After the training had begun, Mr Hayes moved to the observation room. This was the place Renard was sent to after coming in late. "Well." The teacher said, after properly having ignored his late arrival since the boy arrived. "Time to go and see how your classmates performed." Without giving so much as a look at his student, Mr Hayes headed down to where the whole thing had began, fully expecting the student to follow.

Meanwhile on the training area, the students would soon enough realize that everything just...stopped. After receiving a hard blow behind it's head, the giant robot was forced to take a step back as to not lose balance, but then simply seemed to go offline. The same could be said of every robots, civilians or villains, throughout the area. The fires simply stopped. Just as quickly as they had appeared; it seemed that the explosions sounds from earlier had been just for show. The fires had been strategically placed and controlled through various methods and devices to keep them from spreading uncontrolled. The sudden silence was hammering, and only the sound of the water still left unfrozen was heard, now harmlessly flowing wherever it was free to flow. The teacher voice could be heard throughout the area through speakers; "Class A, the 20 minutes is now passed. Come back to the entrance area to complete the training exercise immediately."

---

Some of the school's medical personnel was present. Mostly, trained professionals with some minor Quirks that helped them in practicing medicine, but nothing too spectacular. Apart from sore muscles and wet feet, none of the students had been wounded terribly.

Mr Hayes waited for everyone to be present before speaking up; "Right. So, I bet most of you think you did good? and in retrospect it could have been a lot worse, but I've witnessed way too much recklessness for members of my class." Stone cold words, penetrating, judging stare - true to himself.

"Some of you worked together, and some of the plans I've witnessed were well executed. Using the water to stop the fire while having one or more Quirks to help control it's flow was not a bad idea, but it was risky. The civilians were under risk of being drowned or hurt - as it almost happened if not for Freya's quick reaction. However...what I have noticed above all else is a reckless desire to jump into the fray without thinking or coming up with a plan.

Most of you split up straight from the beginning. Heroes have to think fast, it's true, but they have to do so together. Peter." Mr. Hayes stare fell on the student without him moving his head at all - pupils piercing him. "You worked together with Blair to save some civilians, which was fine, but you then proceeded to leave her behind. Furthermore, you took to driving a vehicle for which you were not qualified to drive, endangering yourself, your passengers and the partner you left behind. You also gathered them to a evacuation zone, but abandoned them there, alone, to join the fray again. What if one of the civilian's wounds got worse? What if they panicked, with no one to calm their fears? The jobs of Heroes is also to reassure the people you save. All Might does not smile all the time for nothing, after all. Remember that."

This lesson was, of course, meant for everyone while Peter was only an example. Other examples followed, such as how Sofia killed one of the criminal, a crime in itself, and also how her actions caused the hero to also injure herself. The remonstrance was severe, and every little mistakes were noted - as if nothing escaped Mr Hayes's gaze. "...that being said." he finally said "It was not all bad for first years, three weeks in. You saved a good number of innocent lives and stopped some villains. You showed courage, but courage not tempered by wisdom lead to your end. Remember that."

Mr. Hayes loudly clapped in his hand, as if he expected people to be lost in their thoughts after such a heavy speech and needed to be brought back to him. "Now. It's not all bad news. You won't get to rest just yet, but something quite interesting was prepared for the rest of the day." Mr. Hayes looked down at his watch, then back up towards the door

Any minutes now...The speech was already a lot longer than it had to be...

Peter was in the middle of dragging a robot onto his back when he noticed the time go down to zero and everything going quiet. He guessed that the training session was over now but wasn't sure if there was some sort of secondary part of the test, like always being prepared for trouble or something. Either way Peter carried the robot back to the entrance and carefully put the robot down once he reached the evac zone. As far as his stamina felt, he was pretty good. He certainly drained a lot of energy the first incident he ran across but he did a better job managing his stamina once he picked up his momentum. Of course there was room for improvement.

Heading over to the medics Peter was given some medicine for his hands which suffered some minor burns. Now that the adrenaline was dying down he felt the stinging pain, but he tried not to whine about it. It wouldn't be very heroic of him if he did that. After he healed up Peter gathered with the other students to listen to how they did, and My. Hayes didn't pull his punches. It was especially bad for Peter since he was the first to get called out. While he was given a little praise for working with Blair, leaving her behind to hijack a bus and then leaving the civvies were not a good move. Though Peter at least felt that the bus was a classic case of necessity over law; there were at least three unconscious, adult sized robots, and a dozen or so robot children. Even if he had Blair's help to carry some of them it would've been riskier and longer to try and bring them somewhere safe on his back, not to mention if he didn't take that bus, he wouldn't have been able to take the other civilians who were left behind.

Though really what Peter got from the criticism was something he knew he needed to work on: thinking things through. That and teamwork. Peter might've taken classes with these students for a few weeks now but aside from their names and their quirks he doesn't really know them all too well; they haven't worked together well enough that they could come up with a plan on the spot. Most have been focusing on improving themselves, and so has Peter. "Well, can't let that keep happening. I did well today but I could do better if I communicate with the others. Maybe I ought to get to know them better." Though as Peter planned to know the others better, apparently the lesson wasn't over yet. There was one more thing Mr. Hayes had prepared. Peter took a deep breath and braced himself; either they were about to get dropped into a free-for-all or they were going to have to stand through a lengthy lecture by a guest speaker.

---

Everything stopped. The fires went out, the screaming ended. It was surreal, to go from such a frenzied disaster zone to the gentle sloshing of water. Hayes's voice blared from the speakers, and that was their cue to go in. Find out how much they'd messed up, or whatever. With soaking feet and not nearly enough patience, Eira did just that. She accepted a towel from a medic with a scathing look, but that seemed to be all the medical attention she needed. She barely had any injuries, though she could feel herself shaking from the cold. She brushed it off, even as she shivered hopelessly. Eira took a deep breath to calm her shaking. It helped, somewhat.

Then Hayes started speaking. Blunt as ever, but that was just how life worked. Some stuff about co-operation, and recklessness. Though he did not mention it, Eira gritter her teeth at the thought of her slip up with the water. She couldn't have done that and prevented it, however, it still happened and there was no way Hayes hadn't noticed. Now that it was all over, she could actually pick out a few more mistakes. He would have picked up those, and more, no matter how minor. But she would get better. She had to.


But really, could he get more cryptic than 'quite interesting'? Just tell us what the damn thing is.

Renard looked at his teacher when he finally spoke to him. He knew the man was disappointed in him. But man he could be an ass at times. It’s not like he missed it on purpose. He glanced the around the room noting once again, Alice and Jane were missing. He wondered if they were ok.

He sighed and followed, looking at the screens one last time before walking out the door rubbing his hands together. They made it to the entrance well before the other students, all the while he moved his Arms or rubbed his hands together building the charge till he was hot to the touch. Students started trickling in from where ever they came. Renard helped the medical staff as much as he could. He felt he needed to do something since he didn’t get to participate. Tossing towels and water bottles to those who needed it, but keeping two large towels draped over his shoulders.

He listened to the teacher as he then started his review on them. Personally he felt he was a little too hard on Peter. Getting nit picky over the bus he ‘wasn’t qualified’ to drive. Honestly he would do the same thing even after hearing this. What was he supposed to do wait till someone was qualified to come drive?

He didn’t say anything though, as the teacher moved on to other things. He did however stop next to Eira, not saying a word till the teacher finished and pointed their attention to the door.

He glanced at her with a tiny smile on his face. He thought her getting herself stuck was hilarious and she looked extra pissed than she normally was. It was actually pretty cute.

Whispering so the teacher wouldn’t hear. “Ya know… I love how you literally ice-olated yourself out there. It was really cute.” He said trying to suppress a smile. Before she could answer he slipped one of the towels off his shoulder, despite her having one he tossed it at her. Knowing she probably wouldn’t accept it from him. But once she would touch it, she would realize it was hot. From resting on his charging body the entire time. He knew she would probably still be cold and at least he hoped to help her stop shivering.

@Aviaire

---

"And so, that's how it ends. Quite a bit less flashy than I thought it would be," Abigail said to no one in particular, following Mr. Hayes' evaluation of them. "I'm actually impressed that the issue of responsibility was brought forth. Normally, people don't think too hard about this kind of stuff until--" her monologue was cut by the sound of the bus' springs breaking, causing the battered vehicle to come crashing into the ground, "things begin to crash. I think?"

Abigail finished thinking out loud, chuckling as she played with handled one of the gravel rocks that littered the starting area, kicking it nonchalantly. A self-satisfied smile was stamped on her face, but it would soon change to a neutral expression as she noticed who walked in through the door indicated by their teacher.

---

---

"Hi there, kids! How are you feeling after having your first taste of heroism?" Enterprise said as she came in, seemingly out of nowhere. In any normal circumstances, it would be hard to see the mightiest hero in this side of the Pacific, as well as director of UJ Academy, personally looking over the training exercises of the students, much less a group of recently admitted rookies. However, there were special circumstances today, that the students would soon find out about.

"It may have been a little harsh to have you be the first ones to test this training area, but I can see that each of you is a diamond in the rough. With a little cut and polishing, you'll all become fine heroes in your own right. And that's why," she made a dramatic pause to finish off a hotdog she had with her when she came in, "... you'll be coming with me to visit the support company that made your outfits. I want you to see how things are in the lives of the people who help us help others every day. Also, we can ask for any adjustments you may have thought of, now that you got the chance to experiment with your gear."

"As soon as you are ready -- and probably after a shower and a change of clothes-- you can come out and hop on the bus that's waiting outside. I assure you that there'll be no rocking out this time, right?" the blonde joked, winking at Peter.

---

---

---

No sooner had Freya managed to tear away the restraint than just like that, the session was over. Chaos dwindled to calm in the span of a second. "Well, I guess the teachers can't complain too much," she muttered as she trudged to the entrance, although knowing Mr Hayes, he could and would.

After the medics had seen to her broken claws and bruised shoulder, she headed over to the other students. Her fingers had stopped bleeding, and the pain had lessened, but the wounds that could hurt the most weren't always physical. Leaning against a wall, she pretended Mr Hayes' criticisms didn't get to her half as much as they really did. Part of what had happened could be chalked up to Abigail's presence, but still... Freya could only imagine what Felicity would say if she'd witnessed that. Not that she should even care what her sister thought, of course. She shouldn't, she didn't...

Oh well, at least now she could find somewhere to sleep. She started towards the exit, then stopped and sighed as the teacher announced they wouldn't get to rest just yet. Typical. As if the class hadn't already been run ragged.

At the sight of who came in, Freya's bored expression became one of surprise. Enterprise. In person. And she'd seen all that. Thankfully, the director's attitude was as far from that of Mr Hayes as it was possible to be. Even more thankfully, it turned out the surprise wasn't anything unnecessarily strenuous or tedious. A visit to a hero clothing company. As long as there was a chance to rest after that, Freya couldn't say she minded.

---

Seeing the brick she threw cause the robot to stumble forward a step to avoid falling over right then and there surprised Gabby. She really hadn't meant to put that much force into the brick. Clearly this was a product of her inexperience - she hadn't been using her quirk in a "heroic" context long enough to be able to properly adjust both her quirk's strength and her own physical strength with precision. That right there told her she'd need to put in a lot of practice, not simply making her quirk stronger, but just having more fine control over it. She didn't want to go around causing major injuries to people, even if they were criminals.

However, the surprises didn't stop there. Preparing to begin running the moment the robot turned their way, Repulsa took a ready stance and...just held it. When the robot didn't immediately turn around, Gabby quirked an eyebrow, but stayed cautious. Was it...ignoring her? Or was it's artificial intelligence not intelligent enough to register that it had been struck from behind a moment ago? Before she could investigate, the voice of their homeroom teacher, Mr. Hayes, surrounded them, informing them that the time limit was up.

At first, Repulsa felt relieved, enough to smile as she gently removed Phoebe from her shoulders and set her down carefully on the ground, making sure Phoebe had her footing before letting go. But that smile disappeared with the realization that neither of them had ended up accomplishing anything in all the 20 minutes they had. In her effort to both work together with someone but also distiguish herself, she had not only gotten a slow start, but had taken Phoebe and herself in a direction in which there were not any reasonable problems to engage in solving. And once the two of them had found something to do, they eneded up needing to be so cautious in their approach that they ran out of time before they could do anything.

She had not only failed to be of any help to the people who needed it, but had also prevented Phoebe from being helpful as well.

---

Which were things Mr. Hayes seemed only too eager to point out, as he doled out his criticisms to all of the students back at the entrance to the huge room that housed the "city" they'd tried to save. At least he'd taken the time to also praise and Phoebe and herself for breaking the trend of rushing in without coming up with a plan, but that did nothing to weaken the solemn frown Gabriella wore all through his speech-giving. She couldn't allow herself to soak in that praise. If she did, she might forget all of the areas in which she needed to improve. She couldn't look Phoebe in the eyes, either. Not after having dragged Phoebe down with her. All Gabby could find herself thinking was that she had to remember her failures. She couldn't let herself take her mind off them until she got the opportunity to write them down in her diary back home.

It was almost as if the sharp sound of Mr. Hayes' hands clapping together was meant specifically for her, as it snapped her attention back to him rather than the ground in front of her toes. His following announcement trailed off, clearly cueing...something to happen. Gabby took a break from beating herself up to look toward the door Mr. Hayes was looking at - the same door they had entered through earlier upon arriving at the stadium-like training area. After a moment of awkward silence, the door opened, and the brightly-shining suit, long hair, and smile of their prinicpal came in, causing Gabby to squint her eyes in response to the psychosomatic blindness she was experiencing.

She made the announcement that they'd be spending the rest of the day taking a school trip to the place of business of the hero-support wokers that were responsible for bringing their imaginations to reality, including the change-room and paint Gabby herself used while changing into her hero costume. Gabby's frown stayed plastered on her face as her eyes once again met the concrete under her bare feet. There were a handful of thoughts that occurred to her at that moment, such as if I can get out of this, maybe I can go home early and write my diary entry for today now rather than later, and how can I be expected to think about a field trip when I need to remember all the ways I messed up during this practice. She hesitated to speak any of those thoughts aloud. Their prinicipal was taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with them, and even treat them to a field trip, all to make up for putting them through a harsh new training exercise before any of the other classes had a chance to try it (which was, in itself, quite a priviledge). It would be rude to object to such generosity.

So she stayed quiet, and continued frowning at the ground.

---

---

"Maybe we don't need to outrun it."

Phoebe calmly suggested because the thought occurred that all they had to do was lure it by the riverbed. Repulsa launched the two of them to the edge of the chaos, and she sincerely hoped that none of the other hotheads would come by and ruin their plans. She could just feel them thinking about it, and planning their idiotic plans. Either way, they didn't do it as Gabby brought them close to the robot, and suddenly, suddenly, the thing looked a lot scarier. Being in stomping distance does that to a person! Well, Phoebe swallowed those fears as Repulsa picked up a brick. Okay, a good idea! Maybe ol' Gabby had an idea to stun the thing.

Then she aimed the thing at the robot's head.

Now, Phoebe wasn't a "robots right's activist" buuuuut she knew what Gabby was doing was kind of stupid from the perspective of the hero world. Sure it was a robot, and it definitely wasn't alive, but she had a feeling the school would deduct points from Gabby's score for flagrant brutality, or something. Of course, it didn't affect Phoebe's score, but she also didn't want these bastards comparing Gabby, a sweet girl, with the likes of Knuckleduster - that vigilante from Japan.

"Wait, Gabby!"

The words escaped her lips but it was too late, the brick went flying directly at the robot so hard that it was about to tear it a brand new asshole. Fortunately, fortunately, all it did was make the robot stumble (yay). But, Mr. Hayes ended the exercise right then and there and all Phoebe could feel was a disappointment! All that work they did and the teacher just ends the training right then and there. Phoebe rolled her eyes, she bet they were racist; just decided to end the exercise when they were satisfied with everyone else. Either way the chaos of the training came to a close and Phoebe was lowered down by Gabby (as much as she liked riding Gabby, enough is enough).

Everyone returned to the entrance, and Phoebe was among them. She was examined by the medical staff and she shook her head as there wasn't a scratch on her. Even if there was, she would have gladly taken a bite of one of the fruits that she has on her being. Still, Phoebe shifted her weight onto one hip and gladly listened to Mr. Hayes speech. He was a bit vague about everyone's performances, but he seemed more interested in Peter. It didn't take a rocket scientist to determine that he found Peter's "showing" the most interesting out of all of them, but what about the rest of them?

Phoebe looked at everyone else and she could just tell on their faces that they were having similar thoughts. Now, while they may have been content with simply keeping their mouths shut, how was Phoebe going to learn with a simple "she did it alone"?. Phoebe shook her head as she loudly gulped before she just went out and spoke,

"Mr. Hayes," Phoebe started off, "I know it's late, but I at least tried to get everyone to work together - didn't work, but yeah. And me and Gabby came up with a plan. How is that reckless?" Phoebe knew she was getting put on his shitlist tonight!

"But, yeah, I'd also like you to get a little more detailed about how I did."

Soon enough Enterprise walked up and announced that they're suddenly going on a field trip to a company for support equipment. That was interesting because maybe they can finally come up with something that'd work with Phoebe... because the only idea that Phoebe had was a grenade launcher that shoots fruit.

That'd honestly be pretty cool honestly.

Either way... Phoebe went inside to take a shower and the second she was done she came right back. She kind of reeked of sweat so she didn't want anyone catching even the slightest off scent about her.

So it wasn't a brawl or a lecture, but a field trip. A visit to the company that makes their hero costumes too. Peter wondered if they could make him some casual wear or at least a uniform like his hero costume; he's glad he doesn't have to worry about being buckass nude every time he uses his quirk and he'd enjoy being able to use his quirk outside of hero stuff too. Though if they needed more of his hair, Peter wasn't sure how quickly he could grow it out. And by Enterprise no less, the school's principal and a famous hero. Nothing less for the USJ, though Peter was surprised a principal was taking part of this trip. Usually the only time he's ever seen the principal was when he got in trouble, at least in middleschool. Or maybe they were in trouble and this is the punishment.

Either way the students were given some time to go wash up and change. At Enterprise's snarkly little comment to Peter, he just smirked. "Who me? Nah. Wouldn't want to rock the boat. I'm a hero after all." As he turned to live Peter tripped up a bit over some gravel. It messed up his footing, but it gave him an idea as he stuffed his pocket with a handful of small rocks. After that he head over to the showers, grabbing a spare outfit and washed up. When he came out he was wearing a newer, less damaged version of his hero outfit. If they were going to a factory or something that worked on their hero outfits, Peter wanted to ask for certain modifications like reinforced gloves. And maybe some more pockets. Underwear too; he didn't realize it until he had to change but it seemed like his underwear had gotten shredded when he transformed.

Peter headed towards the bus, surprised that he was the first one there. "Heh. First one to arrive huh? Guess that means I get to pick my own seat. I wonder if they'll let me drive." Before getting on Peter made a quick inventory check. Cellphone, wallet, goggles, ID tag, rocks, emergency cellphone, first aid kit. Once everything was there he went on the bus and tried to see if he could sit in the driver's seat.

---

Abigail went for the showers as soon as their beloved director finished giving them the good news, despite not having sweat a drop during the exam. An enigmatic smile never left her face as she grabbed her phone out of one of her costume pockets and immediately plugged her ears with a pair of earbuds. Thanks to the magic of waterproof devices she didn't have to remove them even as she went under the surprisingly-not-cold water. Unless someone went out of their way to try to grab her attention, she was content to keep to herself. Or better, she preferred it that way.

When she came out of the showers and into the bus she was wearing something that was as far away from a school uniform as possible. If they were going to go to the city they didn't need to use them after all, right?

A sweet smell followed her as she made for her favorite spot right behind the driver's seat. While it seemed as if she ignored Peter's presence all this time, her eyes, and persistent smile giving off the impression that she didn't care at all, as soon as she got to her seat Abigail said, while staring aimlessly at the roof, "You know you aren't old enough to have a full license in this state, right? Much less a commercial and school bus one. Not that I mind if you do it, of course. Everyone breaks the law every now and then. But, don't you think you are asking for something unfortunate to happen if you get behind that wheel?"

---

---

---

---

---

The end of the trial went about as well as she realistically expected, especially with someone like Mr. Hayes being the one judging her performance. While it was true that she indirectly caused one of the robots to get ran down, it wasn't like she meant for that to happen. It was an accident. On top of that, though perishing the thought of arguing against the value of teamwork, she felt it would have been at least worth mentioning how she mostly succeeded in taking on a scenario meant for a group to handle. Wasn't that worth anything? It was clear that she had plenty to say in her defense, but somehow couldn't bring herself to protest in front of the entire class. The apparent demerit she received for getting prodded in the wing especially irked her however, her main pair of arms folding in a small huff as two of her smaller index fingers shyly taped against each other under her chin. "_{I still got through despite that...}" she muttered to herself, unable to look up at the man.

His clapping did indeed catch her attention, but what really surprised her was the arrival of the principal, her face instantly brightening up at the sight of the pro hero, as was usually the case whenever she saw her. This time however, the encounter was rather soured because of how messy her own suit was. She did just come back from a construction site after all. Really, there was no way she wouldn't take the pro up on her suggestion, quickly scurrying off to shower and change to her uniform. In those quiet moments, she spared a few thoughts to how her classmates performed. Some of them had also appeared to have been injured as well, but it was Sofia's impression that Freya might have suffered the worst of it. In retrospect, that just further proved that then and there probably wasn't the time or place to complain to Mr. Hayes.

Her hair didn't even have time to dry before she lifted the strap of her school satchel over her head and made her way to the bus outside, a sudden pause in her step before she up and decided to take a seat near the back of the bus nearby any other exit she could find. It payed to be prepared. Till they got moving, Sofia would flip through her phone to read her messages and look up more info on the support company that made her suit.

---

Eira caught the towel before she could even register what had happened. She faintly felt the warmth from it, a stark contrast to the vacant chill inside of her. But god - that insufferable Renard. Her blood burned at the reminder of her little incident, and it boiled even further when he called her cute. There was a list of things that Eira was, somewhere in the world, but that was not on it.

"Get better damn puns. And don't call me cute," she hissed at him. However cold she was didn't matter as she tossed the towel back, perhaps a little harshly, but that wasn't her problem. She didn't ask for it, and it wasn't her fault if she didn't want to keep it.

Well, Enterprise was her cue to leave. It wasn't what she had been expecting, but it sounded alright. Eira had her shower, water so hot that steam engulfed her, gloves still on. She changed them and the rest of her clothes, emerging with her uniform on. She let her hair loose, quickly checking her bag as it spilled down her back. Old gloves, second spare gloves, phone, money - that was everything. She made her way towards the bus, keeping her head up. And if the bus felt a little chillier when she stepped on, it may not have been because of the weather. Only for a second, though.

There, Eira made a beeline for her seat. Four rows back, window seat on the left. She sank into it, occupying the seat next to her with her bag. She felt considerably calmer than before, which was nice. All she could do was hope the bus journey - and everything that came after it - would go smoothly.

To be honest, Renard was expecting her to throw it back. But it seemed like he really struck a nerve this time and was taken back on how hard she threw it back at him. He had a confused look on her face when she walked off. Clearly she misunderstood him. He didn’t call her cute, he said the situation was really cute. But still, Is it an insult to call a girl cute now? When did that happen? He sighed irritably as he took the towel off his head from where she whipped it onto. Before tossing it into the bin that was put out for used towels.

Renard looked around when his most of his fellow students started walking towards the locker rooms. He could see that Gabby was staying back, a clear frown on her face. He blinked twice before looking to the others, and the teachers to see if they noticed. No one seemed to however.

Gabby was an odd girl...despite her height and extremely muscular body that would make most if not all bodybuilders jealous. She had kept to herself mostly it seemed, besides Phebe, he didn’t really see her talk to anyone else. He had spoken to her a few times, trying to be friendly.

Clearly she was having an issue with something. That frown was pretty clear and she didn't’ seem excited like the others to go visit the place that made their costumes. Which didn’t make sense, any field trip was a hundred times better than doing school work. He turned and walked over to her.

However before he got to her, he noticed Freya still standing there, but as she was about to walk away, he softly tossed the second warm towel he had over her head, resting like a cowl of a cloak. When she would look around to see what was happening he would give her one of his crooked grin’s in hello. Before turning his attention back to Gabbriella.

“Hey Gabbs? Are you doing ok? You’re not hurt are you?

Gabriella’s eyes opened a little wider when she heard a nickname that only one of the other students called her. She lifted her head only slightly as she looked down at the blonde haired boy infront of her. She looked right at him, her frown not leaving her face, nor did she even try to answer...she didn’t know how to.

He blinked when she didn’t answer. Raising an eyebrow as he thought what could be wrong. He didn’t look hurt...Was it what the teacher said? Or did Phoebe say something?

”Was it something Mr. Hayes said?

Gabriella simply turned her head away from him. Her facial features not giving him any hints if he was right or not.

He sighed “Well...whatever it is…” He leaned to one side, trying to catch her eyes without moving his feet. A slight smile on his face. ” Don’t beat yourself over it. We are all going to make mistakes. My mom always said if we were perfect, we couldn’t progress. Mistakes, if we take them as the lessons like they are, are essential for us to learn and grow.”

”Hell, I missed my chance today, but I know there will be others. We only started three weeks ago, we all have much to learn.” He stood straight up once again and finished with, ”So come on, lets enjoy our field trip.

He waited for an answer, but was only met with silence. He sighed and turned away, raising his hand up for a casual wave. ”Alright… Ill see ya on the bus.

Since he didn’t have to go to the locker room to change, being in his school uniform already. He went out to the parking lot to his old Bronco that his dad bought him. Even though it was old, rusty and in need of some work, it was a solid vehicle and he loved it, he jumped into the driver's seat so he could reach his bag that he left there and pulled out a notebook with ideas he had to add to his own hero outfit.

He waited in there for a bit, keeping his eye out for people entering the bus. Once about five people got on he exited his truck, making sure he had his wallet. Stepping onto the bus, he looked at Peter in the driver's seat. Immediately shaking his head with a grin. Hell no. I’ve seen you drive, personally I want to actually make it to our destination.. He looked behind him to see Abigail. His smile faded to a bare hint of one and his eyes narrowed as he pulled his head back as if he was highly suspicious of her. Not moving his head as he glanced back at Peter. ”Even more so if she’s riding right behind you... pointing his finger towards her.

He looked back at her his smile growing once again, He had a run in with her ‘bad luck’ already. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a salt packet. Tossing it over his left shoulder as he kept eye contact with her before slowly moving past her. Renard had recently started doing all the weird rituals superstitious people would do to undo a ‘curse’ or bad karma...whatever it is. He did it clearly as a joke...or perhaps there was more to it. As those eyes of hers peered back at him, he quickly said,”Don't you put that bad Juju on me! before over exaggerating running away.

He moved passed Eira,. Noticing Sofia in the back as well as Pheobe closer to him. He placed his bag in the sixth row before quickly moving back to Eira, saying quickly, but quietly between the two of them.Just so you know, I didn’t say you were cute...That would be a major MAJOR understatement of the truth of that matter. I was just the saying that the situation was...erm. Cute. ” He reddened slightly. Realizing what he implied after he said it. As he stood back up straight. ”So… Yeah.” He said with a cough before quickly turning back and moving to his seat. Still seeing Sofia in the back, ”Hey Sofia! You should come up here!” He said with a smile.

Looking to his right he looked at Pheobe. And gave a quick nod with his chin. ”Sup Phebers. Hows it goin?

Peter was chilling in the bus driver's seat when the next passenger showed up. Abigail, the bad luck charm. Peter couldn't say he liked being around her. Seemed like she was messing with everyone whether she means to or not. And generally pretty smug about it too. Peter wondered if she could actually turn off her powers or if this was just something everyone needed to deal with. Anyways she questioned him sitting on the driver's seat and Peter just shrugged. "Practice makes perfect. Who knows maybe sometime soon I'll need to get behind the wheel to save everyone's lives. Of course wouldn't want that Misfortune." Peter said with a smile. Soon more students got on the bus and it'l only be a matter of time before a teacher arrives. As much as he'd like to drive, jokingly or not, Peter knew better than to risk a lecture and would head towards the actual seats. Of course not before a certain someone came and wanted to throw some snark.

"I'm sure you saw a lot sitting pretty in the observation room, Sparky. Short circuit your alarm and slept in again?" After Peter said this Renard did his little salt throwing ritual thanks to Abigail, then retorted with a quip right back at Peter. "Didn't want to steal the show from all of you!" This just made Peter chuckle as he got up and followed Renard towards the other seats. "Sure sure, we'd all stop what we're doing just to watch that hot head of yours go up in flames." Peter choose to sit behind Renard, watching as he went over to Eira to apologize for something. Peter remember seeing him go to her and make a corny pun. Understandably Eira didn't like it and was giving him the cold shoulder. Peter wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. "Chill out Sparky, training's over. There's no time to search and rescue what's left of your cool." Seeing Phoebe sitting next to Renard, Peter nodded at her. "Sup."

---

---

Phoebe got on the bus after getting ready and, just in case, she had a satchel that was loaded with fruit. It was heavy, but nothing she can't handle! If she couldn't carry a heavy sack of fruit, then how will she carry the burden of being a hero? She wasn't expecting anything to go down at the company, but if she had any sense in her head she would know that a crisis can arise anywhere. So, Phoebe walked over to the sixth row and immediately got bored waiting for the bus to start. They were probably waiting for the rest of the students to get on the bus, but of course, those deadweights had to slack off! Phoebe needs her fruit bazooka!

Though, it seemed the bus was lively, all eyes were on Renard Sparks. He was somebody who Phoebe didn't talk to a lot; probably because she found him a little annoying. He was the lively electric quirk using boy who, while Phoebe didn't necessarily like being around him, couldn't help but cheer Phoebe up a bit with his liveliness. She didn't see him in the training assignment, so he probably overslept again. Speaking of which she didn't see Abigail in the assignment either, but she was probably off being dark and broody again. Phoebe didn't understand that girl, nor did she care enough to do so. Heh.

The girl was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Renard and Peter were talking to her. Peter, in her head, had a nickname, and it was "Tall Dark and Edgy". Though, she heard a few things about what happened to his father, so her thoughts on him weren't as harsh as the others. Still, he was kind enough to acknowledge her presence. So that was enough.

"I'm good, Renard, and hey Peter" Phoebe said... ignoring his little pet name. It was harmless but still annoying, so she let it slide. "I'm just trying to come up with what gear the company can come up with for me. Unlike you guys my quirk isn't as simple to work with, heh."

---

Gabriella watched Renard walk off and felt a twinge of guilt at having stayed completely silent during their...well, "conversation" was probably a strong word for what just occurred between them, but it was the best she could think of. The guilt didn't last long, as her mind went to work processing the words he'd taken the time to say to her. A small smile found its way to her face as she internally recited the advice he spoke, finding it rather cute that he opted to inform her that his mom was the person who originally said it to him. He didn't need to say it, but the fact he did was endearing in a way, and it showed that he - like herself - respected and loved his family. As for the advice itself, she couldn't agree more, but...the real problem was that she was so focused on trying to keep that lesson at the forefront of her mind, she didn't feel like she could focus on anything else.

”Don’t beat yourself over it.”

There. That was the part that she needed to focus on. That's exactly what she'd been doing. It must have been obvious to Renard, yet somehow she hadn't realized she was doing it herself. She had been thinking of it as making sure she didn't forget the lessons she needed to learn from her poor performance. Pretending that focusing so hard on it was somehow the right thing to do. But if she thought logically about it, there was probably no was she was ever going to forget the events of today. There was no reason she had to focus so hard on her failures when it just meant she'd be unable to appreciate the kindness of those around her, and waste the opportunity the prinicpal was giving them all.

Bringing her hands up and slapping her face once with them, Gabby decided then and there to take Renard's advice. She could enjoy the rest of what the day had to offer and still learn the lessons she needed to. Nobody is perfect, but that's no reason to spend all your time being miserable until you improve. She placed those thoughts of improvement and learning in her figurative back pocket and finally let a smile brighten her face once more.

With her mind cleared, she headed toward the changing room for her shower.

---

Scrubbed free of her sweat, the dirt and dust of the ruined cityscape, and the yellow body paint from her costume, a refreshed Gabriella approached the bus that the others had boarded. It seemed she wasn't quite the last one to board - that was good. She liked to get a window seat whenever possible, if only so that nobody would be trapped between said window and her bulky body. She could only imagine how claustrophobic that would make someone feel. Feeling optimistic once more, she motioned to transfer the weight of her yoga pants and tanktop-clad body from the pavement to the first metal stair.

The act of doing so immediately had an effect on the entire bus, and there was no doubt everyone already inside would feel it shift to the bus' right for a moment as the mass of muscle that was Gabriella Gonzales filled the bus' doorway. As she moved to the aisle and started looking for a free seat, the bus' shocks managed to distribute her weight evenly, ceasing its rightward tilt.

Gabby took a step forward, heading toward the open seat on the right hand side (facing the front of the bus), which would put her opposite Abigail. Her foot, still bare by choice since shoes tend to cause a buildup of B.O. (and her quirk allowed her to avoid harm from stepping on sharp things most of the time), landed on something soft resting atop the metal floor, which popped open underneath, causing what felt like sand to pour out against her sole. Cocking an eyebrow, Gabby stepped back and lifted her foot to see a packet of salt on the floor between the seats in the second row.

She lifted her head and scanned the faces of those who were on the bus. "Um...did somebody drop something, maybe? Gabby...probably stepped on it just now. I'm sorry."

Giving a quick bow of her head, she moved again to take her seat, placing her backpack in her lap and sitting with her legs close together to make sure someone else would have room beside her.

---

---

@Heartfillia @Aviaire @KoL @Nyahahameha

Just as Freya made to leave, something landed over her head. She flailed as the towel obscured her vision. Pulling it down around her shoulders, she saw Renard greeting her with a grin. While she wasn't exactly in the mood to get teased over the incident, she knew he'd mean no harm by it, and she wasn't going to complain about a warm towel. In fact, she couldn't help resting her head against her uninjured shoulder, enjoying the heat that radiated from the fabric.

"Prrrrr... thanks, prrrrr..." She was tempted to lay the towel on the ground and sleep on it, but that would mean missing the visit, and it wouldn't be worth getting moaned at again. "You know..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You did well to stay out of that. I know we've got to train up and all, but talk about overkill."

With that, she headed to the changing room. While not as averse to water as an actual cat, being soaked for too long irritated her, so she made the shower a quick one before throwing on her usual clothes. Even so, it turned out the other students had been faster. Trudging back out to see most of them had already piled onto the bus, she groaned. This was rather a lot of rushing around for one day.

Of course, once on the bus herself, it turned out there'd been nothing to worry about. The driver had yet to arrive, which suited her just fine, though her more eager classmates were likely to get bored. Relaxing once more, she glanced around at the students, her gaze settling on Eira, one of the few not involved in conversation.

"Hey Eira," she called, traipsing forward. "Everthing ok now? ... Aah!"

It was right as she passed close by Abigail that her foot struck a metal pole. She pitched over, flinging out her arms. "Mrreeeow!" Her injured hand plunged into, of all things, a little pile of salt.

Wincing as the wounds flared up, she rose to her feet, cradling her hand. "Salt?" She frowned down at the burst packet, its contents trodden all over the floor by someone. "Who left that there?"

---

”That's worse, you- ugh,” Eira groaned, hitting her head gently on the seat in front of her. She had a few choice words for Renard, and by a few, she meant more than she could count on every appendage on her body. ”Let's just do this damn trip. No accidents or whatever,” – she gave Abigail a pointed look at that – ”so we- so I can get home tonight. Alive.”

Her eyes flickered to Freya, who had just spoken to her, and proceeded to have a bit of a catastrophe. She leaned over to help her up, but stopped. You can't do that. Don't do that. Instead, she pushed herself up, pretending she just wanted to get a look. Eira kneeled in the middle of the two seats she was occupying, to get a better view of the whole bus. Quite a few people were missing, but they were probably still in the shower.

”The salt? You've got one damn guess,” Eira said, eyes flickering over to Renard with a disapproving glance. She added 'problematic' to her ever growing list of adjectives. Poor Freya – that did not look particularly pleasant. ”To answer your question, I'm great. So, so, very great. But you, fuck, can we all just go ten minutes without some kind of injury? This is ridiculous. You're all ridiculous.”

Eira hit her fist against the seats in front of her. She felt like she'd be doing that quite a lot this year. It hadn't even been a month, but she could tell her class was, unequivocally, a bunch of dumbasses. Eira heard the faint echo of a voice in her mind (her brother's, for sure), calling her a hypocrite, but she ignored it. She hit the seat again, a little softer, and sighed. At least they had a healing quirk, for some kind of damage control. She didn't even know if Phoebe was going to use it, but at the very least, it was there. Just in case.

---

@Aviaire@LuckyBlackCat

Gabby couldn't help the wince that came to her face as Freya not only stubbed her toe on one of the poles supporting the bus' ceiling, but then fell right into the salt left behind by the packet she herself had stepped on and got said salt in one of the wounds she'd sustained during the practice exercise. When Freya questioned who was responsible, she opened her mouth to apologize. After all, she'd known it was there before anyone else, and had the opportunity to clean it up before this...admittedly unlikely scenario unfolded. But Eira answered before she could, her sharp tongue casting her voice from further back in the bus. In addition to giving an answer to sate both Freya's curiosity and her own - by the direction of her gaze, it would seem Renard was responsible for the packet of salt on the floor - Eira added in some words Gabby couldn't say were...entirely necessary.

”But you, fuck, can we all just go ten minutes without some kind of injury? This is ridiculous. You're all ridiculous.”

Having already turned around in her seat to listen to Eira speak, Gabby had a clear line of sight to the fiery girl's face, and all the irritation it bore. That...couldn't be healthy, even if only on an emotional level. And that kind of attitude certainly wasn't going to help anyone feel positive going into this field trip. Gabby, normally fairly quiet unless she was putting on a performance of some kind, felt the need to speak up. If she couldn't help Eira, she could hopefully help everyone else.

"It is said that "variety is one of the spices of life", is it not? Being ridiculous is an ingredient in that spice, Gabby thinks. Perhaps it would be a good thing for you to sample that spice more frequently," Gabriella stated. Her confident tone and posture belied the fact that she felt she could have made a stronger metaphor if she were better with the English language. Individual words weren't too problematic, but structuring sentences and using English idioms correctly were something she still needed more practice with, not to mention trying to make a metaphor on the spot. "Gabby thinks it would lead to less...furrowed brows, yes?"

Despite her inner trepidation, both at her concerns over her English, and at the fact that she was directly confronting someone who had not always demonstrated the best attitude toward her classmates, Gabriella did not avoid Eira's eyes. Her own face wore a slight smile, her brows turning upward in concern.

"Hero gear huh? For your fruit stuff too right?" Peter always thought about how others could use and improve their quirk. Granted, he didn't know any of their quirks nearly as well as themselves, but he always was willing to throw suggestions. "Well, maybe some sort of quick juicer? For people who are too injured to actually eat your fruit. Or does your quirk not work if it's not the whole fruit? If that's the case, a wrist-mounted slingshot could be used to shoot cherries into people's mouths. I think that might be a good idea." Admittedly not a great idea. Peter had the misfortune of trying to catch a grape with his mouth back in middle school. It was not nearly as soft as he thought it was going to be. Still if someone's life hung in the balance he was sure they wouldn't mind a bit of a sore mouth for Phoebe's healing fruits.

Peter glanced over at Eira who was getting pretty annoyed with Renard. He gave her a worried look wondering if she was really okay. Sure Eira was, frankly, a bitch, but she also took heroism seriously. Peter could respect that. He wondered if she appreciated his help back at the training exercise but knew better than to bring it up. While he might've thought he played the part of a dashing hero just right, he also knew Eira was probably still beating herself up for getting trapped in her own ice powers. Bringing up how he saved her was probably just going to piss her off, so instead Peter tried to say something to cheer her up.

That's when Freya got onto the bus. Peter remembered how, during the last few minutes of the training exercise, her capture bands went crazy and wrapped her up. While such bad luck could only be attributed to Abigail, Peter didn't see her anywhere near the car wreck when that happened. Surely her bad luck powers couldn't extend that far right? In any case it looked like Freya's fall was actually a bit worse than it looked. Worried that she might've sprained her wrist Peter got up and walked towards Freya. "You alright there? Not the best way to take a fall." Peter took out his first aid kit, taking out a small cold patch and some ointment for swelling. He would help Freya up and offer to patch her up.

"Though I figured cats would land on their feet. Just some bad luck eh?"

After assisting Freya, Peter would turn his head towards Eira and just smile at her exasperation. "If everything was always calm, peaceful, and orderly, no one would really need heroes like us you know? As much as it sucks, a hero's job is never done." Peter turned to look at Gabriella as seemed to think the same, though using a spice metaphor. Peter sometimes forget that English isn't her first language. By now Peter just got used to her speaking style. "Sounds about right Gabby. Though to be fair, some people just have no taste for variety." And as much as Peter knew not to do it he couldn't help but throw out one more quip at Eira's expense as he sat back down and looked at her. "Not getting cold feet now are you?"

@Ruler Inc@Nyahahameha@LuckyBlackCat@Aviaire