[IC] Herculean Academy, The Top School for Aspiring Superheroes: Prologue

[Nightmare Bunny]

Kitty Lee

Graham stumbled back and fell, much to Kitty’s horror. Ooooh boy. Yeah, she really did have to get those magical teleporting power-y thingies under control, huh?

But he looked okay, so she didn’t worry too much.

“I’ve gotta spread my wings and fly, chica. There’s a whole lotta world out there and only so much Graham to go around, y’know?” he said.

Kitty nodded, wide-eyed. That was deep. Real deep, actually.

Then he coughed a little, and added, “I uh...couldn’t see. Back there. Too many Talls in the way.”

He looked embarrassed. Kitty giggled. “Boo, hiss! Down with the Talls!” she said. What? She was even shorter than Graham was, she had the right to joke about tall people too! “Don’t worry, Graham, we’ll be the ones in charge soon enough!”

But… wait, roommates!!

The first roommate group was her, Alexis and Aspen. Kitty bounced on her heels, thrilled to pieces. Could she have asked for anything better? The two girls she’d already made friends with, and they were both going to be in her room!

She was so excited that she almost missed the rest of the announcements.

Anastasia and Olivia was the next pair. Anastasia was the skyscraper girl, she remembered, but who was Olivia? She didn’t remember meeting an Olivia. But never mind—she’d find out eventually, wouldn’t she?

Also, who on God’s green earth was Deia? Wait, was that… wheelchair girl?

Then… Cheol and Paulo Ray? She scrunched up her face, trying to think. Paulo Ray, Paulo Ray… wait, she knew him! He was the one who’d initially helped her out on the train, wasn’t he?

Well, Cheol was clearly in good hands, then!

Afterwards, Graham and Scorpi-something. Scorpion? Graham and Scorpion. Sounded… kind of dangerous. Would Graham be okay? Wait, hadn’t she heard them talking earlier?

And then… Sam Damon, and Jack Kyle. She thought she’d heard their names before, but it had been a while ago. She thought she remembered something about a plunging neckline, but… maybe she was just delusional?

She had been in a lot of pain at the time, after all.

And then— Hey, what the heck? What was up with poor Cheol?!

Kitty had missed… whatever had happened, but that was definitely Cheol being carried away by Mr. Dorian. Oooh. Was he okay? It looked like a visitation was in order!

A quick glance to the side confirmed that Graham seemed to be having similar thoughts.

And then she was promptly deafened.

“SCORPIOS, TO ME! TO ME, SCORPIOS!” said Graham. “¡Ándale, boyo!”

Anda-what now? Was it like, foreign language day or something? That was Spanish, right? Well, if so, was she supposed to say something in a different language? All she could really speak other than English was Chinese, so…

“对不起，我不懂！” she told Graham cheerily, and then giggled. Well, anyway, time to go drift back over to Alexis and Aspen! If they were all going to fight to the death for a good room, then it would be best to all stick together! "Seeya. I'm heading over to Alexis and Aspen, m'kay?"

And then she promptly teleported away. This time her landing was a whole lot better! Or, at least… she didn't come nearly as close to landing on someone. Which was a good thing. She materialised right in front of Aspen and Alexis and Anastasia, humming happily to herself.

"We're rooming together!" she enthused. "Isn't this great? Wait, wait, let's go find the best room!"

She could try to teleport all three of them… but that would be kind of hard. Teleporting more than one person was always kind of challenging.

It was only then that it struck her that Graham had never actually explained to her why exactly he wanted to speak to her alone… but no matter! She was sure he had good intentions, right?

Also, they definitely had to get a room with good wifi. Because… reasons.

[TheHangedMan]

::::::::::::::::::::::
::: Deia Ticy :::
:::::::::::::::::::::

Deia stared at the . . . thing that just brushed against her leg. It looked like an overgrown cat. Deia wondered what to do with it. Then it started talking.

"Hello, lass," it purred. "I'm Scorpio, what's yer name?"

How was she supposed to respond to it? It has been stated before, but Deia was very, very confused with the whole situation. She had yet to receive any commands from Master Nina, or at least commands that she could understand, so she simply sat still and watched the big cat-thing look up at her with expressionless eyes.

When Nina began speaking, Deia paid attention to her every word, making sure to take note of anything that might have been an order for her. After awhile, Deia realized that there was nothing really relevant for her to hear. Still she paid attention; finally, after awhile, Nina addressed her. "Deia, due to your situation, you'll have to be stationed in a different area. We'll discuss this later, okay?"

Deia nodded. Whatever you need from me, Master, Deia communicated telepathically.

Before she could get a response from her, a nearby boy collapsed, and she narrowed her eyes. Nina shouted, and Deia immediately perceived the boy as a 'threat'. She watched as an older man picked the boy up and walked away with him and categorized him as an 'affiliated threat'. Despite her extremely weakened state, Deia still had her phenomenal control; though it took her some time, she managed to finish a veritable amount of spikes sculpted from the gravel below them. She kept them on the ground however, and they would only be noticeable if you actually looked closely at the ground.

Her voice echoed in her head as they entered the infirmary. You will not escape.

She used a the small power available to her track the two, and then turned her small head to Nina. When? she asked, waiting for the signal to execute the two threats.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Alexis Sinclair~

Well, at least she didn't have to deal with...Anastasia any more. For the love of god, why was she so bad at being...nice to people? Or just interacting with them in general? Oh well, at least it was over with, for now. It seemed, like they were getting roommates. Well...that was just peachy. No, really. She was fine with hanging out with Kitty and all, but being roommates? Along with that Aspen girl...well, she liked her privacy and her space. Being roommates did not sit so well with her.

Well, at least she wasn't roommates with Anastasia.

....wait, no, maybe she'd like that.

What? No, brain no. That was a bad idea. Horribly bad idea.

Don't even go there....

Dear god she was turning into her mom. A small shudder went down her spine from the simple thought. Not that she didn't like her mom or anything...but well, her mom was a bit on the...eccentric side.

Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted by Kitty literally coming out of nowhere.

"Gah!" Alexis gave a little shout as Kitty materialized in front of the three of them. "For the love of- Kitty, warn me when you're gonna come from nowhere or something." She said with a sigh. "But yeah. Roommates. Fun."

The sarcasm was painfully obvious.

~Meredith Hillard~

“I am reminded of a quote by Ms. Pearl Buck. ‘Love cannot be forced, love cannot be coaxed and teased. It comes out of heaven, unasked and unsought.’ I would think that friendship is much of the same? Should we come across similar interests, then marvelous, but otherwise, I wouldn’t suggest forcing ourselves to endure such unpleasant experiences as drinking or ‘human sports things’.”

Meredith seemed a tad bit disappointed by his response. Either she did actually wanted to 'do human sports things' with him, or she was just toying with him. Either way, it didn't last very long before she was back to her usual self.

"We~el," She sang. "How can love exist if no one looks for it! That's a silly thing to say!" She called out after him as he retreated from her presence. Well, that could have gone better. Oh well. Now that the kids were all gathered at the dorms, there was very little else she could do here, and no one that interesting looked like fun to talk to. Perhaps Olivia would be open to a chat or something?

Nah, she was feeling hungry. Food, yes food sounded like a good idea. So with a happy little spring in her step, she headed to the cafeteria.

[Nightmare Bunny]

~Kitty Lee~

There was a weird expression on Alexis’s face. It looked… like she was thinking about something strange.

"For the love of- Kitty, warn me when you're gonna come from nowhere or something,” she said. "But yeah. Roommates. Fun."

Kitty beamed, the sarcasm going completely over her head. “I know, right? It’s going to be so great! I mean--- video game marathons, Alexis! Video. Game. Marathons. Graham’s gonna be so jealous~!”

Then she remembered the reason she’d come over, and she clapped her hands together. Right, right! They were about to go get the best room in the house!

You see, sometimes Kitty hated her powers. Being a teleporter wasn’t really a cool power by any stretch of the imagination. So she could get places super fast. So what? There were so many powers that were so much cooler. Like…. Shooting fireballs out of her hands! Or growing super big, or shrinking super small!

That’s right: even Mario was cooler than Kitty, and she knew it.

But… BUT.

This, as it so happened, was one of those times when Kitty absolutely loved her powers. She’d gotten a peek inside those rooms, after all, and she was preeeetty sure she’d managed to figure out which one was biggest on the side facing them.

“Okie dokie,” she said. “It’s gonna be a bloodbath in a few seconds when everyone rushes to get a good room. But lucky for you twoooo… you happen to be rooming with a teleporter!”

She took Aspen’s hand in her right hand, and Alexis’s in her left. This was probably gonna take a lot out of her, but whatever! Totally worth it! “Three second warning, then we’re teleporting! Three… two… one!”

And then they all teleported, before either of the two had a chance to protest. Hey, she’d given them (sort of) fair warning, hadn’t she?

They landed in the middle of the room. It was, in fact, probably the biggest one with a window that Kitty could look into, and hey! It had three beds!

But the most important thing was…

Kitty checked her phone quickly.

OH SWEET GLORIOUS JESUS CHRIST, THERE WAS SIGNAL!

Admittedly it wasn’t quite as good as Kitty was used to, but hey. Better than nothing, right? And they did seem to be in the middle of nowhere, so… yup. This was pretty decent.

She beamed at the other two girls, swaying slightly on her feet. Wow, she was tired! Teleporting three people at a time wasn’t easy, nope. Definitely not. “Whaddya think? Cool, huh?”

Wait… the Vice President had said that they were allowed to go in, right? Right?!

[XxFellsingxX]

- Vice Principal Nina Smith -

'Whatever you need from me, Master.'

Nina once again had to suppress a shudder as Deia intruded into her mind, this time with a message. Other than Deia, only one other at this school had telepathy, and that was Isaac Archer, otherwise known as the Interceptor, and he obviously had the wisdom and decency to know when using his powers was appropriate or not. Deia was a child, a child raised under very dark circumstances, and like any child, she needed to be taught to identify what was right from what was wrong.

Before she could respond to Deia, Dorian spoke up as he went to help Cheol. “Already on it,” he grumbled. “No need to yell, vice prez.”

Nina merely smiled at his gruff manner. Dorian scooped up Cheol into his arms, carrying him the same way someone would carry a baby. “I’ll in the infirmary if you need me,” he called over his shoulder, and headed off in the direction of the infirmary.

Once he was a little way away, Nina quickly decided to address the students. "Don't worry," she said, already noticing the concerned expressions on some of the students' faces. "As some of you may already know, Dorian is not only a nurse, he also has the ability to heal others. Your classmate will be fine." She smiled. "Now, go ahead and pick your rooms. Anything on your person that you don't need to carry around, feel free to put it away. I'll give you five minutes, then I shall show you to the dining hall." With a small nod, Nina then turned away from the children and went over to Deia, hoping that the students would go about their business and she'd be able to take a moment to take Deia to the side and talk to her quietly.

Crouching down so she was eye-level with the girl, Nina gave her a smile. "Deia," she said gently. "Now I know things were very different for you at your last two... 'homes', but here, things are different. There are going to be some new rules. For one: I would appreciate it if you didn't call me 'Master'. You may call me..." She paused. What would be the best thing for a young girl, horribly broken and likely very scared, to call someone who would be looking after her?

Vice Principal seemed far too formal, and while she would be fine with terms like 'Professor' and 'Miss' from her normal students, Deia probably needed someone a lot more solid and caring than a teacher. Like a...

No. No, Nina. Don't.

Just don't.

"You may call me Nina," she said. "Unless you're in a lesson, of course, then you must call me Professor or Miss, just as your classmates would." She paused for a moment before giving a little nod. "Second: from now on, could you please use your powers sparingly? If you want to ask something or talk to someone, use your voice. As useful as your powers can be, if someone is in listening distance, it would be better to talk to them. Intruding into people's minds, well..." She grimaced slightly. "Some might not like it. You understand?"

---

- Cheol Akiyama -

The last thing Cheol became aware of before he completely lost consciousness was that someone seemed to be carrying him. Then he must have blacked out, because when he woke up, he was lying in a bed in a room he didn't recognise.

First thing he did was feel around for his bag, the one that held his mask. Once he felt it, he gave a sigh of relief and pushed himself up into a sitting position, his head feeling fuzzy, and it took him a moment to regain his memories. Once he did...

'Ha!' a familiar voice hissed in his mind. 'Wimp!'

Checking his surrounding and seeing he was alone, Cheol unzipped his bag and brought out the mask, lying it on his lap. "What the hell was that for?" Cheol hissed in Japanese.

'You were ignoring me!' the voice whined. 'You took me out, showed me off to your new girlfriend-"

"Kitty's not my-"

'And you stuffed me back in the bag and forgot about me!' the mask continued. 'You haven't put me on ages! Come on!'

"Now is not the appropriate time," Cheol said.

'Pfft!' the mask scoffed. 'You are so boring! Boring, boring, boring!'

Getting annoyed with the mask's attitude, Cheol started to put it back in the bag.

'Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doing? Don't put me back in there!' the mask whined. 'HEY!'

With that last shout, Cheol suddenly felt a horrible pain splitting through his mind and he gave out a cry, accidentally knocking his mask off the bed and onto the ground, clutching his head.

[Nightmare Bunny]

Dorian Lost

The hot chocolate was a masterpiece.

Not Dorian’s hot chocolate, of course. He had never been a fan of unnecessary garnishes and whatnot, and in fact didn’t really like sweets at all. So his own drink was plain and simple.

But the one he’d made for Twitchy Boy out there… now, that was a masterpiece. It was a fragrant, chocolate-y beverage of the gods, rich and thick, and topped with just the right amount of whipped cream and marshmallows. Hell, it was even at the perfect temperature.

In other words, Dorian had outdone himself.

He’d just finished putting the last marshmallow atop the drink when he heard the thud and the shout come from the other room. Dorian froze. He took Cheol’s hot chocolate and hurried to the other room, where the boy…

Was kneeling on the floor, clutching his head. Jesus.

Dorian placed the hot chocolate carefully on the ground beside the boy, and gently pried Cheol’s hands away from his head, replacing them with his own.

“Hey,” he said awkwardly, trying to keep his voice down. The kid was clearly in a lot of pain. “It’s gonna be okay. Just… relax. Relax and it won’t hurt anymore.”

He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, concentrating. Reaching out with his own mind, Dorian soothed Cheol’s throbbing mind with waves of calm, cooling numbness. The pain would be fading away, certainly.

Dorian’s power had nothing to do with actual, physical injuries, after all. He couldn’t magically make things heal. He dealt only with the dealing out and taking away of pain… a sort of walking, talking anesthesia, hence his superhero alias.

When he was certain that Cheol wasn’t feeling any pain anymore, he removed his hands from the small boy’s head, picked up the hot chocolate he’d made, and shoved it at the kid.

“Here you go,” he said gruffly, trying not to show his embarrassment. “This is for you. Kids like sweet things, right? Just… drink it. Or don’t drink it. Whatever.”

Kitty Lee certainly did. She’d been babbling on and on the whole time he’d been treating her. But did this kid like sweet things too?

Well, whatever. Chocolate was good for boosting people’s mood, and it looked like this boy definitely needed it. And the extra calories, too: he was certainly rather shrimpy looking.

There was a menacing looking mask on the ground, but Dorian pointedly ignored it. They’d searched all the kids for cursed items and whatnot, so it probably wasn’t too dangerous, if that hadn’t been taken away. And if it wasn’t, then it was honestly none of his business.

“You’re in the infirmary right now,” he said gruffly. “But you’ll rejoin your friends later, so don’t worry about that. Just… relax. Or something. I’m Dorian Lost, if you don’t remember. The school nurse. Anyway, more importantly: what the hell happened? You collapsed earlier, you know.”

He sighed, and patted the boy on the shoulder uncomfortably. He was a little concerned about the boy, even if he'd never admit it. “Hell of a way to start the school year, you know. If you're tired, feel free to sleep here for a little while. We've got plenty of beds, and I can make you something later if you get hungry.”

[XxFellsingxX]

- Cheol Akiyama -

Cheol's headache was so powerful that it overtook his senses, meaning he hadn't noticed anyone entering the room until heard a voice which, his current state, he was unable to recognise. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. Just… relax. Relax and it won’t hurt anymore.” Cheol felt someone crouching next to him and prying away his hands and instead, placing their own on temples. Slowly, the pain began to ebb away until, after a few minutes, it was completely gone, and the person took his hands away. Cheol felt his senses returning, just as his mysterious helper shoved a cup of chocolate he made into his hands.

“Here you go,” Cheol's helper said, who turned out to be the nurse who had helped Kitty earlier. “This is for you. Kids like sweet things, right? Just… drink it. Or don’t drink it. Whatever.”

Cheol carefully took the cup and gave a small nod at the man. "Thanks," he muttered, trying to remember the man's name. He was sure someone had said it to him, but in his currently weakened state, it was too difficult to recall. Instead, he simply stared into his cup. He'd heard of hot chocolate, but he'd never had any before. Curiously, he meekly took a sip...

... and ended up burning his tongue.

While he didn't exclaim with pain, he did start shaking one of his hands about as if he was trying to fan himself. Eventually, the pain died down, and he decided to wait a little for the drink to cool before having any more of it.

“You’re in the infirmary right now,” the man said gruffly. “But you’ll rejoin your friends later, so don’t worry about that. Just… relax. Or something. I’m Dorian Lost, if you don’t remember. The school nurse. Anyway, more importantly: what the hell happened? You collapsed earlier, you know.”

Cheol's face flushed slightly at that last part. 'Don't remind me,' he thought to himself. All the kids must have thought he was a wimp for fainting earlier. Was he going to end up getting bullied at this school too? The very thought of that worried him, as, while being bullied at normal school was bad enough, being bullied at a school for people with superpowers would be worse.

Cheol then heard Dorian sigh and felt the man patting him on his shoulder. “Hell of a way to start the school year, you know. If you're tired, feel free to sleep here for a little while. We've got plenty of beds, and I can make you something later if you get hungry,” Dorian said.

Cheol blinked, and then smiled. "Thank you," he said. "But I think I'm mostly okay now." He wondered about whether he should try explain why he had fainted, but he got the feeling that saying he had had a headache caused by a magical mask that could talk to him, but ONLY him, was more than likely to get him sent to a very different kind of medical station. Or worse, they might believe him and take the mask away from him. Then he'd be completely powerless, and he didn't want that. He didn't want that all.

So instead, Cheol simply muttered, "Just had a really bad migraine, that's all."

[Nightmare Bunny]

Dorian Lost

Cheol took a sip of the hot chocolate… and promptly burned his tongue. Dorian scowled, unnecessarily irritated by the fact that the kid didn’t seem to like it that much.

Got a problem? He’d been proud of that drink, okay?

"Thank you," said Twitchy Boy. "But I think I'm mostly okay now." He paused, glanced at the creepy mask and then muttered. "Just had a really bad migraine, that's all."

Yeah, that was complete bullshit. But whatever. Dorian didn’t care about whether some kid wanted to put himself in harm’s way. He couldn’t care less, in fact!

…but he was still going to alert the Vice President as soon as possible.

Dorian shrugged. “Cool. In that case, you’re all set,” he said, doing a rather excellent job of sounding vaguely bored. He got to his feet, and rummaged around in his drawer until at last he found what he was looking for: a nice little packet of Advil, enough for two day’s treatment. He penciled in the boy’s name on the label, and dropped it on the ground in front of the kid.

“Well, here’s some Advil in case the pain comes back. Take one at a time, and try to have something to eat first. If it gets worse and the Advil isn’t helping, come see me. Got it?” He paused, and then added, “And drink the rest of that hot chocolate when it cools down. Take the mug with you. You don’t need to return it.”

Dorian groaned. God, he hated the first day of school, he really did. All this dealing with injuries and the unnecessary worrying was starting to give him a headache.

“Anyway,” he continued, heading back over to his desk. “Your friends are at the dormitories, and that’s just down the hallway. You can’t miss it. But in case you’re just as incompetent as most of your peers seem to be, head left. Not right. Left. Capiche?”

And with that, he settled in to fill out the paperwork for all the injuries he’d treated that day. Kitty Lee’s arm, Aspen Archer’s hands, Cheol Akiyama’s so-called ‘migraines’…

Christ, he needed a raise.

[XxFellsingxX]

- Cheol Akiyama -

“Cool. In that case, you’re all set,” Dorian responded in a tone that showed he couldn't care less. Cheol remembered Kitty mentioning something about him being grumpy before, and now Cheol could see why. The nurse then turned away and started rummaging in a nearby drawer before handing Cheol a packet with his name on it. “Well, here’s some Advil in case the pain comes back. Take one at a time, and try to have something to eat first. If it gets worse and the Advil isn’t helping, come see me. Got it?”

Cheol nodded hastily, taking the packet from Dorian. He hadn't heard of 'Advil' before, but he guessed from Dorian's words it was kind of pain-killer. Would normal medicine even work against a telepathically-induced headache? Well, it was worth a shot.

“And drink the rest of that hot chocolate when it cools down. Take the mug with you. You don’t need to return it,” Dorian added quickly.

"Okay," Cheol said with another nod, getting to his feet. He then placed the Advil in his shoulder-bag and quickly scooped the mask off the floor before shoving it roughly into the bag, almost purposively making it so that it would get at least a little scratched up in the process.

'Hey! Watch it!' the mask exclaimed, clearly not appreciating this treatment.

'Serves you right,' Cheol thought smugly to himself.

“Anyway. Cheol turned his head back towards Dorian as the nurse starting speaking again. “Your friends are at the dormitories, and that’s just down the hallway. You can’t miss it. But in case you’re just as incompetent as most of your peers seem to be, head left. Not right. Left. Capiche?”

Cheol frowned, a little irritated with this guy's attitude. However, he was taught to always be polite to his elders, plus this guy was at least nice enough to help it out after her had fainted, so he gave a small bow of his head. "Thank you, sensei," he said, before quickly exiting the sick bay, closing the door behind him.

'Woooow, that guy was a real asshole,' the mask commented.

Cheol raised his eyebrow at this, and a small smirk formed on his face. "Takes one to know one, I suppose," Cheol muttered in Japanese.

'Hey, I heard that!' the mask replied irritably as Cheol headed left back towards his comrades.

[TheHangedMan]

::::::::::::::::::::::
::: Deia Ticy :::
::::::::::::::::::::::

Deia looked quizzically at Nina. Her orders made absolutely no sense to the small girl; back then, her masters would become displeased if she talked too much, and she made it a point to communicate with them only as necessary, and even then they preferred to do so by talking with their heads. Also, her previous masters always urged her to use her powers as much as possible. That Nina wanted her to use them less sounded incredibly strange to Deia.

Still, orders where orders, and she would abide by them; besides, Master Nina was being very nice to her. She would obey her every command.

Deia opened her mouth to speak, however no words came out. Deia pursed her lips and for a moment looked troubled, before trying again. ". . . Yeshg . . . Neeee-naaa . . ." she said, her voice sounding awfully course and raspy. Deia hadn't spoken in such a long time, she had actually momentarily forgotten how to, and even more than that, her throat atrophied due to lack of use, leading to the current terrible state of her voice. "Whaahduh-everr yoo wahnt fromuh meer."

[Tiggas]

Yes it was! shouted Tarquin in his mind, No it wasn't! responded Napoleon, Look Np attacking Russia was a bad idea you had control of most of Europe, if you took control of the rest of it without Russia you could have conquered Europe easily. The taller you are the harder you fall, you thought your army was immortal and faced it against the dangers of the winter, failure was inevitable. said Sun Tzu, Yes but ... I think we were supposed to get going. interrupted Arquimedes, Oh yeah we are at the hero academy I forgot! Hm... did anyone catch my roomate? Nope! *sigh* Looks like I have to ask the VP.
Tarquin starts walking towards Nina "Intruding into people's minds, well... Some might not like it. You understand?" he hears her say to the girl in the whellchair and... was that a straitjacket! Not spooky at all. Shut up for a while! "I'm sorry I didn't hear who's my roomate," Tarquin said slightly scared to Nina "my name is Tarquin Hayes."

[Zoldyck]

-Anastasia Tepes-

After the introductions were over it seemed like the group was slowly diverging from eachother. Graham, as the small boy was called, siad something to Kitty and ran off, leaving Kitty confused for a moment. She tried to follow him and both got lost into the crowd. The asian boy hasnt said anything yet and Alexis... Well she seemed abit hostile. Was it something she said that had made Alexis hostile?

Before she could think more about the matter her train of thought was interupted by the Vice-Principal. It was the announcement of the roommates. Anastasia really hoped that she would get a kind roommate, someone who wouldnt judge her for some of her weird quirks and who would not abuse her trust.

The names were mentioned, one by one. Then it came; "Anastasia Tepes", the VP looked over to Anastasia, "You will be rooming with Olivia Delacroix. She's a second year so she will do her best to make you feel comfortable."

Anastasia almost leapt in the air out of joy. She was roomed with Olivia! That was great news! Olivia was possibly one of the kindest people here. She was also the first person to talk to Anastasia. Considering the odds, she could have been off much worse then being roomed with the person who was supposed to keep her under surveilance.

Speaking about that, she still had to inform Olivia about Dorian's assignment. Then she realised something. What if Olivia didnt want to look after her? Well, it's not like she could disobey Dorian...But still, she didnt want to become a burden to someone, especially not to someone so nice as Olivia.

I better go looking for her and tell her about the task Dorian gave her... Please dont let her mind.

Before all of the other roommate couples were announced Anastasia went off to look for Olivia. After only a few seconds she already found Olivia. Her height certainly helped with finding Olivia but it was more down to Anastasia's heigtened senses that she found her so quickly. Anastasia walked up to Olivia, being carefull to not accidentily bump into any other person.

"Hey Olivia," she said with a smile, "it seems that we are going to be roomies, I hope you dont mind." And even if she did, it's not like there was any choice in the matter, was there?

"I, euhm, have been looking for you. Mister Lost wanted you to be my, euhm, supervisor." She said with a hint of shame and embaresment in her voice. "Apparently he doesnt trust my ability to control myself." She looked down at her feet in embaresment. "So now he wants you to babysit me. I'm terribly sorry for that, I dont want to be a bother to you." She looked back at Olivia again with a badly forced smile, barely hiding her embaresment. "But dont worry, I can control myself and I wont cause you any trouble! Infact, if anyone is causing you some trouble then I'd happily help you with it!"

Just as Anastasia finished there seemed to be some commotion back where the original group stood. The Asian boy had fainted and now Dorian was rushing him to the infirmary. Anastasia hoped he was okay, he seemed nice, if somewhat quiet.

This seemed to be the start of the chaos however, as now all the roommate groups were rushing to get the best rooms. Anastasia turned to Olivia. "It seems we have to hurry if we want to find a good room." She was hoping Olivia had atleast a vague knowledge of which rooms were the best and thus knew how to quickly claim them.

But there were probably alot of other students who also wanted these rooms... The madness had begun.

[Classified]

Aspen Archer

"Now." Nina started grabbing Aspen's attention. "It's time to get down to business. I will be picking your roommates for this school year. Some of you will be rooming with one other person, while others will be rooming in threes. Now, first the girls. So Alexis Sinclair, you will be rooming with Kitty Lee, as I see you two have been getting on pretty well, as well as Aspen Archer."

Aspen internally sighed in relief, Kitty was going to be her roommate. Aspen was happy with Alexis to be her roommate she seemed nice yet complicated, she had yet to figure her out.

"Anastasia Tepes, You will be rooming with Olivia Delacroix. She's a second year so she will do her best to make you feel comfortable." Aspen had no collected enough information about these two to make a judgement on them but so far they seemed pretty...normal, if she could use that word here.

All the girls had been placed in rooms except her, the girl in the wheelchair. Frankly, that was what worried her the most, she was scared they would be put together because of their...situation. Aspen looked away in time to see Cheol faint, after what they'd been through today she wasn't surprised, someone was bound to.

Just then a being teleported infront of her, for a split second she thought it was her grandfather but the figure was a lot smaller. It could only be Kitty."We're rooming together! Isn't this great? Wait, wait, let's go find the best room!"

"For the love of- Kitty, warn me when you're gonna come from nowhere or something. But yeah. Roommates. Fun." The sarcastic tone was lost on Aspen

“I know, right? It’s going to be so great! I mean--- video game marathons, Alexis! Video. Game. Marathons. Graham’s gonna be so jealous~!”

“Okie dokie. It’s gonna be a bloodbath in a few seconds when everyone rushes to get a good room. But lucky for you twoooo… you happen to be rooming with a teleporter!”. Aspen watched curiously as Kitty took her and Alexis' hands in her own. “Three second warning, then we’re teleporting! Three… two… one!”

"Wait,what?!" Aspen got in before they were teleported. Aspen opened her eyes and saw the three of them were alone in a room. She rubbed her forehead, teleporting always gave her a migraine. She looked around the room, it was nice, three beds and the view from the window was quite nice. Uh..thanks for the room, Kitty," she said walking to the door, she wanted to see exactly where their room was.

Dr. Isaac Archer

Once the studets made their way inside Isaac thought it would be best to make his way over to the cafeteria. After all it would be where all the students would be coming to next after going to their new rooms. Frowning in concentration he teleported himself inside the cafeteria and sat at the seat closest to him. It was quiet, empty and for now, clean.

Isaac drummed his fingers on the table in boredom, he wondered what they were doing right now and focused on the thoughts of the students nearby to see if he could pinpoint what was going on. He hoped he wouldn't hear anything he shouldn't. You will not escape. Isaac was taken aback by this thought, who was the student and who were they referring to. He focused again this time on other thoughts and heard the mental approvals and disapprovals of roommate assignment, which made him chuckle but the first thought still lingered in his mind.

[SrslyAnArtist]

Snipped quote by @Ogobrogo
“SCORPIOS, TO ME! TO ME, SCORPIOS!”

The boy shouted, probably ripping his vocal cords to oblivion. They say that if one listens closely, they can still hear his call bouncing off the hills to this very day.

“¡Ándale, boyo!”

Snipped quote by @TheHangedMan
She had yet to receive any commands from Master Nina, or at least commands that she could understand, so she simply sat still and watched the big cat-thing look up at her with expressionless eyes.

Scorpio huffed when she didn't answer and shifted back into his human form. He looked at Graham and raised an eyebrow.

“Graham, my friend,” He grinned. “You are one strange character." He meandered over to him and casually leaned him, resting his elbow on his shoulder. They were nearly the same height.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Alexis Sinclair~

“I know, right? It’s going to be so great! I mean--- video game marathons, Alexis! Video. Game. Marathons. Graham’s gonna be so jealous~!”

Okay, well that does sound rather fun. Who could say no to all night gaming sessions? Not her! In fact, she would welcome it! Just uhm, she wasn't entirely sure how that was supposed to work with other people. She usually gamed alone...at like, three in the morning. She wasn't sure how exactly that was supposed to work with Kitty and Aspen. Especially Aspen, since she didn't seem like the type to game...

“Okie dokie, It’s gonna be a bloodbath in a few seconds when everyone rushes to get a good room. But lucky for you twoooo… you happen to be rooming with a teleporter!"

Kitty had grabbed her hand, and was now talking about...teleporting? Was that what she had done earlier?

“Three second warning, then we’re teleporting! Three… two… one!”

And then, the next second she was in one of the dorms. Wow, okay, teleporting was an...odd experience at best. At least they had gotten a pretty good room from the looks of it. Three beds, and anything else they could need to live here. It was...nice enough, she supposed. At least her mom wasn't going to be pestering her about getting out of her room and getting friends any more. Jesus, that was annoying.

“Whaddya think? Cool, huh?”

"Okay, yeah, I'll admit. That was cool." Alexis replied. "Teleporting...that could be used for some pretty cool pranks." She smirked. Man, if she could teleport...heh. "Also, for sneaking into the cafeteria for a late night snack." She chuckled.

[Nightmare Bunny]

Kitty Lee

“Uh… thanks for the room, Kitty," said Aspen, looking a little uncertain. She rubbed at her forehead: was she not feeling well? Teleportation had that effect on some people, Kitty knew. Back when she was first starting to use her powers, she’d thrown up every time it happened.

Nowadays, thankfully, she was pretty much used to the sensation of materializing elsewhere. And she hadn’t thrown up after a botched teleportation for ages!

“No problem!” she said, and promptly threw herself down on one of the beds. Hmmmm… what were they supposed to do now? Just wait here? She wasn’t too sure, so she’d just wait until Alexis and Aspen did something.

Aspen was walking towards the door, but… yeah, Kitty wasn’t getting up until she actually left the room. And then she might get up. Maybe.

"Okay, yeah, I'll admit. That was cool. Teleporting... that could be used for some pretty cool pranks," said Alexis, smirking... "Also, for sneaking into the cafeteria for a late night snack." She chuckled.

Late night snacks? Pranks? Yeah, Kitty was totally down for that. She grinned, and said, “I can teleport you to the cafeteria if you wake up in the middle of the night, if you want. Man, we’re gonna have so much fun!”

She hummed, and tugged her phone out of her pocket, relishing in the glorious, glorious signal. Now was a good time to text her dad, right?

TO: Dad <3
From: Kitty Lee!!! \(@o@)/
MESSAGE:
don’t worry about me! i’m at herculean academy right now. it’s okay… i miss mom’s cooking already!! i’m sure the food here sucks. :(
but i’ve made lots of friends already! Lots of people signed my cast~! my best friends here are named Alexis and Graham, they’re super great!!! and the teachers are pretty cool too.

She smiled, and hit send. Kitty had always had a bit of a penchant for sending long, rambling text messages, after all. Less than a minute later, her father texted back with a reply.

TO: Kitty Lee!!! \(@o@)/
From: Dad <3
MESSAGE:
Herculean Academy? The superhero school? Be careful, Kitty. That place is dangerous. Don’t be too quick to trust anybody. Tell me a little about your friends? Oh, and what about your teachers? Do you like them?

He wanted to know about her friends? Kitty beamed.

TO: Dad <3
From: Kitty Lee!!! \(@o@)/
MESSAGE:
well, there’s Alexis! she’s my roommate, and she’s super cool, and she has sound-related powers! oh, and Graham, he heals stuff! and Aspen’s a telekinetic, and Cheol’s got this mask thing that gives him powers!
And my teachers… there’s the VP? her name is, uh… Nina Smith! And a school nurse, he’s called Dorian, and this lady who can turn into a monster, her name is Meredith!
Cool, huh? But I really miss you.

Kitty sighed. She really did miss her dad.

TO: Kitty Lee!!! \(@o@)/
From: Dad <3
MESSAGE:
Are we talking about Alexis… Sinclair? Well, try to find out as much about your teachers and your classmates and their powers as you can, okay?
And I miss you too, sweetie. Stay safe.

Kitty smiled, and tucked her phone away again.

"So!" she said, stretching. "Now what?"

[NarcissisticPotato]

An opportunity arose, embedded deep within the structural integrity of a woman's mind. All she had to do was take one look at Alexis, the little troublemaker from earlier, and instantly she could tell two things. First, that girl hella don't care what you got down there! And two, she had a major crush on Anastasia. We're not just talking about some little crush that straight best friends have on each other bef- Olivia, get back on track! Nope, we're talking like serious lesbian crush here.

Olivia couldn't tell if she was furious or delighted. Was Alexis trying to undermine her? Did she think that Olivia couldn't turn Anastasia lesbian? Pfft! That girl had another thing coming if she was going to undermine Olivia Octavia Delacroix! Olivia was gonna be the best damn fake lesbian and there wasn't anyone else who could get in her way, especially not some hipster! Damn hipsters trying to steal Olivia's fake lesbian crush...

Cut forward a bit and the Vice Principal was announcing all the roommates. Thankfully, Olivia was being roomed with Anastasia which meant that she would have constant access to the girl so she could follow out her evil master plan!

When the girl came towards her again, Olivia put on her brave face which was actually a little unnecessary because Anastasia was about as terrifying as a Chihuahua in a handbag, mainly because she seemed much too nice to do any harm to anyone.

"Hey Olivia," she said with a smile, "it seems that we are going to be roomies, I hope you dont mind."

Bitch.

A bitch? Sounds like you're just trying to cover up your feelings. We all know you're not exactly the straightest roundabout, Olivia. Do you not remember that Spanish girl? What was her name?

Shut your pie hole, Voice!

I believe now would be the best time to explain that Olivia is not in fact insane and actually psychopathic as there quite literally is a voice in her head. It all started when she tried to activate the Gemini constellation and after being out cold for something like a week or two, she woke up to find the most God damn sarcastic voice in her head. After deliberating long and hard, she realised that it was in fact some sort of sentient being (it told her that) and through her genius, she realised it was actually just her but another reflection of her (it also told her that as well).

"Huh? I don't mind at all! That actually sounds pretty cool if you ask me! Y'know, making sure that a vampire doesn't go full crey-crey and munch on some unsuspecting students is what I was born to do, technically!"

Now was the time to strike. Lesbian flirting mode engaged.

"I don't know, I wouldn't say that controlling yourself is completely necessary! We want to keep things fun, after all..." Add in a suggestive wink and a slow parting of her shirt and bam! Got ourselves a lesbian flirting scene.

Smooth.

This is your last change, Voice!

With that, she suddenly caught attention of the masses of students making their way into the building, trying to get the best dorms. They were already near the back but there was a reason why Olivia had one of the best dorms the year before. Anastasia turned to Olivia. "It seems we have to hurry if we want to find a good room."

By that point, Olivia had turned and was digging through her satchel before she produced precisely what she was looking for. "This ain't no pretty thing, Ana. You gonna be dragged balls-deep through Hell and you're gonna God damn like it! This is a dog eat dog world here and we gotta fight for dominance!" As she was speaking, she leaned up on her tippy toes and wrapped a red scarf around Anastasia's head, Rambo-style. After that, she got two quick dabs of war-paint on her cheek before Olivia stared into her eyes. "You never look back, ok? You look back and you're dead. Stay close and listen to what I say."

Once she had donned her own war-paint and red scarf, Olivia led them away from the bustling main entrance towards the abandoned side of the building. Without speaking a word, Olivia broke into a sprint towards a tree and kicked off it, grabbing hold of the closest branch before swinging herself up. After a few seconds of climbing, she edged out along the branch, her footfalls light and cautious. With a final leap, she landed just short of the second floor window sill. Gripping the edge, she pulled herself up and peaked into the largest room on the second floor. No one was there so she simply pulled the window open with considerable ease and slipped in.

A few short seconds later, a rope fell down to where Anastasia was and the grinning face of Olivia popped out after it. "Come on then! Get up here!"

[XxFellsingxX]

- Vice Principal Nina Smith -

Nina smiled at Deia's response, though her shoulders tensed as she clearly heard how difficult it was for the girl to speak and felt somewhat guilty for forcing the girl to do something she was so unfamiliar with. "Good girl," she said with a nod, having to resist the urge to give the girl an encouraging hug.

'Don't worry,' she thought to herself. 'Things will get easier. You'll get used to your new life.'

It was then Nina heard someone speak up, "I'm sorry I didn't hear who's my roommate. My name is Tarquin Hayes." Nina turned slightly as she was approached by a small brunette boy, and the Vice Principal pursed her lips into a frown. Had she left someone off the list? That was very unprofessional of her.

She got up to her full height, keeping her eyes on the boy, and she got the sense he was slightly frightened of her. She ran through the list of names in her head before giving a small nod. Tarquin Hayes. Yes, she thought she could recall that name. He was a boy with quite an unusual power in that he could summon the inventions of historical figures. Nina was surprised she had so easily forgotten him, but this could be easily remedied. "I apologise," she said to Tarquin. "It seems I must have missed your name. Give me a second." She quickly hurried through a list of names in her mind before selecting one. "You can room with Graham Turner and Scorpios McRae." She paused before glancing around, searching out the two boys. "They should be somewhere around here." She then raised her voice. "Graham Turner? Scorpios McRae?" she called.

[Ogo]

~Graham Turner~

WHAT THE FUCK?!

Graham was staring at the girl in the wheelchair by the VeePee. He had overhead her...was that speaking? Whatever it was, it sent chills down the guy’s spine. Not cool, hombre. He had seen enough movies. That was devilspeak. Next, her head would spin around, then she’d be crawling around on all fours, spewing obscenities and piss at all unfortunate enough to cross her path. The only answer was to…

Wait. Congratulations, Graham. That is hands down the most stupid thing you’ve ever thought. And rather cruel. Just die already, alright?

He saw a guy approaching the woman and asking her a question. Didn’t get his roomies, eh?

An elbow touched his shoulder, putting wait on it.

…

God. DAMN. IT!!!

Did he look like a fucking stool to these people? AM I AN ARMREST, SIRE?!!

Graham turned his head to the perpetrator, ready to unleash his HELLISH SCORN UPON THE HEATHEN! BURN, NONBELIEVER, BUR-

Oh. Scorpio. Graham blinked.

“Graham, my friend, you are one strange character."

Well...yeah. And the sky was blue, and grass was green, and the search for the legendary brown noise was about as noble a quest as one could undertake. What else was new?

Oh shit, that might have been funny. He might still be able to say i-

Nope. The time had passed. He could still say it, but too much time had passed. Be quick or be quiet. A slow retort was just pathetic. But shit, he had to say something now. While he was thinking, he completely missed Nina calling his name. Like a regular asshat.

“Scorp, buddy, we’ve gotta go in. Our very livelihood is at stake. Our place in this school’s pecking order could very well be determined by the awesomeness of our room. Aim high. The higher the floor, the better. The longer we wait, the lower we are, and I AIN’T BEIN’ A WHIPPIN’ BOY, NO ‘MO’!”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. People had already started moving to the doors. And he could see the crowd fanning out, students desperate to find an avenue to charge. Tall students at that. And Graham would be damned before letting a Tall take a room that was rightfully HIS. They’d have to pry the key from his COLD, DEAD HANDS.

Huh.

Maybe Scorpio was right. Err, more right than what Graham had given him credit for.

“We might not make it back alive. If I die, remember me not as the handsome, cunning, handsome, talented, HANDSOME stud of a man that I am, but as...no, wait, that’s it. ONWARDS TO VICTORY!”

And with that, and without waiting for the lad to respond, the mousey man made haste weaving in and out of the human cork plugging up the door. Already it seemed that it might be too late. The doorway was practically a solid wall of students. There was no way around. There was no way below.

So Graham went above.

He took off in a sprint, then leaped at the farthest person in the mess. He landed on the guy’s back, the dude obviously disturbed and confused. Then Graham climbed. He scrambled up to the guy’s shoulders, then continued on quickly, using the shoulders as stepping stones. He got to the doorframe and silently thanked the Great Generous Guy and/or Gal Galloping the Galaxy that this was one of the TALL doorways. He had to crouch a bit, but he managed to squeeze under the top of the frame and then lept to the clear, empty hall on the otherside.

He was panting insanely hard. What the hell had come over him. That wasn’t like him. He wouldn’t...he couldn’t...oh gawd he couldn’t breathe...where...was...that...inhaler…

Graham reached into his pocket and fumbled a bit before pulling out a small red inhaler. He pulled it to his mouth, took a drag, and embraced the opening pathway to his lungs. Sweet, sweet oxygen. Oh, baby.

Graham, now not likely to suffocate, looked at the door. The people were squeezing through. Any second now, they’d be through.

Wait.

He made it through that?

He made it...over that?

FUCKING.

BAD.

ASS.

Wait, not enough time to gloat. They’d be through…

FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK FUCK!

Graham turned and sprinted down the hall, ignoring the doors around him.

He wasn’t about this basic bottom floor bullshit. Having people live above him? Nuh-uh. Not anymore. HE’D BE ON TOP THIS TIME!

He saw a door with a blue sign above it, depicting a stick man climbing some stairs.

Perfect.

Graham burst through the door, and began climbing.

Second floor…

Third floor…

Holy fuck...too...many...stairs...can’t...keep...goi…

Nope. Fourth floor wasn’t happening. Or...BULLSHIT, HE’D GONE TOO FAR TO QUIT NOW.

He made it halfway up before he stumbled and fell to his knees. He didn’t have enough breath to continue running up the stairs. The boy cursed his younger self for wasting his time indoors, playing vidja games. Selfish prick. Graham put one hand in front of the other and pulled.

He crawled to the fourth floor. He pushed open the door and slunk through. Already he could hear people beating the staircase. He couldn’t just lose it in the final stretch, could he?

Graham used the rest of his energy to push himself up, back to his feet. He shuffled over to the first door on the right. He opened the door and…

OCCUPIED?!!

WHAT THE FUCK?!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, WORLD?! THIS WASN’T FUCKING FAIR!!!

Graham growled some unintelligible curse and continued on to the next door. Second door. Good door. Strong door. He opened it and…

DOUBLE FUCKITY FUCK!

PLEASE. THIS WASN’T RIGHT!!!

He groaned again and continued on, leaving the door wide open on the guy and gal necking on the floor in the dorm room. Cheating smugheads…

Please...please let the third time be the charm…

Please...Graham reached out and touched the knob. He turned it and pushed it…

why.why.why.justlemmehavethisoneplease.why.

There was a fat dude sitting in there, smiling widely, lounging on a bed. He cheated. They all cheated. Graham was sure he was the first...and even if not, why take these rooms? WHAT HAD HE DONE TO DESERVE THIS, UNIVERSE?!!

He came to the last door before the bathrooms. Sure there were more rooms on the other side, but...but Graham didn’t think he could make it. Others had already flooded the hall. It was game over. You blew it, Graham. You ble-

Wait.

Is thi…

The door to room four swung open and it laid empty. A few beds. A kick ass window with a kick ass view of the yard he had been standing in just moments before.

This was it.

This had to be it.

This was perfect.

YES.

FUCKING.

YES.

Graham crossed to one of the beds, the one on the left side of the room, and collapsed onto it.

Laughing.

He was practically hysterical.

He lifted his head and and gave the last shout his voice could possibly handle.

“I DID IT, SCORPIO! I FUCKIN’ DID IT!”

Success. Freedom. AMERICA.

He was on top. Maybe not the toppest but…

Ah, fuck it.

"MADE IT, MA! TOP O’ THE WORLD!"

[Vec]

Paul Ray

"I expect you all to treat Deia very kindly, as you would treat each other. Now come along everyone."

And with that, VP Nina pushed the little girl's, whose name appeared to be Deia, wheelchair and headed towards the main dormitories of the school. Paul slowly followed behind the group of students, up until when they arrived at the dorms. Dr. Dorian, the schools nurse, came up and announced, probably for the new students, that they had arrived at the dorms. Then, Nina followed his announcement by giving out the pairings list; basically, who was roomates with who.

"Let's see what we've got this year round..." Paul thought, curious about who he would have as his roommate, if he would have one that was. First, Nina announced the pairings between the girls. Alexis was with Kitty and...wait, Archer? Was she a relative of mr. Archer? Paul scrapped that thought though when Nina announced the rest of the pairings. Olivia would be rooming with one of the new ones and that girl Deia wouldn't be staying in the student dormitories, as it seemed.

"Now, the boys" Nina said after a short pause. "Cheol Akiyama, you'll be rooming with Paolo Ray."

Paul noticed Nina shooting a glance at him throught the crowd and looked around, searching for this Cheol dude while Nina continued giving out the remaining pairings. Suddenly, there was an uproar among some of the students. Apparently, one of the new ones had fainted. "Well, I would be surprised if there wasn't atleast one of these cases every year." Nina called for Dr. Dorian to take care of the fainted boy, to which he responded swift and efficiently. Dorian came in, took the collapsed student and quickly left, heading towards the infirmary. "Well, Dorian's pretty good at doing his thing so I'm sure he is in good hands..." Paul thought, "Now, where is my roommate?"

After searching for a while, asking a few of the new students in the process, he found out that the guy that had fainted earlier was indeed his roommate. "Pfft..." Paul sighed. He looked at his wristwatch, It had been close to five minutes since the dude was taken away by Dr. Dorian. "He should be awake by now, right?" he asked himself. "I'll go and introduce myself but first, coffee!" and with that, he headed towards the school cafeteria. He bought a machiato for himself and some sandwiches for him and his new roommate to munch on while they got to know eachother. After paying for the food and coffee, he walked towards the main building, passed the dormitories and headed to the infirmary just around the corner. "Ahh, let's see now, have those old women at the cafeteria gotten any better at making a decent espresso or I still gotta make my own?" he told himself and prepared to sip on his coffee. In the short time he would be distracted, tasting his coffee, he wouldn't be able to react if someone suddenly popped around the corner, which would result in the two to bump into each other and Paul would accidentaly spill his coffee all over himself and the bag of sandwitches.