed in clothes their parents had helped them with before they left.

He made his way towards the statue by the fountain, where a girl slightly taller than him with long white hair played with the water. A few other kids played in the water itself, one even completely submerged, Justice making his way to sit on the ground beside the white haired girl. "Hola Gabby," he greeted with a playful grin, dipping his hand in the water as well, trying to grasp at the water and letting it slip past his tan fingers. "What's for lunch tomorro?"

"No lunch," said the girl-- who upon closer investigation would be revealed as just a very pretty boy-- "Cafeteria's closed tomorrow."
"Haha, funny, You like jokes? Seriously though, what is it--"
Gabriel gave a small frown, touching the collar on their neck before glancing up at the sun that shone over the large walls of the city. "Oh wait, haha, not tomorrow. There's the usual lunch sets and like.... pizza--"

The conversation was cut short by water being splashed in Justice's face, at which the teen in a boy's body stood up, pitching a, "Yo what the fuck--" a grin on his face as he clambered on top of the edge of the fountain to jump on who he assumed was the perperator's back--

---

---

---

Curly blonde locks waved in the wind as a girl hung upside down on a tree northeast of the open space, skirt showing off uniform shorts that were probably stolen. Using her hands as pretend binoculars, she searched the school, from the guards atop the watchpoints to the fights on the ground that weren't being stopped, she focused in and out of each scene with pretend, "Vweeeeeeen," noises paired with small bubbles escaping her lips as she did so.

"Such pretty little kiddies this new year," he cooed, grabbing the bottom portion of her jaw in excitement, her upper teeth clamping down on her knuckles. "I gotta go and greet em, I gotta~" As she pulled herself up with much trouble, holding her breath as her stomach hurt from the effort, her hand slipped and soon she was falling a distance below, her laugh accented by large bubbles escaping her lips.

Robin Lowe

---

Robin observed the crowd, as he so often did, and chuckled to himself.

They were all the same, every year. Every single knew child stood in wait for direction and every returning soul ambled along to their posts, ready for another year of Hell. It was a fun passed time, watching confused or apathetic faces shift, especially when his collar was kicked in and he was unable to greet anyone or draw anything without being blurred and bleeped like some kind of indecent act on the TV. His eyes skipped across familiar and unfamiliar faces as he crumbled paper in his fist and pressed his back against a rough tree, feeling grounded by the splinters that pricked through his uniform. He chuckled again, tongue flicking out to wet his lips as he stared idly at a certain gathering of children.

They were all newbies, he could tell by the curious curve of their brow and shifting of their hands. One of them looked about his age, sixteen, and she was folding her hands over and over as if trying to start a fire without anything to catch it. She said something quietly to the boy on her left (?a brother?) and the boy sighed and turned towards the gate. His gaze was forlorn. How pretty. Robin followed his gaze for a moment and then returned to staring.

Another game he liked to play was "Guess the Freak", and it was best done at the beginning of the year, where new meat remained foreign and unknown in his mind's eye. The girl and the boy seemed painfully average (and related. Robin noticed their shared noses and pale hair), but the collars around their neck signified their need for punishment. Robin touched his own collar and muttered a vivid swear weird. A harsh beep emitted just in time to cancel the hideous waste of vocabulary, and Robin winced as he saw a few eyes turn his way, curious and new. He returned his stare to the two possible siblings, ignore the whispers and gazes, and watched. He watched and watched and watched until the girl did something of note. She ran her finger along the inside of the choker. Something sparked. His mind screamed lightning freak! and, just as she attempted whatever she wanted to do, a minimal shock of electricity burst from her collar. She straightened and drew her finger away, babbling suddenly and quickly to her brother. And her brother, confused, placed a hand to his own collar and gulped.

They discovered a restraint. Robin discovered a new girl to avoid.

He eventually grew tired of the view and sighed, eyes turning down to stare idly at the blurry, scribble-picture of what would have been a rad-looking snake if not for his own restraint. The blur was impossible to see through. Stupid, stupid school. Robin let his head fall back hard against the splintering. And, with narrowed eyes, he wondered where the few kids he knew well were hiding.

It was a slightly sad day, Copen admitted to himself as he watched the new students say their farewells to all they'd ever known. He knew that feeling, even if it had been three years ago when he'd first said that temporary goodbye to his parents. The summer holidays had been fun, catching up with old friends and simply being back home. His old room was welcoming and bright; but the dorm at Greenwing had its own sort of charm. His things were already unpacked and organised in their usual places, and he'd hung out with a few familiar faces so far. It was disappointing to see that the Tree Bitch was back, along with her crew - he'd rather much hoped that something had happened to her over the holidays...

It was funny to see the new kids try out their restraints, finding out how they'd been disabled. Copen disliked how his powers were affected, but it was a necessity when he looked at how some of them could cause havoc. It was only fair, he supposed - not that he wouldn't take advantage of his abilities if he could. It'd be fun. Now, everyone knew if it was him; he could still use his powers to tease or for his advantage, thankfully. Sticking his hands in the pockets of his uniform pants, he glanced about for anyone he knew. His long sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, displaying fair, blond-haired forearms, and the black-rimmed glasses he was so fond of perched on his straight nose. Maybe there'd be some new girls to flirt with, if he was lucky. That'd be nice.

The new students eventually lost his interest, and Copen turned around to look for more familiar faces. He wandered over toward the fountain, chuckling with that wide smile of his as someone splashed the childlike Justice. He was a crazy guy, that one. And it was bizarre to see him in that form, smoking and swearing. All around him, were other supers like himself. It was strange, and yet terribly lovely.