---

---

The sun shined brightly upon the academy, as at this hour it was the birth of a new day. Many students came from all walks of life to head to the Academy to spend the next couple of months there in hopeful peace. A majority arrived via bus, but some of them arrived via their own transportation - however they arrived, they were allowed through the front gates through to the entrance hall where all the instructors were standing and welcoming the students to the Academy - offering to take their bags. However, they were all herded into the auditorium of the entrance hall where they all had found themselves a seat in the room. The auditorium was a massive room made too hold many people with a massive wooden stage and a podium in the center of it, but the stage remained empty for about a minute. Until a group of very well dressed people walking up, following an older man with a cane, grey hair, nice suit, and a cane. He walked up to the podium and then loudly cleared his throat.

"Hello brand new students, I am your headmaster Adam Blackmore."

Adam introduced himself to the curiosity of awfully few, but if they wanted to last five minutes in this school they better listen and listen good. "On behalf of the school and Academy program I welcome you to Academy 03 Here, our staff will explore your abilities and assist you in learning your true potential. You will be placed through FAMA-approved trials in order to help you master your ability. However, we are not all about our powers. We will give you an education much like a school would. However, the staff here will not make you try to learn, as we know it's a wasted effort. That means it's up to YOU what you spend your time here doing. Work with the staff, and I guarantee that you will leave here fully educated and fully trained. I will tell you the danger you pose when you refuse to control your powers, you will be removed from the academy by FAMA officials. However, I will be overseeing the staff and helping them provide the best experience possible for you all." With that, Adam nodded to a woman at his side that was even taller than him as he walked away from the podium. She was a curvy woman with bright green eyes behind a pair of glasses, and had a head of long black hair, wearing a suit-skirt mixture.

"I am vice-headmaster Veronica Davis, and I am responsible for assisting Adam with all affairs in addition to making sure the academy is well-staffed and well-supplied," Veronica started off as she looked across at the panorama of new students - her eyes landing on a certain few for an instant. "I am also in charge of directly managing the staff, and keeping staff-student relations healthy - so if you all have any issues with the staff or academy come by my office and I'll do my best to assist you."

She cleared her throat, before she looked at her clipboard and continued, "Allow me to tell you the rules of the Academy before we continue; show respect to your peers and staff, fighting outside of the academy is strictly prohibited, dress appropriately at all times, no sexual activity, smoking, alcohol, or illegal contraband on school grounds, and you are allowed to leave school grounds after class but you have to back on campus by 8 pm. Failure to comply with these rules will result in... harsh disciplinary actions being taken against you."

before an older African-American gentleman with a bald head and long coat on walked on, he had on a FAMA badge as he walked up, "Hey there, my name's Luther Ross and I'm in charge of the FAMA agency situated on the Academy, and thus I'm also in charge of security for the academy. I have to empathize that you all keep a vigilant eye out on the academy and your fellow students for the safety of everyone. If you see anything suspicious on Academy grounds; don't be afraid to report it. Better safe than sorry. There will always be a team of FAMA agents on academy grounds ready to handle any type of situation that may arise - with more agents on the way if necessary - so keep that in mind." Luther stepped off the podium.

The woman who immediately stepped on after he was a massive woman that stood nearly at seven-feet tall and was heavily muscled from head to toe and was African American. The woman looked at the group before her as she said, "Michelle Gallus, head power instructor here. I'm in charge of everything in charge of power training and I'm going to become very close to you all come tomorrow, but for now, I'll tell you how that'll go; everyone will be training together in a series of different exercises specifically made to train your powers. They won't be easy, but some of them are designed to be fun. Other than that, I expect the best of you all. You are all free to use the training facilities in your spare time if you please, but that's up to you all." The woman spoke with a deep, gruff, voice, but she continued,

"While there's to be no fighting on campus, we have another way to settle feuds; the arena and game stadiums. These places are designed for friendly sparring matches or games to prove which one of you is the better one. You all can go in alone, or go in as a team, and everyone here regardless of power has to participate in an arena match or play a game at the stadium at least once. I hope to get to know you all come tomorrow."

The next person to walk on the podium was definitely eye-catching in a completely different way. The woman was a humanoid insect with an olive-green exoskeleton. She had features of a grasshopper with long thick legs, antennae, huge mandibles, and large black eyes, and she casually walked on to the surprise of many who are not used to her type of Metahuman. She smiled at the people as she spoke with an insect-like voice,

"Hello, I am Fiona Barrett, assistant head power-instructor, and I am going to tell you about the academy teams! Here at Academy 003, we are all about building bonds between students and teamwork, so all of you here will be shuffled into teams of five. These teams are going to be your study buddies, and partners in the arena and game stadium - all with the purpose of raising your rating. Playing in the game stadium and academy is not the only way to raise your rating as contributing to the academy is the other primary way to raise your rating. These team ratings are essential to your success in the Academy, and it is imperative that you do your best. It's also important that you all get along and have fun!" She smiled cheerily before she continued,

"Tomorrow I and Michelle will decide who will go into which teams, but I have to inform you in advance that the teams are subject to change. Teams are important due to the Academy games, which take place towards the end of the semester. A massive event where the teams will put all of their training to the test to prove who is the best - be prepared as the games contribute to a large chunk of your grade, and your success at the academy." With that Fiona was finished and walked off the podium, and Adam stepped back on.

"As we usually do, we are throwing a grand banquet in celebration of the newly arrived students - The staff will escort you all there. Take this as the time to familiarize yourself with the school, and get to know your fellow students. But above all else; enjoy yourselves. After the banquet, head to the Administration building, and the staff there will give you your assigned room and roommate - Along with your luggage. And if you need anything, we have a fully equipped staff that will assist you all the way. Tomorrow morning, classes will begin. That is all, you are dismissed."

Adam walked off the stage, followed by the staff and the students were led into the cafeteria - which had been set up hours before the newly arrived students were there. The main room was quite large, made to accommodate a larger group of people at a time, plus the place was absolutely cleaned to shininess. The building was filled with fancy and finely crafted tables and furniture, each with a set of utensils placed on them. On the left side of the building was where the counter was. All sorts of chefs were set up here constantly making any dish for the students. Students and teachers, of all types, were all over the place. Talking, eating, and having fun. With some of the more reclusive students away from everyone else.

---

---

America was definitely something to take in... South Carolina they called this place? It was worlds differnt from Staten Island. She couldn't help but sit here and stare at the scenery, which she wished her sister Tala was here to see. She was excited for the Academy and wanted to learn all she could about this power of hers and maybe she'd, some day, be able to match her grandmother. Though, she knew that all the training in the world was worthless compared to experience, so Kashmira was excited to see what this place had to offer. She sat with her hands on her lap as she stared out the window, she kept a box right next to her - a small necklace case - in which she keeps the gift that her grandmother gave her. She knows how valuable those Delta-Crystals are, and how hording one could be considered a serious crime, but she would rather keep this on her because of people like Abel being out there. Kashmira didn't trust it with her luggage because she was worried that they would try to search it. The line of thought came to a stop when the bus did, and everyone was hearded outside.

Kashmira kept the box underneath her arm as she walked and found herself a place to sit in the auditorium as she sat down. Intimidation by Fiona and Michelle aside, Kashmira was worried about what Luther said - America wasn't quite a safe place, but she was concerned as to what FAMA thought could occur here. Do they think Abel show up? Kashmira had a feeling, yes. Either way, the speeches came to a close and everyone was sent to the cafeteria. Which was good, because Kashmira was starving. Though, she was disppointed by the selection of vegatarian foods, she found herself a nice plate. She'll have to eat this food for now, but American food is a bit to-

Lost in her revierie, Kashmira didn't realize that she had bumped into someone - some dark-skinned girl with pronounced facial features, and she had spilled her entire tray on her. Though, that was irrelevant to Kashmira as she dropped the necklace box, "No!" The girl shouted as she dove down for the box and grabbed it before it could open up. She sighed in relief, before she squeaked upon realizing... she looked up at the girl.

"You spill your entire tray on me..." Jasmine said in a thick German accent. "And you don't even apologize?! I ought to slap you!"

The thought of getting hit by the girl made Kashmira's heart race for a moment, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Instead of getting angier, Jasmine merely shook her head and walked off, realizing that today was the one day she didn't want to get into a fight with someone. Kashmira sighed in relief...

... before realizing that everyone was staring at her.

Taking into consideration how difficult it can be for her to get good sleep due to her nightmares, Aubrey wanted to be prepared and left for South Carolina a few days earlier than she needed to be there, so she could make sure she was well rested and ready for her first day at the academy. First days anywhere could be stressful, but throwing in a bunch of high school aged people with powers, would no doubt make things even more tense. Bree was actually nervous as she stood at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive, for more reasons than just her fear of riding in a vehicle. Nervousness wasn't a feeling she often experience, but the accident had thrown her confidence quite a bit.

Aubrey didn't pay much attention to the other occupants on the bus as she stepped on and made her way to the very back. There weren't very many people sitting back there, and she didn't have to worry about getting carsick either. She chose to sit right down one end close to the window, so she could stare out at the passing scenery and focus her mind on something other than how anxious she was. Once she was seated, she pulled her phone and earphones out of her bag and placed her earphones in her ears before scrolling through her various playlists to find some music to listen to for the ride. Thankfully the trip passed quicker than she expected, and before she knew it they had arrived at the academy.

Bree waited patiently for everyone ahead of her to exit the bus -using that time to put her phone and earphones away- before making her own way off. She stuck to the back of the group as they made their way from the bus to the auditorium for the assembly, and then again when they moved from the auditorium to the cafeteria. By that time most of her nervousness had passed, and she was feeling at ease enough to actually want to eat. However, as she was making her way over to the counter where all the food was, she nearly collided with a very irritated looking girl as she was storming off after yelling at another girl. Thankfully she noticed what was about to happen and was able to step out of the way at the last second.

Bree hadn't seen what had happened, but she had heard what was said, and she felt sorry for the girl, so she decided to make her way over and make sure she was okay. "Hey, are you alright?" Aubrey asked softly. After the yelling and threatening that had taken place, she didn't want to talk too loudly and risk startling the other female, who already seemed to be a little shaken up.

---

---

Though, what broke Kashmira out of her awkward moment was some girl approaching her. She was some American girl with black hair that was a few inches over Kashmira and seemed to have witnessed the whole thing. Kashmira jumped as this unintentionally made that awkwardness even worse, and Kasmira smiled in some awkward attempt to play it off. "Oh me? I'm fine," Kashmira hoped that the other girl would forgive her in time - but she needed time to cool off and maybe she'd warm up. "I'm more worried about her, I... I could have handled that better." Kashmira shook her head.

"But, my name is Kashmira, yours?" Kashmira spoke in a thick Indian accent as she tried to get to know this American girl.

---

---

Before her little encounter with Kashmira, Jasmine opted to get to the Academy on her own terms. Via train, before getting on a taxi that brought her straight to the Academy. Jasmine didn't like planes, nor did she like buses, but she was more annoyed by the fact that she was without her trusty moped. Her father said that he'd get it transported to the academy as soon as possible, but Jasmine figured what was the point? She was only going to be here a few months and a majority of it was going to be spent in this hell school with a bunch of other hellions. She heard that a lot of the "students" here were delinquents that they send here for rehabilitation, which was a good idea because it'd create a lot more problems otherwise. Either way, long as they stay out of Jasmine's way and rehabilitate somewhere else, everything will be just peachy.

The usual happened: Nyala was greeted by the staff and was practically shoved inside. Finding a seat, Jasmine nervously crossed her legs and listened to the heads of the academy give their speech. She almost got excited at the prospect of a team and the competition aspect of it. Then she realized that she would have to carry a team with a bunch of other idiots on it and felt her excitement deflate like a balloon. Jasmine heard that they had a grand banquet, but she didn't need it. Her power made it completely redundant to eat. Though she ended up going anyway just so she could get into the mix of things, though as she walked she got a phone call from an unknown number... and remembered a few things. She gulped as she nervously hit answer and put the phone up to her ear.

"Nyala get somewhere private," A feminine voice spoke from the phone and Jasmine cringed upon this stranger knowing her true name, "We have much to discuss so be quick." That did little to ease Jasmine's nerves, and Jasmine, in the midst of the crowd - dipped off into a side hallway.

"... Okay, I'm out of sight," Jasmine said, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Oh, I'm going to be your boss for your stay here."

"... and I don't even know who you are." Jasmine incredulously said, "But, what do you mean by "your boss"?"

The woman chuckled for a second, "It doesn't matter. If I want something done; I just say the word and you do it. No questions asked."

Jasmine shuddered upon the woman's words, "Okay?" Jasmine said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Keep an eye on your classmates, for now," The woman said, "My bosses have their eyes on many of the students of the Academy and the best way to get insight on them is from someone close to them, yes? So if you have anything interesting to report, just call me and I'll look into it."

"Yeah, I got it," Jasmine nervously said. "Just be a spy for..."

"... For your new family, of course," The woman said, "Now, run along, I have to be somewhere, and you have to be somewhere." The woman hung up and Jasmine stood there, holding the phone to her ear.

Of course, she was going to come up with something interesting because she was afraid of what her new boss will do. Now, she deeply regretted getting involved with those people - mainly because she almost immediately negated the entire reason for making the deal. Her phone buzzed, and Jasmine immediately looked at it.

Remember Nyala, I have eyes everywhere. So be a very good girl for me and follow orders. The people above me expect good things to come out of this deal. Don't disappoint them or you'll wish that they just killed you.

These words made Jasmine sick to her stomach. Yeah, she got the idea that she didn't want to cross this woman. She, she followed the tail-end of the group into the hall there were hundreds of different students there, and thus she knew that there was something on someone. If she was going to engage in some redundant eating, it might as well be good food. Her eyes weren't on her surroundings but were on the other people - which caused an accident where she bumped into another student. In the blink of an eye, her sweatpants were covered in a variety of different vegetables and the girl was just standing there. In sheer shock - what didn't make the situation better was that the perpetrator was more concerned with her stupid box than even apologizing. Her eyes twitched as she balled her fists up, unconsciously activating her power.

"You spill your entire tray on me..." Jasmine said in a thick German accent. "And you don't even apologize?! I ought to slap you!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" The Indian girl apologized but Jasmine found it entirely pathethic. Instead of going through with her promise Jasmine figured that it would be suicide for her plan - and she found herself running into the bathroom to clean herself off. Jasmine was annoyed and was about to break something in aggravation, but she had to keep her cool. She'd have to change her pants when she gets back to her room, but she had on a black hoodie which she wrapped around her waist to mask the stains on her pants.

She walked back out in hopes she could find someone to talk to.

---

---

"Hey! What do you mean it's in lock up?!"

"That's exactly what I meant." The FAMA agent told him. You see, Jack had to make a detour to the FAMA offices to work something out really quick. "Most of your inventions are headquarters storage locker where it'll stay."

"I don't get my jetpack, laser guns, or anything?!" Jack barked, before his tone lowered as he tried to plead with her, "C'mon boss woman, I'm helpless here without my gear, I won't last ten minutes against these meatheads."

"Some of your inventions have been cleared; your preferred laser rifle, and your shield devices." The FAMA agent said, before she said, "However, you have to adjust the lethality of the laser rifle and bring it back here for further clearance."

"Oh come on! There's people here more powerful than that little peashooter!" Jack again pleaded. "And can I have my jetpack back, please?!"

"No." The agent said.

"Please."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Please?"

"You're lucky to get anything back after what you've pulled," The FAMA agent smirked at him. "If it was up to me, you'd be in prison for a long time, so if I were you I'd be quiet and take the favor we're giving you."

He twisted his face up, as the agent kept talking.

"Now, if I were you I'd get a move on. You wouldn't want to miss the big speech, would you?" The agent said, to which Jack silently replied "Dick" under his breath as he moved on. Okay, Academy 003 for superpowered assholes and assholettes was totally going to blow ass. He belonged out there, stealing stuff for his family, not studying books in a school. However, he had to remember that this is better than the alternative... and he remembered that he'd probably make some very lonely and horney prison very happy. So he was going to take what he could get and left the office with grace, or what little grace he had left.

Though, he had to set aside a to-do list:

1. Build up a new collection of gear.

2. Bide his time until he can bust out of here.

3. Figure out who the hell tipped off the feds.

4. Find out who took his FUCKING crystal.

5. And link back up with The Group.

Sounded simple enough. All her had to really do was improve his laser gun and make his jetpack and he'll be gone... though he's in South Carolina. There's more than a few kilometers between here and Washington state. So damn it. Jack needed to come up with something and something really good. Though, Jack needed to start small - that's what Megan said made him so good, starting small and staying "in the kidde pool". Which he thinks meant stay within his league.

Either way Jack went to the big stupid speech and realized that this place was going to be worse than he thought: no smoking. Jack was already about to tear the person next to him's throat out with his teeth because he didn't smoke since he was busted. He was already feeling angsty... though, he was annoyed, very annoyed, by this. He'd get his hands on cigarettes or he'd die! Everything else went over Jack's head as he was single mindedly focused on that sole fact. Though, the head mistress lady had a nice rack.

Before he realized it everyone was sent into the cafeteria - something about food. The best part about getting food was when it was free! He found himself a huge plate of food and sat down somewhere.

---

One of the buses finally rolled to a stop after a very long trip in front of the academy driveway, and the exhaust left the bus like a long-winded sigh of relief. When the driver reached over and opened the doors, one of the passengers unclicked her seatbelt, grabbed her bags, and bulldozed her way down the center aisle before anybody had gotten up yet – yet they were preparing to do so; their feet, knees, or elbows in the way, and as the person came storming through, they were either pushed out of the way or trampled over as they came storming through.

“Woah!”

“Hey, watch it!”

“Dude, what the fuck!” One young boy yelled, which was cut off by a sharp “Hey! Language!”

“Sorry Mrs. Henderson…”

The offender ran out of the bus, even skipping a step as she leaped out and met the South Carolina heat. She was pleased to find that she had dressed appropriately enough for the weather; her knee-length white skater dress flowed weightlessly in what little breeze there was, causing the hundreds of tiny little Snoopy dogs printed on it to soar through the air. Over it was her black leather jacket, even under while under the South Carolina sun. Camouflage cargo shorts protected her dignity, and the wide-brimmed, floppy straw hat protected her pale, freckled skin from burning from the harsh rays. The young woman, once outside got her affairs in order; the green army backpack was big and bulky, back from her grandfather’s boot camp day, and the rolling suitcase at her side was about ready to burst at the seams, and its handle was wrapped with old airline tickets and both bags were covered in pins. Between just these two bags was everything she was supposed to need for her stay for each academy semesters.

She swallowed down a large lump in her throat as she tried to take in the splendor and immensity of the campus. It was fenced off; the main building was huge and ornately structured and the flora decorating its gardens were like beautiful masterpieces of nature. The size of the campus was also mind boggling, and she couldn’t help but wonder how much money had gone into the facility or how much money it would’ve required to get into this school without assistance or an invitation. As if to shrug off the weight of such thoughts, her eyes were drawn to one of memorabilia tickets on her bag.

“FROM: PWM; PORTLAND, ME.
TO: MSY; NEW ORLEANS, LA.
REYNA E. BAKER.”

It prompted a fond smile from her, as if the sight was a nod of encouragement, and she marched her way toward the Academy 003 entrance.

Reyna didn’t feel like she belonged here. It was too fancy and too sophisticated. She was used to living in the city where nothing was clean, and everything costed at least twice its actual value, which made everyone scramble for decent-paying jobs that could pay enough to enable them to competitively fight over the scraps they were given. Here? It almost felt like a sense of betrayal to her friends back home to be here, and that it almost wasn’t honest of her to be here – but she was here, so she had to make the most of it. She was given a rare opportunity to claw her way out of a shitty situation, so she had to take advantage of what she was being given. That’s what her mom and dad would want to hear from her, right? So, she faced it, the school, with a brave smile. An eager smile. She pushed down the feelings of impotence to make way for her curiosity and wanderlust. It was time to make history.

The inside was marvelous. Faculty in the entrance hall took her bags and stored them for her, leaving her free and unencumbered to roam the building – until she was shepherded into a central area, unfortunately; no exploring just yet. She was mostly unfocused during the speech, preoccupied with looking around at the décor and some of the strange, new people entering. However, they had her attention when, suddenly, an enormous woman stood front and center on stage and began talking about power assessments, and of course it was the seven-foot-tall black lady who would be everyone’s gym teacher. Apparently not even FAMA was immune to typecasting. More jarringly, Ms. Gallus’ assistant was this girl who looked like a grasshopper. Disarmingly polite and pleasant, but part of Reyna wondered if her… power, if one could call it that, also included eating people’s heads. It was probably better not to think about it.

The food that was soon presented to them, on the other hand, was all she could think about upon being released into the cafeteria. It didn’t really matter what it was they were cooking, as Reyna was an easily satisfied individual who learned to live on the cheapest kinds of foods, so she just found a food try and piled on as much as she could until the caterers told her it was time to stop. It was a mountainous smorgasbord of food, carefully placed on different parts of the tray and stacked in such a way where none of the flavor profiles would conflict with each other too drastically. She was about to find a table for her to sit at and try her best to consume as much of the grotesque pile of food as she could when she saw the collision between two girls, acting as one of the many bystanders watch one swear the other out, and an unrelated third party helping the clumsy girl back up to her feet.

“What a bitch, huh?” Reyna commented flatly to the Indian girl. She overheard her calling herself Kashmira after accepting help from the other stranger. Truthfully, Reyna didn’t have any strong feelings about what happened, it was just an opportunity for her to get involved with others. Part of her even had an inkling of respect for the “bitch” that stormed off, since Reyna could appreciate sticking up for one’s self and setting a standard. On the other hand, Clumsy Girl was just being clumsy. Shit like that happens all the time.

“We can take her out back, if you’d like; teach her a lesson.” She joked. It was like she tried to deliver it with a deadpan expression, though she failed in her attempts to hold back the amuse smirk stretching from one corner of her mouth.

Miss Ruby! Miss Ruby! Miss Ruby, we're here! Ruby was woken up from her slumber by the sound of Charles voice. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was, and where she was going. But Charles removed all doubt as he spoke up again once more. We're almost here. The Academy just right up ahead. That's right, she was supposed to go to this Academy that father had insisted she go to. It was for her own good he insisted, and she knew full well that there was no saying no to that man. At least she didn't had to go on that bus that was in front with the rest of them. It was not that she didn't want to, it was just that she didn't need to. Charles followed the bus in front of them as they made their way into the driveway that lead to the main building of the academy. "You'll do just fine, Miss Ruby, I'm most certain about that."

"I hope I do Charles, who knows what I'll face in here." The family chauffeur got out, and opened the door for her before heading to the boot to retrieve her suitcase. She really didn't know what to expect here in the academy. All she knew was that it was some kind of school for Meta humans. The splendour didn't amaze her, but the immensity did. The Academy grounds were huge, she had to give it that. The flora were finely picked, and they weren't too different from the ones at home in the family estate. Ruby dragged her suitcase along until she reached the foyer where the faculty staff took over her luggage and stored them for her. She was funnelled along with the rest of the students into the auditorium, and it was there that she was found herself a seat, and listened intently as the headmaster of the academy gave his speech.

The instructors were next, and Ruby admitted that she found the insect lady rather peculiar. She'd never ever seen something like that, a humanoid insect. She didn't know whether to be in awe or to be disgusted. She didn't like insects at all one bit. When the whole boring lot of speeches was down, it was time for eating. Now, when it came to eating, Ruby had simple tastes. Fine and fancy food weren't were style, and she tends to prefer food such as pizza, burgers and chicken wings. Despite her social and wealth status, she hated fine dining.

While she was selecting her food, she happened to see an altercation between two girls, one, kinda douchey-behaving and the other, all shock and dazed by the whole situation. A pained expression appeared on her visage. Ruby didn't like bullies, or any of these sort of behaviour. She'd endured enough of that in other schools in the past. She moved to the victim of the bully who was talking to another girl, this one with shorter hair and ginger looking. "What a bitch indeed. I never could stand douchey-people like that. It just sets me off." She then took deeps breaths to compose herself. She didn't want to start a fire here on her first day. No, she wasn't going to disappoint father already.

---

---

Oh my!

Kashmira suddenly became popular which was unexpected, but all the people coming to her defense was definitely appreciated. First it was a pale girl with freckles that Kashmira thought was beautiful in her own way - but she could definitely tell the girl was a bit... gruff. Then it was the... Chinese girl? At least that's what Kashmira thought she was - she was definitely wealthy from the way that she dressed. In India, it was a skill that Kasmira picked up being able to easily pick out the tourist types that had money. Though they were the types that would always be harassed by a beggar or homeless person - but that was irrelevant.

"Oh no," Kashmira declined Reyna's offer with a chuckle. "She'll set off the wrong person soon enough and get the lesson she needs." She smiled at the girl - violence wasn't in Kashmira's nature anyway and it was Kashmira's fault that she was wasn't paying attention. She just hoped that the school wasn't full of people like her! She clutched the box underneath her shoulder and hoped that she wouldn't have to use the power reserved for people like Abel on a student here.

But, there was a golden opportunity here; one that Kashmira was not going to ignore.

"I just hope she'll accept my apology in time - but I think we should leave that behind us, yes?" Kasmira suggested because the last thing she wanted to do was dwell on something so... insignificant. "How about we all sit down and eat together? Talk about life and things?"

---

---

"Am I excited to be here...?" Jack parroted out the words like he was speaking to a total fucking moron - because he really, really, felt like he was. Jack looked at the guy, some Spanish looking kid with the corniest haircut Jack has ever seen in his life. He was content with totally not saying anything at all to the guy, until he had the nerves to say something that really got on Jack's nerves. He wasn't even looking at Jack - He was looking around, probably perving. "Guy, I don't mean to tell you my life story here - but the only reason why I'm here is that I got cuffed by the feds. What's worse was that I was a big shot before that." He rolled his eyes.

"They took all my shit, so now I'm stuck here in the middle of Justice League school waving around a peashooter," He continued to complain, "So I'm super fucking excited right now to be here."

Aubrey was about to return Kashmira's introduction with one of her own, but before she even had a chance to speak, another, slightly taller female approached them to offer her own thoughts on the situation. This girl was far more forth-coming with her opinion on the incident. Her bluntness actually irked Bree slightly, but she thought better than to comment on it. She wouldn't have had the chance to anyway, because as soon as the red-head finished speaking, yet another girl wandered over. 'At least there seems to be a good number of friendly people here.'

Bree considered excusing herself from the group to go and get some food, as she was beginning to get rather hungry, and it seemed as though she was no longer needed, but she barely got two steps away before she heard Kashmira speak up and suggest they all go sit and eat together. "That sounds like a great idea." Bree chimed cheerfully. She rather enjoyed having company, and these girls all seemed nice enough that she might even be able to make friends with them.

On the thought of possibly making friends, she decided it might be a good idea to actually introduce herself, and hopefully she would get to learn the other girls' names too. "I'm Aubrey by the way, but most people call me Bree."

@Garden Gnome@Spoopy Scary@Surtr Inc

Kassandra fidgeted with the edge of her skirt as she listened to the multiple teachers many speeches. She was nervous, which wasn't saying much as she was usually a nervous sort, but today she was almost sweating with fear. So many new people, so many new experiences. She'd never been on a plane before coming here, that had been a bit fun. Aside from the screaming baby an aisle away, and the snoring man in the seat beside her. And now she was here, at the Academy.

Kassy honestly wasn't sure why she'd been chosen. All she could do was disappear, and make some loud noises in a general crowd. Most of her was wondering just when they'd discover they made a mistake, and kick her back to her awful life. The Academy sounded wonderful, but she knew it was just a matter of time before she failed and had to leave. Imagine it, they had teams, and arena games, things where she would have to work with other people. While it was true she wasn't a "freak" here, it was still hard to shake the feeling that she was inferior.

Most of the students looked so capable. She wondered just what power they all possessed. Probably something truly impressive, like... fire breathing, or unhindered flight, even mind reading. As the speeches ended, she found herself lost in the crowd, holding still and flickering in and out of sight. She followed the immense crowd to the cafeteria, and snagged a tray. Her power was still acting up due to her nerves, leaving the tray floating in midair like some kind of ghost.

---

---

Of course, Ashley spent the entire speech just like how she spent the bus ride; on her phone.

Other than glancing upwards, the speeches barely got a reaction out of her (though, she thought some of the teachers were fucking weird). It wasn't her fault that she really didn't want to be here and treating this as some huge learning experience was unlikely to change that. She could only groan as she placed a hand on the other side of her face, leaning down more into her chair. She needed to get any and all updates on her sister... because her family wasn't giving up on the fight for her sister, and neither was Ashley if she had anything to say about it. So, in the meantime, she was going to play her part until she "graduates" this shitty school and can leave. She didn't like FAMA and she definitely didn't like how heavy of a hand they had in the Academy - to her, they were all just corrupt bastards.

When everyone started moving, Ashley found herself following them. She heard something about free food and figured that she might as well get something out of this. She followed the crowd and eventually grabbed herself a plate of different greens and some chicken - she had to eat light or else she'd definitely fatten up a lot during her stay here. Ashley, after filling up her plate, realized that she really hated eating alone. Whenever she was at her house she would always eat with her family, or even at highschool, she would eat with friends or her sisters. She was so desperate that she was willing to sit with a stranger - something that unnerved even her due to past experiences. So if she was going to sit next to someone she had to set some ground rules: sit next to a girl, and most importantly of all; don't make it weird. If she could accomplish that, maybe staying here won't suck as much as she thinks it's going to.

There was some heavy-set African-American girl that she noticed sitting by herself, and looking a little nervous. Honestly, Ashley could see why, she herself was more or less thrusted into the world of Metahumans and because of that her family life got a lot more complicated. Unfortunately, that comes with the fact that Ashley is totally brain dead when it comes to Metahumans and Metahuman affairs. Maybe this girl felt the same way and they would bond over their mutual fear of Metahumans.

Or maybe Ashley was going to break rule number two!

Either way, Ashley found herself unconsciously moving towards the girl and before she knew it she was across from the girl. She gave the girl a disarming smile as she said, "Hey, you looked kinda lonely so I decided to have a seat," She was hoping that the girl would be receptive to her. "Are you excited to attend 'super school'?" Ashley found herself snorting after that line, because of how stupid the notion was.

---

Within a few days, Richard made his way down the east coast, parting with Agent Olin and what few friends he had in Pocomoke City and leaving in a black FAMA car. On the way down, he kept himself occupied on his phone, scrolling through Reddit until his brain felt numb. Alex had recently introduced him to it, and he found nothing else to be a better time sink.

The ride down I-95 to South Carolina felt eternal. They passed around DC, right through the heart of Richmond, and hit south Virginia by the afternoon, where they stopped at a fast food joint for lunch. These two agents were ones Richard wasn’t particularly familiar with, and he kept his distance appropriately. He spent most of his lunch texting Alex and munching on french fries. The agents stared at him from across the table with curiosity, but said nothing. Their quietness unsettled him.

By nightfall, Richard arrived in Charleston. There, he stayed overnight at a hotel across from the FAMA station there. He spent most of the night staring out the window from his bed at the city sprawling out around him, trying hard not to think about anything. He slept poorly.

The agents shuttled him to the bus station early in the morning and he shuffled aboard, awkwardly fumbling with his ID and bus ticket. He took a seat at the very back of the bus, content to spend his time staring out the window and not making eye contact with anyone. Other students came aboard the bus and took their seats. They all looked as scared as Richard felt, and he guessed that was a comfort. Within a half hour of departure, he was fast asleep, his head against the window.

Richard awoke to the hiss of steam as the bus stopped on the road in front of the academy. He blinked hard to get the sleep out of his eyes and groaned as he rubbed his sore neck. He hung back as others departed the bus, texting with Alex.

“Guess I’m here now,” he said.

“Ur at a school for superheroes, at least try to be impressed,” Alex responded.

“None of these people are superheroes, and neither am I.”

When everyone else had left, Richard walked to the front of the bus and got off. The heat immediately struck him; the FAMA agents had told him it would be hot in South Carolina, but Richard didn’t realize what that entailed. He had dressed for warmth, in a grey striped tank top and tan khaki shorts. He followed the crowd to the auditorium and found a seat near the back where no one else had gone to. As he looked around, he was astonished by the variety of people in this room. It seemed as if metahuman children from all over the world were in this auditorium, all of them with their own unique gifts. He watched each presented carefully. Adam Blackmore put the fear of God into him. Something about the old man intimidated him, and the threat of expulsion made him shiver a bit. Richard didn’t want to think about going back to Sundew.

The bug-woman made Richard sit up straight. If there weren’t other people around, he would have gasped. Rich hadn’t been around metahumans long, and still he had trouble getting used to their presence. As the bug-woman talked about teams and games, Richard looked down at the floor and sighed. He held out his hand, palm-open. Tiny beads of liquid gold formed in the cracks of his palm and rolled around lazily like blobs of liquid mercury. He flexed his fingers, and they formed together into a blob the size of a ping pong ball. Then he closed his fist and the ball dissipated, sinking back into his skin. He felt something under his skin shift, like his muscles were sliding beneath it. That part of his power always freaked Richard out.

Soon, the meeting was adjourned and the kids were herded off to the enormous, spotless cafeteria. The cafeteria was packed with students and the lines for food were becoming quite long. Richard picked one at random and grabbed a porcelain plate from a dispenser. People chattered at all sides of him. Richard talked to no one. Quietly, Richard made it to the front of the line and received a chicken pot pie and green beans. Then he looked around for somewhere to sit. Richard found that finding a place to sit in a cafeteria was perhaps the only part of teenaged life that movies actually got right. He scanned the room in vain, looking for somewhere to belong, for someone he knew or who looked inviting. It felt like everyone was looking at him. His skin crawled.

Eventually, Richard found a place near the edge of the cafeteria, a long table where only a few people had sat down. To his left, two girls about his age were talking awkwardly. Likely, they were just as out of their element as he was.

“So, are you excited to attend *super school*?” one of the girls said. Richard cringed and looked down at his lunch. He wasn’t excited, but that didn’t particularly matter. It wasn’t like he had a choice.

Kassandra was startled away from her spaghetti as a tall, fit, blonde girl sat down across from her at the table. She was about to open her mouth and wonder if the other girl was lost, but the blonde spoke first. It was that obvious that she was alone, huh? That didn't take much. What was surprising is that this girl was bothering. Didn't she know Kassy was a weirdo? But wait, they were all freaks here, or something like it...

"Super school, huh? I'm not quite sure what's super about it yet. I mean, this room probably has more people than my entire junior class, but other than that, I'm not feeling particularly "super"." She did an air quote with her free hand, the other one idly toying with her fork.

"I don't know what I was expecting when I came here, but... this wasn't it. It's like some comic book nonsense and I don't get it. I was like.. one of ten metahumans back in my entire hometown. I don't know anything about anything, you know?" Maybe this girl could help show her the ropes. Or maybe she was just as lost and confused.

@Ruler Inc

---

"Oh no," Kashmira declined Reyna's offer with a chuckle. "She'll set off the wrong person soon enough and get the lesson she needs."

At this, Reyna could only smirk and shifted her weight over on her rear leg. So this Kashmira girl was more of the passive type. If it was Reyna on the receiving end, then it definitely would’ve been on the wrong person, and she was just about to suggest being that wrong person so that it never happens again, but she held her tongue. It was probably smart of her to not cause any waves on her first day, and besides, there were probably bigger fish to fry than some girl who bumped into her by accident. Still, as Reyna looked around, she noticed that many of the other students around her seemed younger than she was! It would probably do some good for these super-dorks if she had them under her wings.

"I just hope she'll accept my apology in time - but I think we should leave that behind us, yes?" Kasmira continued. "How about we all sit down and eat together? Talk about life and things?"

Reyna could barely stifle a grin at her offer – fitting in here was gonna be a whole lot easier than her entire high-school experience. “Y’know what,” Reyna said, “sure! Why not?”

The girl with the cute haircut who was with Kashmira and previously helping her to her feet introduced herself by saying, “I’m Aubrey by the way, but most people call me Bree.”

“My name’s Reyna!” She replied with a beaming voice. Pivoting on her heels, she turned around and started walking towards the tables. Swiveling her head back around, she called back to them, “I’ll save you a seat so you can go and get more food, Kash!”

As she found a place to sit, she snickered to herself. Kash. That was a good one, ‘good job, Reyna.’ That was a nickname that was probably gonna stick, and now she was just waiting for the opportunity to call her Kash-Money. Boy, wouldn’t that be rich?

---

---

Aubrey and Reyna? Those were two names that Kasmira weren't used to. It was always Christine or Sarah or something like that. Though Kashmira was probably a name that neither of them has ever encountered, it was fun being a foreigner here. Though, everyone was definitely on board for her suggestion of sitting down to eat! It was perfect! Making friends here was a lot easier than her experiences in Staten Island - being a fresh off the boat Indian girl probably had something to do with that. The past didn't bother Kashmira much, as all she wanted to do was make friends that'll stick with her until she's out of the Academy. After all, the last she wanted was to be a loner in this place.

When Reyna offered to hold her a seat, Kashmira was excited! "Okay!" She said as she quickly ran and got another tray of assorted vegetables and bread. Before anyone could even consider wondering where she went, Kashmira was back at the table. With a wide smile on her face, and ready to get to know her new friends. She sat down and wondered where the hell she could even start. There was so much to a person... She thought about talking about powers, Kashmira wanted to show everyone her talents during training.

"So..." The girl trailed off, unthinkingly grabbing a handful of corn and sticking it into her mouth. "What brings you all here? To the Academy, I mean. Is it just learning how to use your powers, or something else? I'm curious."

---

---

Oh God, I'm breaking rule two.

Seems her sarcastic comment went over the poor girl's head, wasn't relevant. She could agree with what the girl had to say, at the very least. The last thing that Ashley felt here was super because in all honesty, she realized that she was a little fish in a big pond compared to what everyone else here can do. And worst of all she heard about all the vile groups out there and what they would do to someone with a power like hers. The last thing she wanted was to get roped into something even worse.

"I don't know much about Metas either, sister," Ashley said in a dry tone. "There were lots of Metas in my home city, but you know what I had to do with them? Not a thing." She shrugged.

"But, honestly, we just got here, don't you think it's a little too soon to be jumping to these conclusions?" Ashley asked with a raised eyebrow, "You never know, we might be surprised."

Kassy realized a bit too late that she might have been being a bit acerbic. Too late to take it back though. At least the other girl didn't seem offended. Even better (better?), it seemed that Kassy wasn't the only one who knew nothing about metahumans. Maybe this girl had just gotten her abilities, or something. She'd always heard that big cities had plenty of Metas to go around.

"Well, you're right. Maybe I'll be surprised and something amazing will happen." Or maybe she would be lost on the outskirts again.

"So..." Kassy picked at her food, eyes downcast briefly. "If you don't mind my asking, what can you do?"

@Ruler Inc