GREY: A Story Of Heroes And Villains [IC]

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

It didn't take her long to unpack her things into some semblance of order. Clothes were sorted into vaguely neat piles on the floor, the skis, ski poles and her trusty survival knife were sorted into a stack over in one corner, just next to the door to her room. The bed was comfortable enough, but it was a bed and ultimately that was what mattered, wasn't it? A bed was better than a bench or a sleeping bag or the floor or grass or pretty much anything but a bed.

It was even clean, which was more than she could say for most of the hotels or hostels or whatever, which brought her onto showers, which were now her new, next priority since she had a bed. And so she grabbed up the towel that she'd stolen from some hotel or another, some of those small bottles of shampoo and bodywash, again stolen from a hotel. They really, really needed to keep track of what they put in their rooms, but she wasn't going to complain. She tucked the bottles into her pockets, slung the towel over one shoulder, and left her room in search of showers.

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

"Villain" he thought, walking around the campus in no direction at all. By this point he had gone far into the forest at least half a mile from where they had docked, without caring. He just wanted to get away from it all, the instructors, the superiors. He was even annoyed at his parents. Dumping him here. And it wasn't like he didn't know much. In fact he studied the superiors and learned all about them. But it was just.. he didn't know what. It was dark, muggy and his legs were tired, but Esther was thinking so much that he forgot. What was 'villain' that supposed to mean? That he'd join the Commission? That he'd destroy all superiors? Or does it mean he was slightly less good than the others? Should I be insulted? The thoughts swirled in his mind, like a tornado of hammers, banging his head. He decided not to think about it. It didn't really matter to him. He was planning get out of here as soon as possible anyway. He just wanted to live a normal life, free of Commission, free of fear, just like a normal person. Then he thought: 'What if my dad has been captured?' Is that why they brought me here? To bring me to safety? They sac-

He blacked out for a moment, only to wake up laying on the damp, tall grass. His head was slightly disorientated and his nose felt like it was going to burst, but he managed to sit up straight, to face an large oak tree which stood majestically over him, leaves falling on him like rain. 'I must have crashed into that oak,' he thought miserably to himself, picking out sticks and leaves from his hair. 'I hope no one was watching. Esther Winterbourne. Killed by an oak tree'. He had grass stains on the back of his bright yellow hoodie and his bag had leaked out stray Haribos, not to mention the trickle of blood which slowly made it's way into Esther's mouth, but he didn't notice that.

Instead, he stared at the pond which was on his right. It was in a clearing, with what's left of the moon lighting up the glade. It lit up the pond with water as clear as glass; so clear in fact he could see the bottom of the pond in minute detail. Reeds decorated the sides of the pond, decorated with small white flowers like stars. Colourful fish darted round the underwater reeds, as if playing tag. Dragonflies sparkled in the light, humming, but not annoyingly. More calming if anything. He wanted to curl up and sleep; sleep among nature. It was less muggy here too. The air was the perfect temperature and, despite it being dark, it felt alive.

His headache, from the attacking oak tree, felt more prominent now. His head felt like it was slowly melting; a volcano about to blow. Without thinking, he cupped his hands, scooping up the clear water from the pond, creating ripples, which would scare any British animal, but these fish didn't even flinch. He drank the water, and he felt refreshed; ready to fight 100 lions. His want to stay here grew ever stronger and he began to close his eyes...

But he couldn't. He wasn't that stupid. For all he knew this could be a trap the instructors set up. Besides. He was tired. He wanted to go back to a bed and rest. If he had stayed around to listen, he may have found out where the dorms were.

But something told him he shouldn't leave. The stars were still up, bright as ever, creating stories, adventures. Stars are stories that never end. He looked up at the stars in awe. Back in the UK the stars are never this bright. If you were lucky, you might see the big dipper. Might. he tried naming a few too, but he only knew constellations from the northern hemisphere. But he stared at them anyway, lying back on the edge of the pond, trying to take in the stars. A human eye can only take in so much...

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

It didn’t take long for Trinity to set her stuff down and get used to the room. It wasn’t like she had a lot, even if she had bought a bunch of things while staying in the hotel in Bucharest just before coming to southern Vietnam to be put on the boat with everyone else. But things, they weren’t what would ensure her security. She needed people under her, which was a lesson she had learned in Belarus. It was never a bad thing to have people below you that fear or respect you. Those people would come handy during clashes with the ones above you in the social order, and respect and fear were interchangeable.

So Trinity stepped out of her room and into the hallway, looking to see who she could bring under her influence. There was the girl that she had seen with the skis earlier, and Trinity didn’t think that she looked too threatening. The girl didn’t notice her yet, and Trinity followed her silently, hands in her pockets. She was waiting for her to stop, and then she would get the jump on her, when she wasn’t in a hallway that could become populated with other students or with staff members at any time.

It turned out the girl was headed to the showers, and Trinity hung back once they entered that section of the building. She would wait slightly, to increase the surprise of her attack. And then she would move into action, with the goal of forcing her target to pledge loyalty to her. It was easy to get people to do, when it was the only path out of a bad situation.

Mat Laurenti

“I’m sure we’ll see it before our time at this school is done. A lot of these smaller Asian countries don’t have the budgets to highly fund the Commission detachments that work there. And as a result, Cambodia and some of the countries around it are a hotbed for Superiors running away from the Commission. That’s the reason I was there, actually. We spent time at a place that was an abandoned SUAHT camp, but after they left it and made their last stand in China…” started Mat, pausing to recall the experience. “Well, it was interesting. A lot of people from different places were there. It’s how I met the person that recruited me to come to this school.”

[Khasinkonia]

Corentina-Elouana Koaduuiueg

“Ah, that’s interesting. I’d love to see the old temples of the Khmer, and maybe visit Laos too. Southeast Asia has a truly fascinating biome, though its history is certainly just as interesting,” I replied, looking up thoughtfully as I processed every word he said, “So the camp, was it like, excuse me if this sounds offensive here, a refugee camp for superiors?”

There were plenty of people in hiding, so maybe I’d put it the wrong way, but hopefully he’d answer either way. It’d be interesting to learn more about his experience, if he was willing to share.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

It didn't take her long to find the showers. It wasn't much of a building to search really. One long building, one floor, just keep walking along until you found the showers. She passed door after door after door, all of them closed or partially open with someone unpacking within them. She passed by the kitchens and various empty tables for people to eat on, still no showers.

They were going to be at the far end weren't they? She let out a small, disappointed sigh as she walked on. Of course they were. Just her luck. But it wasn't a long walk, just an annoying one to have to make. But worth regular showers? Oh yes. She eventually reached the showers, pushing open the door and shutting it behind her. Ah, peace and quiet.

The showers reminded her of most other shower blocks she'd seen. Tiles everywhere, benches, shower cubicles with curtains off to one side. She dumped her towel onto one of the benches, swiftly undressing and picking a shower cubicle in front of her, pulling the curtain shut behind her as she turned the water on. To anyone else, the freezing cold water that shot out of the shower might have been unnatural, but to her, freezing cold water was the norm. She hummed quietly to herself as she let the water wash over her. God, she'd missed this. It felt more like home already.

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

Trinity listened near the doorway as the other girl went into the showers and turned the water on. Perfect. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, shedding her own clothes and following the sound of the water to the one cubicle that was occupied. She smiled just for a second or two, because this was the best time to stage an ambush. When her target didn’t have anything to defend herself with and was completely unsuspecting of something like this. It also helped that they were in the showers, free of any staff members that might want to break something like this up.

She stepped into the cubicle without saying a word and she pushed herself at Kaarina, aiming to get a grip on the back of the girl’s hair and pull back, forcing her chin against the wall in this position. It would be painful depending on how much pressure she applied, and it could be a lethal position depending on what Kaarina did. “This is some introduction, huh?” asked Trinity, in her Belorussian accent. “Don’t panic. I just want to talk, and I have a few questions. Well, maybe you should panic. Answer wrong, and I can snap your neck. But anyway… Who are you, and what do you do that made them invite you here?”

Mat Laurenti

“SUAHT used to hold one of those Khmer temples. The local government took their eyes off of it and the SUAHT crew moved in and used it for, I believe they called it, spiritual training,” remarked Mat. “But yes, a refugee camp was an accurate description of that place. None of the spots we stayed were very advanced. You had to learn to go without basic things like electricity. And yet there were people from all over, living there because they didn’t have any other places to go after the Commission crackdown. It’s the same reasons we’re all here right now, I suppose.”

[The Cyberiad Council]

Cesar Wilder

Cesar gave a friendly smile as the first 'villain' passed by his room, but she seemed to ignore him and continue on her way to the showers, judging from the items in her arms. He let out a sigh, but quickly perked up at the second... boy(?) who sneakily trailed after the first.

Raising an eyebrow, Cesar vibrated to his feet and followed at a distance, minimizing the sounds of his bare feet on the floor with his powers. And man oh man was it an interesting decisions to follow the two. With a quick hum, Cesar freed himself from his clothes and stepped into the shower, being careful not to disturb the... tense situation.

Sure, it might have been advantageous to help, or it could have gotten a person killed on day one. Choosing to remain neutral, Cesar leaned against the tiled wall, arms crossed over his chest, making no move to hide himself, but remaining quiet as not to disturb the assailant who now had no questions remaining about their 'equipment'.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She didn't pay much attention as she heard the door open, being more content to scrub away with her hands and clean herself and let whoever the other person was do whatever in the showers, none of her business.

And then the other person made it her buisness, pushing past the curtain and into her cubicle, a hand wrapping around her hair and pulling it back, pushing her up against the shower wall with a surprised shout of "Perkele!" from her. She couldn't turn around and didn't even try; from the amount of pressure being applied, whoever this was was simply stronger than her in physical terms. Not worth wasting her effort on.

"Kaarina." She managed to croak out, her voice weak, despite her chin being pressed up against the wall. "I... Did nothing. Commission cries... Just because I exist with... These powers. Want to... Be left alone."

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

“Well, Kaarina, I’m not in the mood to hurt you,” said Trinity, but despite her words, she shifted her left arm so it was horizontal across Kaarina’s neck, ready to push towards the wall and snap it if the need called for it. She had a grin on her face again. It was hard for someone like her, who had been raised to be a human weapon, to not smile at the violence and the danger of the situation, even if most people would find the situation to be something terrible. She wasn’t most people. It was survival of the fittest to her, and Kaarina wasn’t the fittest.

Her other hand traveled Kaarina’s body. It wasn’t a gesture of love, or even lust, but one that was intended to unsettle. Her hand traveled further down as she applied more pressure with her forearm, and she leaned forward so her face was next to the other girl’s ear. “This is a rough place, you know. I think you’re realizing it right now, actually. And surviving a place like this is hard. It’s harder when you don’t have people by your side, and that’s why I’m coming to you. I’ve got an offer for you. You be my friend, I make sure you don’t die.”

She paused. “I don’t ask of too much from my friends. Just, you know, basic things. You take the fall for me sometimes. You help me when I don’t feel like doing something. You give me part of anything you earn here. And I’ll keep some of the undesirables off of your back, in return for this. You’ll be all mine, Kaarina…”

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

Esther looked at the pond. It was still dark, and the stars reflected on the pond, illuminating it. 'I wonder if I'll make friends here,' he said softly. He wondered who else was a supposed villain. As far as he remembered there was the ski girl, another girl who had viscous eyes, as if telling you to back off. And the boy. Since he went off to explore, he didn't see much of them and wondered whether these people could be faithful allies. After all, he could use some friends. He was feeling kind of lonely. Although, they must have been labelled villain for a reason.

He decided to stay at the pond a while longer. It relaxing. It seemed like the fitting place for a hideout, where he could go if someone annoyed him. The thoughts didn't last long however, as within 5 minutes he fell back asleep, the cicadas chirping calm around him.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She let out a tiny sigh of relief as whoever the hell her attacker was said she wasn't in the mood to hurt her, even if the shifting of her left arm across her neck, gradually applying more and more pressure while her other hand made her squirm uncomfortably before the voice was now right next to her ear, continuing to talk. She still couldn't turn around to see who this even was, their voice of indeterminate gender, either a high-pitched boy or a girl with a deep voice.

"I... Think this is one of those offers I... can't refuse, isn't it?" Kaarina bit back a laugh. It wasn't much of an offer. She took the fall every once in a while, helped out and paying what was pretty much protection money in exchange keeping the undesirables off her back which no doubt included themselves and probably also this situation. Why couldn't they have put her with the heroes? They were probably far nicer people than this.

"So..." She choked out. "Sure... I guess. Can you... Just let me go?"

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

That was quick. Trinity almost got the answer that she was looking for too quickly, and she was a little bit suspicious. But still, she let Kaarina out of the hold and assumed that she wasn’t dangerous. Someone dangerous wouldn’t have caved this quickly with no resistance, and she was also decent at reading voices. Kaarina’s voice didn’t indicate that she was much of a fighter. And so, Trinity spun the girl around and looked into her eyes, moving her hands so they were in a soft choke hold. She wasn’t squeezing down on her neck just yet.

“I suggest you don’t cross me if you don’t want this to happen again,” she stated, tightening her grip slowly before releasing it, her body still pressed up against Kaarina’s and not even giving her an inch of separation from the wall. This was where it helped to have stronger muscles. Ones that were bound closer together as a result of the engineering that had happened to her back in Belarus, either before she was born or when she was very young. Her powerful legs were useful for keeping someone pinned against the wall, and for Kaarina, it would feel like she was trapped in a vice grip.

“But that won’t happen, I’m sure,” she continued, grinning as her face was right in front of Kaarina’s. “You’ll do everything I say, correct?”

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She took a quick deep breath as she was released from the hold. Well, she was out of it for now, but it wasn't like she could run anywhere, walls on 3 sides and the fourth blocked by whoever the hell this was. And then her assailant spun her around, her hands grasping around her neck but not pushing down, and she finally got a look at who they were, keeping her practically crushed up against the wall, her back and front both aching in pain.

Oh, it was the person that shut the door on her earlier. Typical. And even getting a look at them told her pretty much nothing. Taller than her, short blonde hair, androgynous face but a broad shouldered body that looked male. The hands on her neck clamped down briefly before releasing.

She didn't say anything as her assailant grinned at her, asking if she'd do anything they said, instead frantically nodding in panic.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

With my talking partner gone, I didn’t have anything else to do but go get settled in my dorm, the Villain’s dorm... I wasn’t going to let that one thing put me down, I would get over it in due time. So, thats what I did, setting up shop in one of the dorm rooms, which were pretty nice, despite everything.

Everything went smoothly, and within a few minutes I was set. At that point I heard a little clamouring in the showers, maybe someone slipped? I had to go see what was going on, though I was surprised with what I would find. When I reached the source of the racket, I remained silent as I saw a woman being held against the wall by another, and then I decided to get out of there, turning right around and leaving the dorms altogether to contemplate what I saw.

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

“I’ll see you in a day or two. I have some plans,” Trinity said, and with that, she turned and left to pick up a towel to dry off before reaching for the clothes that she had entered with. She was unaware of either of the others that were in the shower room when she left the stall, but it was too late for that to become an issue. She had already completed the task. She now had her expendable ally, and she suspected that Kaarina would be loyal and do what she needed to do to move up in status beyond someone that was expendable. That was good. It meant that Kaarina would go further in completing the tasks Trinity gave her.

She returned to her own room, going back to the task of organizing the things that she had brought with her to this island. She was somewhat satisfied, but she would only take a break before getting back to work at achieving her goals. They were more ambitious than just this. They had to be, if she was going to secure a good future for herself at this place.

[Khasinkonia]

Corentina-Elouana Koaduuiueg

“Goodness, that sounds rather troublesome,” I commented, shaking my head, “Do you wanna take a seat on the bed? It seems kinda uncomfortable standing up like that.”

I patted a spot without any clothes next to me, offering it to him. I continued folding my shirts as I’d been doing, finishing up. It occurred to me that it was rather late, although perhaps they were shifting us to a more nocturnal schedule. Certainly wouldn’t bother me, as it’d only be natural for me to eventually figure out, or maybe naturally develop some way of dealing with it well. Come to think of it, I still wasn’t sure why my appearance changed the way it did when I was developing my powers. It could be quite possible I haven’t yet explored everything I can do with this connection to nature.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She wasn't entirely sure what to do after Trinity left, being somewhat shell-shocked by the entire ordeal, so she settled for just finishing off her shower in a shocked and confused silence instead of actually going anything else. Well, she now had 'protection' of sorts, even if it was more of a protection racket from the mafia than the police or whatever.

Hopefully it was better than nothing at all and just trying to survive on her own. Eventually she finished washing the last of the shampoo out of her hair and she stepped out of the shower, bottles of shampoo shower gel in hand, shutting the water off and drying herself off while sitting on one of the benches, trying very hard not to think about whatever Trinity's plans were since she did not like the sound of that at all.

It didn't take her that long to dry herself off and then to pull her clothes back on, which left her with the important question of what the hell she was going to do now. It was like stupidly early in the morning, and she hadn't had any sleep for who even cared how long, so sleep was now the next priority. She returned to her room in silence, towel dripping and balanced the wet towel on one of her ski poles to leave it to dry there before climbing into bed. Hopefully nothing happened while she slept, it wasn't like her day could get that much worse.

[Forest State]

Mat Laurenti

“It’s either something that you love or you hate. It was weird at first living without electricity, and being so far from anywhere that I had been before, but eventually… It gives you a different perspective on things. A lot of people end up seeing the world from one position, either the top or the bottom, but it’s not that often that someone gets to see both spots up close…” Mat said, and then he shook his head after checking the time.

“Actually, I think I should be off for now. I need to look for a flashlight and head to check out those ruins north of the campus. I want to get there before anyone else does, and you know, see if there’s anything interesting. It was nice meeting you,” he continued, before stopping in the doorway before he could leave. “We’re both heroes, I assume, so we’ll probably see each other again in classes.”

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

Esther jumped up with a start. He had a disturbing dream about... well, it doesn't matter now. He was safe at campus, he hoped anyway. He decided to head back to the main campus, so he could he could have a shower, find a room and set up his belongings. Except, he didn't know which way to go. Everywhere he looked, it looked the same; just trees everywhere. He frantically tried spotting the large oak tree which he was 'floored' by, however, it seemed to have run away, probably to floor some other poor superior.

The stars were fading quickly as he thought of a way to find the main campus, but he was out of ideas. In the end, he scrambled up a tree and tried to scout for the main campus, but all he could see was a sea of trees up to the horizon, and sometimes a flock of birds would emerge from the ocean of green. But, other than that, no buildings. He was ready to clamber down the tree, but a cool breeze wrapped around his face... he enjoyed being up here, alone. It was a lot less muggy and sweaty than the forest floor. But he knew he couldn't stay up here forever. He began climbing down, when he saw some buildings sticking out in the forest like a thumb. He couldn't see much as it was mostly covered by trees and vines, not to mention the fact it was still dark, but he guessed that it was the main campus.

After walking for what seemed like hours he stumbled into a clearing. He grabbed his phone from his pocket to light up the dark mass in front of him. This was no dorm; they were ruins.

[The V O I D]

Jack Wallis

Jack was bored. And, quite frankly, when they were bored... well, they wandered. Currently, they were wandering around looking for something to do. Something entertaining. Jack smiled to themselves as they stumbled upon a sound. Or, rather, music. The music was... interesting. Somebody must be up to something. Jack decided to check it out. They walked at a steady pace, following the music.


As they followed the music, Jack found themselves humming along to the tune. And then, feeling a bit like doing it, Jack began to skip along to the tone of the music, giggling slightly. A wide smile plastered itself upon their face. Jack almost skipped right on by the room that they were looking for, and then came to an immediate halt. Jack turned around and then decided to enter the room.


“Hello, there!” Jack's voice wasn't very high pitched or low pitched; like the rest of them, it was impossible to discern their gender or sex. Considering they didn't have a preference and they weren't actually a boy or a girl, that suited them perfectly. Jack let themselves into the room further, smiling at the girl in the room. They decided that they liked this girl; this music was interesting. So this girl would be interesting... hopefully.


Jack hated when they were wrong about people. If someone turned out to be boring, Jack often tried to make that person interesting by pranking them.


“Your music's nice.” Jack offered as they were now very close to the girl. Deciding that they had an idea of how a dance to this would go, they allowed a larger smile to form as they wrapped one of their arms around the girl. “Oh, I have an idea! Let's dance. I'm sure there's a dance we can perform to this song. Comeoncomeoncomeon!”


Jack felt giddy. They had made a friend!

[Khasinkonia]

Jack Wallis

Jack was bored. And, quite frankly, when they were bored... well, they wandered. Currently, they were wandering around looking for something to do. Something entertaining. Jack smiled to themselves as they stumbled upon a sound. Or, rather, music. The music was... interesting. Somebody must be up to something. Jack decided to check it out. They walked at a steady pace, following the music.


As they followed the music, Jack found themselves humming along to the tune. And then, feeling a bit like doing it, Jack began to skip along to the tone of the music, giggling slightly. A wide smile plastered itself upon their face. Jack almost skipped right on by the room that they were looking for, and then came to an immediate halt. Jack turned around and then decided to enter the room.


“Hello, there!” Jack's voice wasn't very high pitched or low pitched; like the rest of them, it was impossible to discern their gender or sex. Considering they didn't have a preference and they weren't actually a boy or a girl, that suited them perfectly. Jack let themselves into the room further, smiling at the girl in the room. They decided that they liked this girl; this music was interesting. So this girl would be interesting... hopefully.


Jack hated when they were wrong about people. If someone turned out to be boring, Jack often tried to make that person interesting by pranking them.


“Your music's nice.” Jack offered as they were now very close to the girl. Deciding that they had an idea of how a dance to this would go, they allowed a larger smile to form as they wrapped one of their arms around the girl. “Oh, I have an idea! Let's dance. I'm sure there's a dance we can perform to this song. Comeoncomeoncomeon!”


Jack felt giddy. They had made a friend!

Corentina-Elouana Koaduuiueg

I nodded, bidding Mat adieu as he left, finishing up. Thinking I was alone, I moved on to refolding my undergarments after putting my shirts in the dresser. I was almost done with my clothes entirely when I heard someone coming near. I was bent over my dresser arranging my bras when in came this fellow? Girl? Presumable person with a distinctly poor sense of personal space. I hurriedly closed my drawer as I listened to them talk, stiffening my back as they pulled me into a one-sided hug.

To dance, they wanted to dance? Despite being clearly not so, they sure sounded to be rather like a child. I blinked for a second. It was rare to see people this friendly these days, especially, as it seems, Superiors. It made sense, certainly, but here was one with such a childlike innocence to them, it seemed. What reason was there not to dance? This place seemed safe, after all. I was done folding, so I may as well indulge them.

“Uh, sure...” I slowly replied, “I suppose we can dance...”

[Grenartia]

“We’ve arrived at the destination. Follow me to the main square, and avoid straying off from the path for now. There will be time to explore the area after you’ve checked in and gotten your things placed in your rooms,” the man informed them. Trinity just shrugged and slung her bag around her shoulder again, silently following the man but staying behind the others. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now.

In the main square, all of the students would find a pair of the instructors standing in front of the largest meeting hall, which looked newly constructed unlike a few of the buildings on the island that looked renovated rather than newly made. The area was hardly lit properly, but everything that needed to be visible was visible. And the two instructors represented the two halves of the school. Daniel LaFlame was the head instructor of the heroes, and Izumi Satoshi was the head instructor of the villains. Before either instructor said anything, someone would walk amongst all of the students and hand each one a small slip of paper, that would tell them whether they were a hero or a villain.

Clover had been asleep for most of the boat ride, but was easily roused for disembarkation. After being approached by the stranger in City Park, things moved rather fast. But they had time to write a farewell letter to their parents. They couldn't think of any good lies, so they went with the truth. They had acquired Superior abilities, and decided to go underground to do something in the world, and that they loved them dearly, but couldn't give them any more details than that.

Clover followed the group to the meeting area, noting how it was only slightly more humid than their home. Half of the others, especially the one with skis, looked like they'd die out here during the full heat of the day with their current clothes. They had the good sense to wear the same clothes they normally did in Louisiana, and leave the more extreme-weather clothing in their bags. At the very least, they could be used as pillows. Other things they brought included their phone and laptop, and a 2 terabyte external drive loaded with games, pictures, and music.

The group then arrived, standing in front of two older people, a man and a woman. At this point, someone else passed them a slip of paper. Opening it, it said "Hero".

Eventually, everyone had received a piece of paper, one that would only have one word on it, handwritten. Either “hero” or “villain” depending on which role the school judged someone being better in. The man handing out the papers withdrew to where the staff were standing, and the two instructors finished their brief conversation with each other. LaFlame turned to approach the students first, with Izumi staying further behind and watching carefully, her arms folded across her chest.

“Let me give you all a welcome to Hadley Academy, named after a figure you might recognize, former Order of Saints hero Ross Hadley. You may also recognize me, Daniel LaFlame, also known by the names Roach or Samsara. For those of you that have been given an assignment as heroes, I will be your main instructor. If your note says that you will be a villain, however, your head instructor is standing behind me. You will report to Izumi Satoshi, also called Shogun. From what I hear, she is considerably stricter, so tread carefully,” said LaFlame, pausing to give Izumi a chance to speak.

“Daniel may be a former member of the Order of Saints, and I am a former member of SUAHT, of course, but we’re working together for the same reason as everyone else on this island. If we’re divided, it will be much easier for the Commission to pick us off separately. I don’t know how long this peace will last, but while you’re on this island, you’re all on the same team. Even if you receive separate training and learn the skills that you will eventually use to fight each other,” Izumi stated. “You’ve already been briefed on the basics of this academy, but let me remind you all of this. Fighting each other is a quick way to helping the Commission, so think of that before taking certain actions. Second, classes may be hard. This won’t be a typical school. But we’re giving you these classes for your own benefit rather than ours.”

LaFlame gestured towards the dorm buildings on either side of them. Both looked new, just like the main meeting hall. “On either side of the main hall, you’ll find the dorms with your rooms. Left for the heroes. Right for the villains. The rooms may be small, but anything else that you need, such as the kitchen and showers, can be found in the same buildings. You may visit your friends in the other dorm, but we decided to separate students by alignment to… Instill loyalty to your own team. I suggest all of you take your things to the dorms and pick your rooms right now. You’ll be able to have a look around campus, ask questions, or eat when you finish with that. Make sure to head to the right building for your team.”

Before they could properly react, the two head instructors spoke up. The basic gist of it seemed to be that they didn't want fighting between heroes and villains, but they decided to separate the student body between the two, specifically to instill loyalty to one's side. "Well, that's a plan that can't possibly fail." they thought to themself. Surely, arbitrarily separating people based on a randomly-assigned label will lead to peace between Superiors and prevent future oppression from humans. If factional infighting was such a drastic threat to Superior survival, then it would only make sense that a school dedicated to training the next generation of Superior would remove that flaw. They would have said this out loud, but the timing didn't seem appropriate. Perhaps later, they could challenge the obvious stupidity. Those kids in the Villain team probably weren't all bad, and there were probably some bad actors in the Hero team.

In any case, after the short speeches, Clover headed for the hero dorms, and picked out an empty one and setup shop. Maybe later, they'd listen to a song or two, but for now, they were fucking starving, and headed for the kitchen. On their way there, they passed up some other students listening to music and dancing.

“Your music's nice.” Jack offered as they were now very close to the girl. Deciding that they had an idea of how a dance to this would go, they allowed a larger smile to form as they wrapped one of their arms around the girl. “Oh, I have an idea! Let's dance. I'm sure there's a dance we can perform to this song. Comeoncomeoncomeon!”

“Uh, sure...” I slowly replied, “I suppose we can dance...”

"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude, but I was going to head into the kitchen and see what kind of grub we have. Anyone wanna come with?"

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

He circled the ruins once, lighting up each window, brick and vine. It looked more like the set for a horror movie, which, he wasn't the biggest fan of. He expected some kind of monster, a zombie maybe, to leap out at him but what was left of the night was silent. Only the shriek of some animal in the forests behind him. He didn't know what the ruins once were, as they were covered with vines. Not to mention the fact that, there was so little left, it looked more like a pile of rocks.

Esther wondered what the ruins could hold; what stories it held beneath the leaves. It wasn't particularly impressive though, well, certainly not Parthenon impressive. Maybe it had a Parthenon backstory. Maybe. He stood by what looked like the front entrance, if not just a random door, and tried to imagine it when it was in it's prime. If it was ever.

[Forest State]

Time Skip: 3 Days

“As a hero in this day and age, you have to operate differently,” said Daniel LaFlame, entering the last part of his lecture in one of the side auditoriums, where some classes were held. “Even when all you want to do is the right thing, you’ll be treated as a criminal. Worse than a criminal that doesn’t have powers, even. The hysteria against superpowers is not just directed at criminals and terrorists, but at all of us. Including the ones that previously worked to protect the public from the other two groups I mentioned. The Order of Saints was committed to just that, until unfortunately, we were banned by the Commission and declared a terrorist organization by most governments across the world.”

“Our goals are not less applicable in the modern day, however. Our operations moved underground, and I learned much over the years about continuing our work without getting the attention of authorities. And now, I’ll do my best to pass some of that on to you,” LaFlame continued. “The most obvious but also one of the hardest to follow rules is to stay out of the spotlight. As a hero, you can’t do the things that you would be able to do a couple of decades ago. Running onto the scene when news cameras and police officers are everywhere is a good way to get on the radar of the local authorities, and ultimately, the more dangerous Commission. When in the field, always put secrecy above doing the job. You won’t be able to help anyone else if you find yourself locked up. Target situations that haven’t yet gained a great amount of attention. Or work from the shadows. You may not be able to stop a crime from happening, but you can go after the criminal that committed it.”

“Part of that involves things that seem basic but that you may not be familiar with, unless you have experience in the business. Stay away from cameras whenever possible. Don’t go out without proper covering for your face and any other identifying marks. Know when to leave the scene if you see police approaching, and stay away from reporters and others who might have a motive to bring attention to you. Even citizens can report you to the Commission. If you want to find success, you’ll have to accept that you have no friends outside of your own team. And even then, I’ve seen people turn to the Commission and sell out allies. Seen hero teams destroyed from infiltration,” he finished.

“Now… All of you will be involved in a live fire training exercise in the coming days. Something to test your mettle and see what you’re all good at and where you need to improve when you continue your studies back at this Academy. I can’t reveal all of the details of the exercise, but there will be a period for you all to ask questions about anything ranging from what supplies you’ll need to what the locale is like. Starting right now. Ask away. If you ask good questions, you might just have an edge over the other team. And yes, this exercise will be used for your grade.”

***

“Villain is a label given to many people, but it ultimately means nothing. Maybe it means someone that goes against everything that’s expected. I don’t know. You can ask people what a villain is and get a different answer from everyone else. I’ve heard the title applied to professional criminals, terrorists, random people with powers who haven’t really done much at all, and others. Some of us just have it worse than others in terms of the media firestorm after various incidents, and well, us villains have it worse than anyone, probably. Even if we never think of ourselves as that. I never want you all to forget that,” said Izumi Satoshi, speaking in the other auditorium on the other side of campus.

“The last point I want to make to you today is that in SUAHT, we fought to save people like you, and all it gave us was the villain tag and even more heat from the Commission than anyone else had. Never put any thought into what label they give you. It doesn’t matter. I’m sure you all have your reasons for becoming villains. Some of you might want more things for your family, or you might have been forced into fighting the law because of the Commission’s practices, or whatever. Doesn’t matter. The point is, keep those goals close to yourself and always remember them. That’s what matters. Not the Commission declaring you a villain. If you focus on that, you won’t lose your way.”

She paused after finishing, looking across the crowd. “Now, there’s one more thing to say. All of you will be involved in a live fire training exercise soon enough, and while the details of the exercise are classified for now, you have a chance to ask questions that may help you later. Choose your questions wisely. Ask good ones, and you might just find yourself with an advantage over your rivals from the hero team when the time comes. This will be, of course, a team versus team exercise.”

[Grenartia]

Time Skip: 3 Days

“As a hero in this day and age, you have to operate differently,” said Daniel LaFlame, entering the last part of his lecture in one of the side auditoriums, where some classes were held. “Even when all you want to do is the right thing, you’ll be treated as a criminal. Worse than a criminal that doesn’t have powers, even. The hysteria against superpowers is not just directed at criminals and terrorists, but at all of us. Including the ones that previously worked to protect the public from the other two groups I mentioned. The Order of Saints was committed to just that, until unfortunately, we were banned by the Commission and declared a terrorist organization by most governments across the world.”

“Our goals are not less applicable in the modern day, however. Our operations moved underground, and I learned much over the years about continuing our work without getting the attention of authorities. And now, I’ll do my best to pass some of that on to you,” LaFlame continued. “The most obvious but also one of the hardest to follow rules is to stay out of the spotlight. As a hero, you can’t do the things that you would be able to do a couple of decades ago. Running onto the scene when news cameras and police officers are everywhere is a good way to get on the radar of the local authorities, and ultimately, the more dangerous Commission. When in the field, always put secrecy above doing the job. You won’t be able to help anyone else if you find yourself locked up. Target situations that haven’t yet gained a great amount of attention. Or work from the shadows. You may not be able to stop a crime from happening, but you can go after the criminal that committed it.”

“Part of that involves things that seem basic but that you may not be familiar with, unless you have experience in the business. Stay away from cameras whenever possible. Don’t go out without proper covering for your face and any other identifying marks. Know when to leave the scene if you see police approaching, and stay away from reporters and others who might have a motive to bring attention to you. Even citizens can report you to the Commission. If you want to find success, you’ll have to accept that you have no friends outside of your own team. And even then, I’ve seen people turn to the Commission and sell out allies. Seen hero teams destroyed from infiltration,” he finished.

“Now… All of you will be involved in a live fire training exercise in the coming days. Something to test your mettle and see what you’re all good at and where you need to improve when you continue your studies back at this Academy. I can’t reveal all of the details of the exercise, but there will be a period for you all to ask questions about anything ranging from what supplies you’ll need to what the locale is like. Starting right now. Ask away. If you ask good questions, you might just have an edge over the other team. And yes, this exercise will be used for your grade.”

The last few days had been alright. Clover had gotten familiar with some of their classmates, but also really took the opportunity to relax for a bit.

Now that it was class time, they were eager to see what they'd be learning.

It just seemed like the basic intro to heroism 101. Until he mentioned the live fire exercise. And competing against the 'other team'. At least they had a chance to ask questions. Seems like this is their best chance to ask the one question that's been bugging them from the first day here, even if its only barely related to the subject at hand. At the very least, maybe it'll get other people comfortable enough to ask actual questions.

They raised their hand. "I'm sorry if this isn't relevant, but why are we split into teams based on heroes vs villains if what we're trying to learn here is Superior Unity against our common enemy? Seems like dividing everyone based on the division that's kept us weak from the start is more of a hindrance than anything else."