"Controversial Studies? What the hell is that?" Troy asked the girl beside him.
She was Asian. But not Chinese or Japanese, neither was she Korean. So she was either a Filipino or an Indian. She had black hair tied in a loose ponytail. She also wore big round glasses that made her even cuter. She also wore a pink sweater over her uniform, making it hard to know which dormitory she lived in.
After a moment of staring blankly at his face, she responded.
"Well, you know, usually, we're taught how to be heroes. Controversial Studies teaches us what villains do, what makes most of the tick, and how to think like one."
"They want us to be villains?"
"No." She almost chuckled at his ignorance. "Just some fail safes. In case we get outsmarted by a villain. You'll see."
"Hmm." Troy nodded slowly and faced the Professor who was at the front of the class. The man was setting up some kind of device.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the girl occasionally glancing at him.
"What's your name, by the way?"
"Threya." She inwardly congratulated herself for not panicking.
"Wow. That's one of the most beautiful I've ever heard!" Troy said, and he meant it. It was so simple and it made sense. "What does it mean?"
"Oh! Uh…" This was the first time someone had shown interest in the meaning of her name. "It means three in one."
Troy was mildly taken aback. That was kinda pompous.
" Three in one? Like God?"
Threya giggled.
"No. Well kinda. I'm not sure. It also means a freedom loving person."
"Hmn. Nice to meet you, Threya. I'm Troy." Troy said, extending his arm for a handshake.
Threya giggled and took his hand.
Troy suddenly felt a wave of killing intent aimed at him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He instantly looked towards the Professor, and released his own. But unlike the Professor who could focus on one target, Troy's was a full blown wave of killing intent that swept the whole class. Threya yelped, and some people lost control of their bowels.
Professor Nightwalker shook his head as he withdrew his killing intent. He was surprised. A first year Cadet capable of exuding killing intent? That was gold.
Killing intent was the aura that someone had developed after killing people. He just wanted to teach Troy a lesson. Hitting on a girl on the first day of school during class was not ideal. At all.
Troy was smart enough to withdraw his killing intent. It was almost reflexive. Someone had threatened him, and he retaliated.
Before he could apologize, however, the Professor began scolding the people who had fainted, and those who had wet themselves.
"Now let us begin." He said and sighed.
"We all know how after The Global War, our hierarchy system was rebuilt. Now, the whole world is under the army. Not the whole world. But the whole milky way galaxy." Professor Nightwalker began.
The Global War was the war after World War III. Calling it World War IV seemed kinda cliche. It was after the birth of various powereds, and it happened over a hundred years ago. The Soviet Union was resurrected, the whole USA was united, and Africa became a country. Surprisingly, the strongest side of the war wasn't the Europeans, nor was it the Americans, nor was it the Asians. No. The strongest side was the Africans. And because they had no ambition for world domination like the rest, they became mercenaries. And because of their nigh godly abilities, they became wild cards and aces. They side with the more African soldiers was destined to win. Videos of battles that took place then were still available till date. The one Troy was fond of was a man that had the same color of his hair: white. The Americans who were transporting supplies via flight, in a jet were shot down by the Nazis. The Americans were on the backfoot, but all it took was a call. A few minutes later, a black man dropped from the sky. He had white hair and red eyes. Soon, he shape-shifted. Scales popped out of his skin. Some were black, while most were red. The Nazi unit mainly consisted of fire and earth elementals, the most common abilities of that time. But they did no good. The Dragon man – that was his name by the way– tore through their ranks like they were made of paper.
"Thanks a lot, Ola." The captain in charge of the American unit said.
"Yeah man. We would have been gone if you arrived a second later." Another said.
"No need to thank me. Keep bringing me to fights like this, and you will not be disappointed." Ola said. His accent suggested he was Nigerian. Nigeria had been assigned as the zone where close combat powereds were born. They were deadly and fierce. Nigeria was also, no doubt, the most powerful of all the African states because of its army of powereds. Troy could never forget the look in Ola's eyes. It was the look of a beast that was finally free.
The war was going on, in a satisfying stalemate, for the Africans. That was until the Asians who the Africans had no love for, decided to commit a capital war crime. They spread a virus that attacked only African genes, in the heart of Africa. But what they didn't take into account was the adaptive nature of the blacks. A few thousand deaths later, they were immune to the virus. Their council withdrew all their troops. No nation had a single African mercenary anymore. A few months later, Asia was under attack. It was the revenge of the Africans! It first started with a unit of the speed enhanced Kenyans. They tore through the continent, never discriminating. Afterall, the Asians didn't discriminate when they destroyed their people. Women, children, old people,soldiers. They slaughtered them all. Like all powereds, their metabolism needed replenishment and fast. After the speedsters, the labor-type Cameroonians and Ghanians began the next wave. They weren't good fighters, but they were good laborers. With ships tied to them, five to one, they swam towards the Asian continent. Fifty container ships filled with edibles, five powereds swam, dragging one giant ship. When the supplies landed, the 'magic' using Egyptians took over. Their bodies were frail, but they were unparalleled in their 'magic'. From a distance, fire, ice, lava, light, metals (cars, wrecked planes, basically anything metallic) rained from above. The last wave consisted of the brutal Nigerians. Scaled 'demons' descended from the sky. Powereds with unimaginable strength landed, mowing everything like barbarians. The sky became dark and lightning reigned supreme. It was chaos.
The Asians were desperate. They reached out to the Americans and the Europeans. But the said people turned them down. This was war, and they were charged for a capital war crime.
A few weeks later, they interfered. It was clear that the Africans wouldn't stop until Asia was burned to the ground. The Americans and the Europeans fomed a temporary truce and went on a diplomatic mission. They tried to convince the Africans to stop their murder spree, but to no avail. In the end, they came to a compromise. They gave the leaders of Asia to the Africans. With the deaths of the ones who ordered the deaths of their people, the Africans withdrew. Believe it or not, that was the end of the war. The Africans had no desire to lead, so they kept the fate of the new world in the hands of the Americans and the Europeans.
Both nations put the whole world under one rule. Military rule. The position of Supreme Commander was rotated between both nations. With their new found peace, the world flourished. Asia was no longer a major power in the world. But that didn't stop them. Colonies were built on other planets, and other galaxies were discovered. Humanity was finally at its peak!
"Threya Finn?" Professor Nightwalker called out.
Troy snapped out of his reverie.
Sh!t!!
He had missed a lot.
But he didn't need to crack his brain. Professor Nightwalker was measuring their threat levels.
They were fifty Cadets in the first year. He focused on the holographic screen in front of the class. Only the top ten mattered to him.
Number one was a French girl called Louisa la Finesse. She had the ability to cause earthquakes. She was categorized as a global level threat. Number two was a boy who could control people. His limit now was a hundred people, making him a national threat. He was number two because his powers still had room to grow. With enough training, he might be able to control a thousand, maybe a million people. Before he could analyze number three, Threya was up. She put her hand on a metal box. A small screen appeared above it and scanned her. Turns out her ability was telepathy. And she was determined as another global level threat. The boy at number two was instantly put as number three. It turned out, not only could she read minds, she could also control people, like puppets. And unlike the current number three, she could split her consciousness to three hundred bodies.
Troy opened his eyes wide.
What the actual f*ck?!
"Troy Silver?"
Troy was still staring at the screen. Would he be able to be placed in the top five?
"Troy Silver?" Professor Nightwalker repeated.
Troy went to the front of the class as Threya went back to her seat.
He gingerly placed his hand on the metal box. It took longer than normal for his assessment, but it still came.
Ability: Unknown.
Threat Level: Galactic.
What the–?.