Bruce Wayne, the batman, sat leaning over a small stack of papers, a furious look on his face. In a move that startled the other three men in the room, Wayne stood. "Not even twenty minutes into the students arriving, and we have already had a security breach, how, when we put everything we had into protecting this school, protecting the students!" Wayne's anger was a cold one, as he addressed the three men. Charles Xavier, Tony Stark and his second in commend, Clark Kent.

Face up on the desk was a folder, marked Phoebe, one of twenty-five. Phoebe, his own Daughter, had been one of 25 targeted in this breech, and the other three could understand Bruce's reaction. Stark's own son was in there, as well as many of the returning students from the previous year.

"It was a well orchastrated attack, they got through but within seconds the breech was contained and the hacker was stopped" Stark said, "And I am already fixing the breech, increasing the security, but-"

"Are you giving me a but?"

Tony met Bruce's gaze, unphased by the glare he was receiving, "Yes. But drastically increasing it beyond what is is so far, has yet to be tested. Bruce, My own Son was targeted as well, don't think I don't know how you feel. But those kids have been through a lot,m and came out the other side stronger then ever. They will face what will come, and probably do it better then we ever did."

"They students have to feel safe, and they need to be given a chance to settle in, and to develop their sskills" Clark said, "Why not put them to the test, and have them come up with ideas at protecting the school?"

"Because we are the ones that should be protecting them!" Bruce said

"Bruce, we've been retired from being supers for 20 years. Yes, we have been there for threats, but these kids are the next generation, and perhaps its time we let them show us what they are made off" Clark said.

---

Phoebe ran a hand through her hair, as she finished loading the dishwasher, turning it on to wash the dishes from the night before and from breakfast. She was already dressed, and her things were waiting on the table for when they left, and she called out to Ryan, “come on! Even with your speed if we don't leave soon we’ll be late!” While it felt weird to be actually traveling to school, she liked the independence the apartment gave them. And it felt more...adult to be doing so. Like she was actually old enough to be engaged.

While she was already enrolled in her classes, including the classes she was taking for the business degree she wanted, since Johnston wasn't enrolled anymore, Phoebe felt like she should take charge of welcoming the new students-if only to make things a little easier on her father.

Leaning over to the windowsill, she gently touched the flowers there, and their colour seemed to glow more vibrant, and they grew slightly. Smiling happily, Phoebe grabbed her pack, as she waited for Ryan. Looking about their apartment, Phoebe found herself more then content. More to embarrass her parents then for any specific reason, Phoebe had a poster of them in the costumes, but on a table in the living room stood a photo, perhaps the only one with such a content, of the two of them, in what she now recognized as her mothers cabin the the forest, she found the photo sweet, and had insisted on a copy when she had found it, in her fathers office.

There were more photos around the place. In a photo album, Phoebe had photos of her friends from the academy, most featured Katherine and Sue. Thinking of She made her think of the most recent report on Echo, Sue’s Alias, part of Phoebe wanted to be lit there too, but for now she was happy spending one more year at the academy.

She glanced up, waiting for Ryan.

---

Connor stood leaning against a tree, his lack which held his suit over one shoulder, looking about him. It was easy for him to see the new security features, which was probably because he had help instal some of it with his father. Having spent the summer doing more around stark industries it hadn't taken Connor long to figure out there was something up, and get involved in it. So far everything seemed to be working.

Which was good.

Looking over the students, new and old, he wondered what this year would bring. While he couldn't say the previous year had been all that great, it had been...in some ways great for Connor. He didn't let his mind wander as he scanned the students, but he couldn't help himself wondering who was returning.

Zack double checked that he had everything that he or Griffin might need for the day. He and his brother had worked out their schedule for the school last year. He to the classes that required interacting while Griffin took the more physical classes. They divided the day pretty evenly. It worked for them. He was looking forward to seeing who had enrolled this year. He was looking forward in making new friends.

Once he verified that he had everything he headed out the door with their backpack slung over one shoulder. He headed down the cafeteria. He figured that's where most of the people would gather.

---

Katherin ran the brush through her unrule red hair yet again. She wanted to look good today but her curly hair had other ideas. She sighed. She didn't think that anything she did would help. Last year had helped her confidence alot but she still had a long way to go. She knew that. She was hoping to make even more improvements this year. That was her goal. She was going to focus on finding out more about who she was and what she wad capable of. She would never be as strong as her father but didn't mean that she couldn't do anything. She was finally starting to accept that. S

Sighing she gathered her things for class and headed out of the room. Mimic's class was first. She didn't really like Mimic. She felt like he belittled everyone but he did well at pushing everyone which was good. She just wished he would do it in a nicer way. She headed to the fountain. It was one of her favorite places in thd school.

Tsura smiled happily in the Arms of her mom as they fell between dimensions and when they arrived at a point just outside of the school grounds.

Then once they'd arrived the petite blonde giggled as she wiggled out of the grasp of the six limbs that had held her so closely.

"Imah, please" she says stumbling back form her pouting mom.

"But Baby Girl I'm still not sure this is such a good idea I know you and your dad think so but these kids might be mean to my little Astra.

Don't you love your mom any more?" pleaded her mom in a hurt tone as her four lower arm's sweep her daughter back into her embrace.

"Moma you know that there is no one I love more but I'm growing up and need to learn my place among my peers and form friendships. It's an important phase of growth for me." said Tsura with an exasperated sigh.

It was funny to think that Rita Wayword AKA the Spiral one of the most formidable opponents any had ever faced could act like an over protective mother. But here she was clutching to her breast a young girl who was her most valued treasure.

"I don't trust the boys here; boys are hideous nasty creatures who....who...? Her mom didn't finish chosing instead to summon soul shattering balls of flame into the palms of her upper set of arms.

It took Tsura ten minutes to calm down her mom before she caused a scene or hurt someone. It was for the young blonde to calm an reassure her and remind her the matter settled, but it was the descent of her Father Max Eisenhardt and his presence that closed off any more protest.

Tsura's parents held no real love for each other but their love for her did mean that two once powerful Villains associated in amicable fashion on all occasions because of her; except now.

Neither said a word only exchanging glares her mom blaming her did for her leaving home to go to school and her dad to let her mom know he still thought this the best course for his daughter. That was when she used her only child power to distract them both with quick kisses and the sweetest goodbye she could manage.

Tsura bounced away casting adorable bye byes over her shoulder as she retreated onto the school grounds.

On one side of the glossy, red, cherrywood desk is a balding man in a well tailored suit. On the other, an aging woman with lifeless eyes, accompanied by a small, whimpering girl.

The man says in a monotone voice, "As you know ma'am, I'm Mr. Malhotta, your late husband's attorney. I've asked you and your daughter here today because before your husband's passing, he wrote his last will and testament and left it with me. Mr. Malhotta pulls an envelope out of a desk drawer and clears his throat while he opens it before beginning to read from the papers within.

As the lawyer drones on, the grieving widow day dreams about happier times when her family was whole. Spending holidays in lodges along the Chambal River, the birth of their daughter, celebrating birthdays with picnics on sunny days. Suddenly, her reminiscing is interupted by Mr. Malhotta, "I'm sorry madam, but as I was saying, your husband has arranged to have you and your daughter move to America. He hoped this would give her a better chance for a life with more opportunities. He also left one small matter to be decided by you." He pulls out a wooden box with strange engravings on it. "Mr. Rashadi wanted you to decide what to do with this box. The only thing he had to say about it is that he does not want it to stay in your family." He hands the box to Mrs. Rashadi and says, "I'll contact you soon with details about youe flight. I suggest you begin packing soon."

With a sigh belonging to a woman that has lost something more important than the Sun itself. "Thank you Mr. Malhotta, we'll be taking our leave now."

TWO MONTHS LATER

Mrs. Rashadi pensively watches her daughter play with the ancient looking block that had been found in the strange wooden box her husband had left her. She hadn't been able to bring herself to part with one of the few remaining items belonging to her husband. Instead, she had decided to give it to their daughter to remember her father by. Although she wasn't sure her daughter understood where her new toy came from, it seemed to make her happy. During the entire trip to New York, little Lily had been playing with the block with her imaginary friend, Toto. Suddenly, Lily begins crying and looking out the window of the cab in which they're riding. Mrs. Rashadi hushes her and asks what's wrong. Through the tears, Lily replies, "I dropped Toto. Now he's all alone Mommy. He's going to be so scared,"

As the cab drives off into the distance, the block tumbles to a stop in the road in front of the Academy of Heroes and Villains. While car after car drops off the new students at the Academy and the children and teens walk around the totem, a strange, haunting laugh can be heard emanating from the wood.

The totem:

After walking through the school gates and their very impressive and frankly, intimidating security, Rebekah Green was finally able to walk up the long path to the main area of the campus. She carried a backpack filled with her superhero gear, a rolling suitcase packed with everything else, and a heavy load of hopes and worries in her head.

Here she was, at a new school, in a new country, with entirely new people. She didn't know a soul here, except some of the staff, by reputation. On one hand, that wouldn't make things easy for her, trying to slot into a group of second-years who already knew each other so well. On the other, it might have been better that they didn't know her. This was to be a fresh start for Rebekah, away from her past mistakes. She had found her place to belong once before at Super School, so she should be able to do it again. Hopefully.

With a deep breath, Rebekah plowed on, but found a strange item under her feet. It was a conical piece of wood, carved with a pattern, but looking very old. Thinking to examine it further, she picked up the totem.

After Rebekah picks up the totem, tendrils of blue fog begin to seep from the cracks in the wood. The fog begins gathering around the teenager's feet before slowly working up her body, eventually completely masking her field of view as the laughing grows louder and more maniacal. All at once, the fog clears, revealing Rebekah woth the totem still in her hands and with a small, blue creature sitting at her feet.



"Meow," the azure kitten says sassily.

Kyle Grayson

Kyle walked through the school gates, a smile on his face that reached from ear to ear. Kyle knew this school would work out, he wasn't sure why his father was so afraid of him going here. Maybe he wasn't afraid that he was going here as much as to what would happen when he got here. Kyle would admit that he has gotten kicked out of school before for fighting, but they never got the whole story. Last time it was because he beat the crap out of a gang of students that constantly harassed the nerd clique in school. He had not gotten himself involved almost all year, but when they trashed the nerds end of the year celebration party Kyle thought to himself they had gone too far. So this was the next choice for him. A place where he could fit in, and not be the weird kid that can quadriple back flip and land perfectly on his fit.

With a deep breath, Kyle looked around at his suroundings. His father told him Grandfather Bruce over saw everything, but this wa so much to oversee. Kyle excitedly looked at all the other students, some flashing amazing powers, other running around, and even some....kissing. Kyle gulped at this. Unlike how everyone thought the opposite of this with him, Kyle had very little experience dealing with that side of the opposite sex.

Kyle took a step forward and let his journey begin.

Rebekah's first reaction to the strange smoke was to recoil from it, but she couldn't. It all happened so quickly that by the time she had gathered her wits to get away somehow, it was all over, and she was left staring down at a tiny kitten the same colour as the smoke.

It stared back and meowed at her, leaving Rebekah wondering what she was supposed to do about it. Clearly, it was connected to the smoke in some way, and probably the wooden thing as well. The real question was: what on earth is this thing? Was it some magical guardian of the campus, a shapeshifted fellow student, a stray pet with powers of its own? It was clearly more than it appeared, and that meant that she was to treat it with extreme caution.

It was a good first lesson for life at the Academy, and being super in general, that when dealing with magic, it was safest to assume that any unknown but powerful thing was dangerous, and treat it accordingly. There were many kinds of things in the arcane world, and Rebekah wasn't so arrogant as to think she knew them all. For most of her life, she had thought that she herself was pretty normal, and yet here she was, learning to fight crime by screwing with the laws of physics. This kitten could easily be the same if she treated it wrongly, and Rebekah knew all too well the consequences of sticking her nose and hands where they didn't belong. She didn't want another Power Surge on her hands, so decided to be as careful as possible.

"Hello, kitten" she said, feeling slightly self-conscious about standing in the middle of a path talking to an animal. "I'm Rebekah, and I'm kind of new here. What about you?"

The kitten looks at Rebekah quizzically, then replies in a voice identical to hers, "I also, am new to this place. My name, however, is not kitten. I am known as The One The Only. As my mistress, you may call me Toto if it pleases you, Ms. Rebekah." Toto crouches down with his tail switching back and forth before leaping and scurrying up his new mistress' body and sitting on her shoulder. He gently rubs his head against her cheek before whispering in a deep, velvety voice, "So answer me this, mistress. What can Toto do for you?"

Well, that was creepy.

She had been right that this was no ordinary kitten, but the way it talked was still a shock. Were the two of them just vocal doppelgangers or had it actually stolen her voice? She thought that latter. Also, it was using oddly formal language for a (cat? person? being?) that was being so physically affectionate. Perhaps it was just a very polite kitten, and was showing that in human and cat terms at once.

Basically, she was lost for what to do with this thing, so she gave the only answer that came to mind. "Okay, Toto. Nice to meet you. Could you tell me a bit about yourself?"

A quiet rustling can be heard from Rebekah's shoulder, the light weight of the kitten slowly becoming heavier. If the girl would turn her head, she would witness the transformation of the diminutive feline into a great horned owl. As the soft paws of the kitten become the hooked claws of the wise, old bird, Toto replies, "I exist to fulfill the desires of whomever posseses my totem. If information is what mistress wishes, Toto is happy to oblige. However, for your requests to be granted, they must possess a certain level of specificity." Toto stares at Rebekah with his head cocked to the side and his large, saucer-like eyes gazing into the depths of her soul as he continues, "With that in mind, I have a question for you, madam. What exactly do you wish to know?"



((I shoild mention that regardless of the form Toto chooses, he will always be the same shade of blue))

Rebekah remained silent for a moment to consider that, and continued walking up the path, dragging her bag with and hand and holding the wooden thing (totem, she now realised) in the other.

Already, Toto had shown her that they were a shapeshifter, and told her enough to guess at the creature's nature. It sounded a little bit like a genie-in-a-bottle type deal, which she supposed could be pretty cool, if she held onto this totem. Genies, though, usually came with rules and, in the fairytales at least, often left their finders worse off than how they started. She would still have to be careful here.

"Alright Toto, I'm trying to get to know this place and the different kinds of people here, so I'd like to know about what are you, what you can do, how you got here. Is that specific enough?"

Toto hops off of Rebekah's shoulder, landing in front of her. "How should I approach this?" he wonders silently, "Should I attempt to amaze or appear humble?"

He opens his beak and answers in a deep voice, "My people have existed for time immemorial. We existed when your ancestors first thought to strike two rocks together, creating fire. We were there when your wars stopped being fought with spears and bows and began being fought by bombs that could level entire cities. We witnessed as you humans reached the next step of evolution and started developing amazing abilities such as powers of flight and strength to move mountains. We watched as your so called heroes were forced to reveal their identities and retire. We will be there when the last vestiges of 'normal' humans die out and are entirely replaced by metahumans. We will remain when metahumans discover that beings of such power can not coexist in such large numbers and eradicate themselves. I suppose what I'm attempting to say is that we were, we are, and we always will be. From the birth of your species, we have found you infinitely interesting. In order to better observe you, we decided to bind ourselves to human masters. We willingly made it our purpose to serve the most interesting human specimens we could find. Eventually, your people gave us the name, Djinn, and believed us to be a form of God's angels."

Toto stretches his wings before beginning to preen himself as he continues, "As for what I can do? I am aware of the stories of so called genies, so I assume you are wondering if I have certain rules and limitations? It is true that I am not all powerful. I am neither able to create life, nor take it away. I can not control the emotions of sentient beings. Most importantly, I can not use the vast majority of my abilities without first being asked by my master. Which is you, of course, my mistress. I have but one final warning to give you, Ms. Rebekah. Know that although I may not act without your permission in most cases, I reserve the right to decide not to act. The story of how I came to be here is a tale for a different time, I'm afraid. I suggest you make your way inside, young one. Your classes will start soon."

A Djinn, then. She would have to do some research into that name as soon as she got the chance. Having accidentally become the master of such a powerful and unusual creature, she also seemed to have come into a lot of responsibility as well.

"I'm sure I'll get there in time" Rebekah replied as she continued walking. "But I must admit I'm a little confused about one thing. You said you name was 'The One, The Only', and yet talk about your people and their actions throughout history. So, is there just the one Djinn, or many, or are they just all you, somehow?"

The owl disappears, replaced by blow smoke which travels along the ground, trailing behind Rebekah. A chuckle emanates from the area near her feet where the largest concentration of the smoke could be found. "There are actually two meanings behind my name. The simpler of the two is that I am the only me there is. Are there other Djinn? Of course madam, that plays into the other meaning of the name I've chosen. At any given time there are 13 Djinn on this planet. We have an innate knowledge of the locations of our brothers and sisters at any given time. The only means of killing a Djinn is with another Djinn. In order to preserve our species, we simply keep our distance from one another, as well avoiding humans that have the smell of Djinn on them. Because of this, the odds of any human ever meeting more than one Djinn in their lifetime are extremely low."

Ryan

Ryan had been up for most of the night. As with almost everything in his life, he never did anything halfway. Around 3 am. last night he had woken up for his daily run. He needed to keep his speed up as he kept working on his powers. This morning he had gone out for a run around the US like he usually did. He started at New York city and then ran South towards Key West. He quickly grabbed some pie before he went running off towards Texas. He sped through the Panhandle and then on towards LA. He took a quick break watching the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean before continuing on.

Ryan ran up the West Coast and then ran along the 49th Parallel on his way back home. It took him another hour to run all the way back home. He sped into his apartment when he heard Phoebe calling for him. He flash ran into the room as the wind pushed everything around. He heard her say that they were going to be late. Ryan smiled up at her as the sweat covered his skin. "Phoebe... Have we ever been late? I can get us there." He said quickly kissing her on the cheek before he ran off. It took him less then a minute to quickly change out of his running clothes. He still smelled like sweat as he stood in the door way. "Are we going?"

---

Jack

Jack looks at city as he swings towards the school for another year at the school. After what had happened last year, he needed more time away from all that had happened. After how his brother had lost his mind, Jack needed to do even more work to fix the family name. That meant being the hero for the city. He needed to be Spiderman more then ever now. Jack hung upside down from one of the walls waiting for something to do.

---

Chris

Chris did not want to be here at all. The whole idea of this school bothered him to his core. He did not want to be here since his mother had ordered him to go. It was either this or the Big Bad Bat would send him to prison. He knew that the three B would send him to Blackgate in a heart beat.

He looked around the school clearly out of his league. His idea of school was Gotham's Crime Alley. You could learn so much more there then somewhere like here.

Tsura actually hated having to leave her parents so quickly but she knew that their presence could be unnerving to people who didn't know that her presence assured their good behavior. People would be stunned to know two such powerful mutants were the most gentle of parents except when she was threatened.

So laughing softly she made her way towards the administration building literally glowing as if bathed in her own beam of sunlight.

If she hadn't been at the Academy her mom would have been urging her to dim or shift her frequency back to ultra violet. But here she was just another student and could relax a little and it was such a thought that made her stop and look around her.

Why was she heading in to begin the dull process of induction when she'd only just arrived. She was surrounded by people whom she could talk with and not worry about filtering what she said. She could glow or even become intangible and it shouldn't even ruffle a feather. Sure she was here to learn how contain spontaneous manifestation of her status as a Photonic Elemental but in her opinion at the Academy it should also mean she needn't hide what she was.

So that in mind she drifted silently on the campus grounds people watching.

"I see" Rebekah replied as the pair reached and then entered the girls' dormitories. "Well, I'm certainly not asking you to kill anyone, let alone your own kind, but maybe this could be a good start for me making requests of you: if you ever see that my life is in danger, and I can't do anything to save myself, you should save me, OK?"

They arrived at Rebekah's room, and after checking the number on the door against the one on her phone, Rebekah let the two of them inside. It wasn't that big, but it looked comfortable enough, and would look a lot better once she got unpacked. Speaking of which...

She threw open the lid of her suitcase and began taking out tiny, shrunken items. As she held each in hand, they quickly swelled and grew back to their normal sizes. There was a reason she had been able to pack a whole room's worth of possessions into one mid-sized suitcase: her power to grow and shrink items made it easy to carry an almost absurd amount of equipment with very little trouble. Her superhero bag was the same, though she didn't unpack it now. She always kept it packed and as close to her as possible, just in case she needed it, or, more specifically, one of the things it contained.

It was growing towards being, so far as she was concerned, the most massively useful collection of items ever assembled into a space of under 35 litres. All shrunk down and organised into their own individual pockets, she had everything from extra clothes for a number of situations, food, drink and other survival supplies, first aid kits, combat gear, vials of some interesting chemicals, and a few handy odds, ends and gadgets to top it off. In need, she could retrieve any of these items and grow them back to their full size in just a few moments. Her power wasn't always the most useful in a fight, but where it really excelled was preparation.

Rebekah re-grew another pile of clothes and dumped them into a draw. A full unpack and organisation would take longer, but for now this would do. As the djinn had said earlier, the first meeting for the students wasn't that far off.

Kyle Grayson

Kyle walked into is room in the boys dormitories. Kyle was slightly unsure if staying in the dorms was the right choice, but Grandfather Bruce and his dad both thought it wasn't a bad idea. They thought it was a great chance for him to make some friends, explore. Plus since Bruce was the principle he would have no trouble keeping an eye on Kyle. But they neglected to tell Kyle this. Kyle walked into his room, surprised to see all of his stuff already put away and his room organized.

"Grandpa really did think of everything.....except the cool stuff."

Kyle examined his room. He looked over the desk, the dresser, the bed, the restroom, and he couldn't find a single listening device. Kyle didn't really think Grandpa would bug his room, but he used to be the greatest detective in the world. Kyle finished his sweep, and to his surprise he found not listening devices, but workout equipement. Specifically acrobatic training equipment. Weights, bars, weighted clothing, his grandpa had given him a small bag of extremely useful stuff. Kyle smiled.

"Damn now I have to thank Grandpa. But of course he wont admit he did this. Typically Grandpa."

Kyle set his bag down next to his bed, then jumped onto his bed and started to bounce.

"Well, I didn't become the owner of some demon, and I didn't make any friends yet, and I haven't started class yet, and I haven't really done anything yet, but yay I'm finally here!"

Kalinda watched the students from the shadows, not feeling particularly inclinded to interact with them just yet. She found it more entertaining to merely watch, right then. However she did follow a boy to the dorms, not caring that it was a boys dorms. As she watched he glance about, she looked about too. Clearly this child had some influence.

watching him, Kalinda just slipped out the shadows. "An interesting set up. Who'd you bribe to get it?" She asked. Kalinda was wearing her now customary skin suit, Black and covering her neck to toe. Over it she was wearing shorts and a shirt. Her hair was tied back, and she seemed to have no qualms with being in a boys dorm.
@dabombjk

---

Phoebe watched ryan run about in a blur, giving a chuckle. He was just so adorable. She leaned against a wall, waiting, knowing he'd be ready in mere moments. "well, you do have time to shower" She said with amusement.

when they were both ready, Phoebe hugged Ryan, more then ready for what would be a blurr of colour and arrival at the school. She had enjoyed their break, but was looking forward to going back tot he academy. While it would be weird not to be living there, the small freedom of having an apartment was worth it.

And it wasn't like she hadn't seen her father just about every day of the break, and her mother too. "I think it's going to be an eventful day"She said, cheerfully, giving Ryan a soft kiss. @Avanhelsing