[h1][color=92278f]Ellen Nile[/color][/h1]
[color=00aeef]Academy 61, Roseview[/color]

Ellen clicked the bumper down, held it for a half second, then released. On screen a grenade was produced, spun, and then the small brown cylinder was hurled through a window. There was the sound of scuffling feet, and then the grenade went off, the small indicator vanishing from the HUD as Ellen vaulted through the window. There was a murky haze in the air, it pixelated slightly as her game jumped, and a figure appeared in the doorway. Her room filled with the roar of the shotgun in her hands, and the figure vanished in a red smog.

She reloaded, nailing the active, and rounded the corner, only to be greeted by a mine. The explosion reduced everything above the waist to a mere handful of meaty chunks. The legs stood there for a moment, before slowly and dramatically falling to their knees.

“Lucky bastard!”

She flopped backwards onto her bed, perched as she had been on the edge. She splayed out, letting the controller fall from her elongated fingers. It had taken some practice to get used to her new digits, and in truth she hadn’t really. She was just bored, and the Xbox with its slightly unstable internet connection offered the swiftest route out of that boredom. She was tired now of struggling through the suddenly uncomfortable control scheme though, and used her toe to push the button on the sleek black console.

She flipped the channel over, idly scanning for something of interest, and skipped back briefly to the news. The images shown were of metahumans, powers were being used freely, lights flashing out above a crowd of people that flowed and moved like one being. Then the shot cut over to another of the crowd, but this time green clouds were blossoming amidst the crowd, and people were collapsing. The newscaster’s voice over the top was impassive and professional, far removed from the chaos his station was broadcasting.

“The Concert Plaza riot is leading to more questions on the efficacy of RAVEN and whether they dealt with the situation in the appropriate manner. A number of metahumans present blame RAVEN for opening fire and escalating what was intended to be a peaceful demonstration. A Raven Spokesperson had this to say-“

Ellen turned the TV off in disgust. She tried to avoid the discussions of metahuman rights, partly out of denial. After all, if anyone needed some kind of protection and support thanks to their abilities it would be her. She had no idea if she would wake up one week with fur, or with fire instead of hair. The room she stayed in was one of the Academy’s few individual rooms for students. It was isolated from the power grid and proofed against fire and water damage, as well as having a whole host of other fail safes she didn’t pretend to understand. She understood that it was expensive though, and if it hadn’t been for her waking up in her first year and releasing poisonous spores into a dormitory that held five other girls then the expense wouldn’t have been justified. No one had been permanently harmed, but if she had woken an hour earlier then she may very well have been the only one walking out.

It felt lonely sometimes, having her own room, when most of the other students were either in dormitories or at least sharing a room. As was her wont though, she made the best of the situation, enjoying the space she had. This meant that her room was rather more like a teenager’s than most teenagers, thanks to her mother not being around to stop her from making use of the floor as a wardrobe.

She tossed the controller onto the bedside table, and collected together the books scattered about the room. There were half a dozen, and she’d made it through all of them over the last week. Most people didn’t have the full twenty-four hours in the day to read, but she did, and it was fortunate that the library was both well-stocked, and accessible even in the middle of the night. She levered the books into her rucksack and slung it onto her back. At least reaching the higher shelves would be easier with her newfound climbing talents.

[hr]

The library wasn’t empty, there were a few older students in here, at least that she could see, most of them were sat with heavy textbooks open before them, although one or two were also making use of the libraries computers. There was a small shelf protruding from the wall, with a small alcove set into the wall behind it. She scanned her books in and watched as the machine accepted each one and dropped them down into storage, they’d be replaced on their shelves the next morning.

She slung the bag onto her back once more, and headed into the library, she avoided the metahuman section. It didn’t interest her, as far as she concerned there was nothing more she could learn about her ability. When she had first developed she had tried to learn about it, but it had become rapidly clear to her that she really couldn’t predict it. She couldn’t even find evidence of someone with a similar ability, not to say that there was no one, but being totally unable to find records of it had been somewhat demoralising.

She’d given up on it eventually, and now only really looked up information on metahumans when her classes required it or when she manifested a particularly unusual power. Needless to say, she avoided having to know anymore about metahumans than she needed to. It was childish, and petty, but she didn’t want to know more, didn’t want to give any validation to the thing that had ruined her life.

She pulled a random book out of the fantasy section, and was greeted by an image of a demonic figure in plate armour. Heavy horns grew from the creature’s forehead and his eyes glowed a baleful red. The words ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ were emblazoned just above the title of the book. 
‘Redemption’.

She shrugged mentally and took the book over to one of the many tables scattered throughout the unshelved areas of the library. She liked having her own space, but would have felt anti-social simply lurking in her room all day. Anyway, she was meeting up with a few friends later, tomorrow afternoon she reminded herself, so she could start on whatever the hell this book was before she went to meet them.