CH 6 (E)
Their new life started now, Lucas and Allison realized that anything that they had accomplished before didn't matter.
The opportunity to become more, to matter. Was just around the corner, as was the fear of failure.
Allison stood up, turning towards Lucas as he shuddered.
"I.. I could actually use some help if you don't mind," said Lucas, his eyes aimlessly wandering the floor looking sorry for himself.
"Of, course"
Lucas shakily stood up while Allison put her arm under his and over his shoulder, her soft embrace managing to comfort his growing uncertainty.
"Alright, let's go. And watch your step once we get to the bottom, it will be embarrassing if you trip and fall" Allison stated, her grip tightened, reassuring Lucas she would try her best to stop it if it occurred.
"What's with the sudden concern for my lively hood?" Lucas asked, genuinely curious how she managed to care so much all of a sudden.
"I was thinking a lot on the ride over, especially because I wasn't talking with anyone. Ahem." She said matter of factly.
"And it got me thinking, it's probably in our best interest that we look good in front of the academy. For our future's sake of course." She reasoned, not that she already cared about her partner this early on or anything.
"Agreed. I'll try my best to keep up our image as a team." Lucas said flatly, debating whether he was the priority here.
"Excellent I'm glad we agree and stop dragging your feet you're going to ruin your nice shoes." She said as the gritted floors of the helicopter made a scratching noise every time Lucas failed to lift his shoes high enough.
"I'm trying my best here, mind you I haven't walked in years"
"Well, at least your short enough to not have to bend down in here," she said as they neared the ramp.
Compared to Allison's five-ten Lucas was very short at a measly five-six, usually, nobody knew he was short because he was always sitting. He could only imagine how much taller everyone here would be.
Descending the ramp Lucas could finally see the entirety of the hanger, one word came to mind, 'gargantuan'. A comically funny word in his mind, but it just fit with the comically large scale.
The ceiling easily reached twenty stories along with a sort of crane system mounted to the roof. He could also see that embedded in the walls a sort of beehive structure, each storing a different vehicle.
They stepped off the ramp, and Lucas was able to traverse the drop with little issue. All thanks to the exoskeleton assisting with complicated movements.
Sam was waiting for them a few feet away, adamantly conversing with a person holding a tablet, occasionally taking notes on the encounter.
He beckoned Lucas and Allison over with a wave.
"And this is the recruit who ultimately took them down," Sam said this while ruffling Allison's hair, her face scrunching up in annoyance.
The inspector examined her with confusion, frantically looking between her and his tablet while he scribbled on the glossy surface.
"I'm not your kid ya'know," Allison said, readjusting her hair out of her eyes.
"HAHA, You're my student now! I'm responsible for your safety and growth, so in a way, I'm kind of like your parent." Sam gestured to Lucas who was currently in a mental battle, desperately trying to keep himself composed.
"Look at this guy, he seems to be taking the change swimmingly" Sam added sarcastically, his eyes focusing on Lucas's paling face and shaky arms.
Allison's flabbergasted face quickly changed trying to come up with a quick-witted retort to defend her new friend who was clearly not mentally fit.
"Would I be able to get your interpretation of the encounter?!?" the inspector asked in an excited tone.
The tense silence shattered as the man giddily clutched his tablet.
"Not now, private Dudley. They just got done with the grueling trip over, they're probably beat because of all the action." Sam said, cutting Dudley off before he could insight a response out of Allison.
"Ahh yes, I see, my apologies." Straightening his stature he said,
"Welcome to academy zero, I hope you enjoy your stay." Dudley seemed to humble himself as he briskly walked away, tucking his tablet under his arm. A smile with a hint of disappointment adorned him.
"Weird fellow, apparently, he gets a kick out of hearing combat stories. Anyway, like he said Welcome to academy zero!" Sam spread his arms as if introducing the most important thing ever created.
Lucas was still baffled by the sheer size of the hanger along with the intricacy of the systems in use.
He looked back and noticed their helicopter lifting off the ground by the massive crane above them. Moving the big vehicle to one of the many honeycombs-like hangars implanted in the wall.
"Since you guys will be closely monitored, and the fact that every military personnel here is trusted. I will explain where we are and what we are specifically doing here in academy zero" Sam started to walk back as the kids followed.
"This project was started four years ago after the attempted attack on our number one academy at the time, the attack was narrowly repelled. But because of it, we learned a valuable lesson, one we definitely should have figured out from the start. Always keep your best assets hidden and under lock and key." The group arrived at a little black square box about the size of a porta-potty implanted into the ground.
"As I learned from inspector Dudley just now the attacks today were defiantly organized, the enemy has become more and more aware of what we are doing here up in Alaska. Luckily all the attacks are still a few hundred miles out, but they seem to be narrowing it down every couple weeks" Sam pressed a button on the wall of the rectangular mass of concrete.
The middle of the wall slid open revealing a clear tube with a metal platform in the middle.
Sam stepped onto the object waiting for the new recruits to do the same. The tube could easily fit six or seven adults, but it still felt tight.
Lucas hobbled into the strange device while simultaneously struggling to remain standing. If Allison hadn't been helping him, he surely would have fallen.
The wall silently closed behind them, and they once again found themselves in an elevator. This one was a lot more futuristic looking than the one at their previous school.
"You guys might want to hang onto the railing, this crazy thing can be kind of unpredictable at times" Sam pointed to the exterior wall of the glass tube surrounded by concrete as Lucas noticed the metal rail embedded into the floor.
Lucas attempted to reclaim some of his dignity by letting go of Allison and hanging onto the railing instead.
The elevator lurched as it started to move down at a slow speed. Stopping once it descended
"That was a short elevator ride, ha-ha, I don't know if I could have stomached more," Lucas said nervously, but deep down, he knew what came next.
A horrendous screeching sound bombarded their ears and vibrated their feet as the elevator jolted once again but this time moving laterally.
Lucas gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white. The speed rapidly increased while the concrete on the other side of the glass blurred past them. The sound subsided as they reached a constant velocity.
"I guess while we wait, I will continue to explain. This facility was built using supers from across the country, anyone who could make this construction faster was drafted. In some way everyone here was involved in the creation of academy zero" Sam still facing the kids readjusted his grip on the railing as they rounded a gradual corner.
"This entire mountain was artificially carved out and reinforced, and it only took us three days."
"Three days, for all of this!? And nobody noticed?" Allison knew that it was theoretically possible to move the inside material of an entire mountain with ability users, but the sheer amount of personnel and assets needed surely would have alerted the enemy.
"Wait until you see the rest of the facilities" Sam wanted to reiterate that they had yet to grasp the entirety of the base.
"This place closely resembles an ant hill, not as many entrances though. They are replaced by strategical gunman positions and whatnot." Sam corrected himself mid-sentence, addressing the potential strategic fault.
"Also, on the 'how they didn't discover us part' that's where I came in." Sam pointed his free hand's thumb at his chest gloatingly, clearly proud of the work he had conducted.
"If it wasn't for me, they would have easily seen us with their spy satellites and drones. I allowed them to research and experiment on my powers and the scientists on the project were able to build a device that can alter the image of passing aircraft or satellites." The only reason that Sam was even let into the program was because of his abilities and potential applications.
But of course, he wouldn't tell his new students that.
"Also, my abilities are classified as part of the active group and can be further placed into a branch called support abilities. Because of the practical applications, a majority of the members residing here have support abilities while the rest have offensive and defensive." He continued,
"The defining factor between a good superhuman and a bad one is how they're able to twist the meaning of their abilities, any ability could be offensive if used the right way, and vice versa."
"You guys better be remembering this stuff it's important"
"So, what you said before is that if it wasn't for you, none of this would have been able to come to fruition," Allison said sarcastically letting Sam know how narcissistic he sounded.
"Well, I'm humbler than that so not really." He said, looking at the ground to avoid Allison's gaze.
"Anyway, the device was one of the reasons that we were able to successfully build this place. It's been fully operational for the past three years" Sam said while the momentum of the floor slowed frighteningly fast.
The elevator proceeded to skid on its path. The occupants desperately holding onto the railing in fear of slamming into the glass.
Finally stopping, the glass-like doors parted followed by the concrete on the other side, Revealing a long hallway with various doors lining the right-hand side.
A warm glow of sunlight seeped through small windows on the left and in the ceiling.
"Nice isn't it? you'd expect the inside of this place to be as dark as a cave but thankfully they installed these ballistic windows a year after people started to complain. Their a few feet thick so there is no worry about structural integrity. Also, on the other side, it's built into the landscape with one-way glass." Sam walked up to one of the windows and looked through it, tracing the shape of the rock it was made to resemble.
" let's continue, I will take you to your room now"
The long walk was strenuous, and Lucas had to sum up every bit of strength not to stop and lie down. The exoskeleton along with using Allison as a crutch was perfect at acclimating him to his new 'legs'.
They arrived at a door as Sam swiped a keycard in the wall. The bulkhead opened revealing a wood-floored large room. While a bunk bed took up the left half of the room a diamond-shaped window lit up the two desks on the other side.
"Wow! The rooms are huge!" Allison exclaimed.
'This room is pretty nice; I wonder if mine will be similar?' Lucas thought.
"I have to give you both something, if you could show me the ids you received before we left the ceremony." Sam pulled out the card he had been using clicking his glass cards with both there's.
"Alright, you are all set up, if you navigate through the id, it will show you a map of the academy and the classes you are attending. I have other matters to attend to, classes start tomorrow so use today to familiarize yourself with this absolute maze." Sam started to walk away when he was interrupted.
"Wait, where is my room?" Lucas felt like an afterthought.
Sam sighed, clearing his throat trying to avoid something,
"Ahem, Well," he scratched his head "there is only one room for the both of you."
Lucas's jaw dropped.
"Unlike regular academies, we don't have the space to give each school more than one room." He looked warily
"Keep in mind I was supposed to only take one student with me," Sam was embarrassed to take in two students, but many of the mentors were doing the same thing this year because of what the boss said.
"So, we have to share a room," Allison said nonchalantly, seeming unfazed.
"There are approximately five hundred students attending this academy, any more than five hundred rooms is a waste of space, well technically now there are more like nine hundred students…" Sam said
"There's a bunk bed, and a bathroom with a locking door, you'll be fine… Gotta go!" He quickly ditched the situation and sprinted down the hall.