"Who's ready to be a hero?!" Hiemsel shouted, invigorating the students that stood in the giant hologram.
The tsunami of cheers erupted echoing even into the surrounding area as all the hyped students announced their excitement.
***
"My name is Professor Orrelios, Reymond Orrelios. Or some of you know me as Dark Mantis, my gene allows me to control the shadows while also using the absence of visible light to strengthen my body." Our new Professor exclaimed.
We were now outside, well we were outside before but now our area of play was a massive empty grass field. Just like Hiemsell said there were twenty of us.
"Now, if all of you would I'd like for everyone to introduce themselves." Professor Orrelios said, pointing at a girl beside me.
She had bright blonde hair and shining green eyes, she was certainly of European descent.
"Feel free to tell us your name, age, a basic rundown of your gene, and uh... your favorite food." He spoke out once again.
She looked nervous, but with a quick breath, she soon regained her composure.
"Ahem... My name is Annalise Meyer. I'm eighteen, and my gene gives me the ability to control lightning."
In the short break she took to breathe many of the students around me were in awe.
Lightning manipulation wasn't something incredibly powerful, but it was incredibly rare. It was an advanced type of ability that required immense focus.
The gene alone called for both abilities of water-slash-ice, and control over wind, ice crystals would need to be made while the wind warms down. The friction between the two would create an explosive spark. Also known as lightning.
The students around me weren't the only ones in shock. Even my heart jumped for a moment. I put on a light smile and walked closer to Annalise. She had on a full sleeve jacket with a skirt, it would have been odd to grab her legs, but I needed an area with exposed skin.
She noticed me approaching her and looked confused. I hurriedly grabbed her hands and looked at her face. She was pretty, but what distracted me the most were her emerald-hued eyes.
"You have nice eyes."
I said monotonously, before walking away back to my spot. She glanced at her hand, then at me, and right back to her hand before she began to blushingly speak once again.
She looked almost scared, probably because a stranger just came up and touched her. The light red tint on her cheeks remained as she opened her mouth to talk again.
"And my uh... my favorite food is pasta." She stammered out.
Rey or Professor Orrelios smiled as he clapped. "Well done! Now, how about you introduce yourself." He said pointing to me with a smug grin on his face. The old me probably would have rolled his eyes or said something funny back. However, I simply nodded.
"Name's Kaine. Kaine Lenoir, gene? I don't really know, I can do a lot of things." I said nonchalantly. I looked at Professor Orrelios. "That good?"
He simply nodded and I continued.
"I'm 17, and I very much enjoy my mother's cooking." I took a pause as it dawned on me. "I used to very much enjoy my mother's cooking. Then I'll say my favorite food is bread.
The ring of students around me questioned my answers, some probably recognized me from the event, but the trauma that soon happened after my existence was quickly extinguished from their minds. But yeah, bread is a weird favorite food.
Rey clapped as he pointed to another student on the opposite side of me.
He was of darker skin, yet he had bright grey eyes. Almost that of a fish, or perhaps a carcass.
"My name is Shiro, Shiro Kritch. I'm 18, and my gene allows me to give anything I hold an immensely sharp edge, I can effectively turn anything into a sword. And you can say my favorite food is trout." He responded.
We continued the group conversation with Eliza, Myla, Donovan, and the rest of the class explaining their powers, age, and food. Whether or not I meant to I more or less tuned them all out. Except the last one to present themselves.
She wasn't anything extraordinary on the outside, she was 17 like me, and her name was Mikaela Mejia. Besides the possibility of her last name translating into messiah, nothing about her was special. She was pretty; Olive tan skin, light brown hair with eyes matching, and a fairly toned body. You could tell she worked out but still... πππ, wasn't special. What caught my attention was her power, for the first time in what I think my life I found someone with similar power as me.
She could copy one's ability for only 15 minutes, as well as only utilize the ability up to what her body could handle. And all she had to do was look someone in the eye and concentrate on activating her ability. Yet she had an even better gene on top of that. She was a borderline psychic, she was able to tell whether someone was lying, and understand at a surface level what someone's plans were.
Listening as she explained her powers made my brow twitch. She'd either be an incredible investment or a nuisance of an enemy.
Upon reflecting my view of her increased exponentially. I wanted her... No, I needed her.
***
An hour had passed of our group not doing anything, and simply waiting sitting down on the grass. Most of us were playing around on the new phones, or bracelets given to us. Others were practicing for the upcoming combat exercise. A beep had gone throughout all of our wrists bands and a bright holograph had popped up.
This time instead of a video feed of the dean, it was of someone else. It was a woman, specifically the lady who had ridden in the car with me.
So she was the new chief of the B.V.A? Interesting.
The feed cleared up and then became a perfectly crisp 4k image.
The lady smiled as she began to introduce herself.
"Hello, My name is Minami Yukiko. I'm the new head and chief of the B.V.A, and I very much look forward to working with you students hopefully in the near future." She said flashing another smile. She fixed her dark hair and adjusted her glasses as she spoke again.
"Being a hero is more than just stopping the villain and getting the girl. The mental aspect of being a hero takes a toll on you. Whether you have a secret identity or choose to go public and if you have the power to back it up. Yet just as the mental, you also have to combat pride. Your job as a hero is not to gain the spotlight and popularity. You'll have to make some choices, choices you won't probably like, especially if you have an ego."
Taking a quick breath she continued.
"If you're dispatched to save civilians in a burning building and the variant who did It is escaping your first and most important priority is saving lives. And I know what you're thinking, 'well if we stop the variant won't that just save more lives in the future? Yes, there is no way to wrap words, or save face. The answer is yes and in some cases some very, very rare cases you may find that the only choice you have to stop the threat is to stop them... Permanently.
But that's why you are all here now, to learn how to use either your powers or your team to take down an aggressive variant without killing them."
She chuckled, as she once again stopped talking taking a pause to now remove her glasses.
"Now, with all that said. From now until 10 pm, you will be conducted into battles of three varieties. While there are five sorts of 'maps' to choose from only two are important. The gym teaches you how to fight and use your abilities inside an enclosed space without causing too much collateral. And then after that, the city replicates. Instead of trying to fight each other you will be teaming up to battle against one instructor, and save your other classmates who will be posing as hostages."
She let out a long sigh. Her pale face and red lipstick contrasted one another as her lips stretched themselves thin into a smile.
"Instructors, please feel free to begin."
***
It took ten minutes for our group of twenty to ready themselves, going first was Myla and the first girl to start our introduction Annalise walked about 40 yards away as we all began to sit on the grass. In all honesty, I didn't even remember Myla's powers but I was excited to watch this battle.
The silence of our anticipation continued to build up until it was dispelled by the sudden crackle of lightning.
Annalise's lightning was a bright blue of sorts. Snapping and whipping itself around her fingers. To my surprise, Myla looked almost dismissive of her powers. She blew out a piece of bubble gum as she reached inside a small bag she had on her shoulder.
Many if not most of us expected her to pull out some sort of blade perhaps, maybe some form of whip or even a pill that enhanced her powers, whatever they may be. But instead, all of us announced our shock when a simple cold, metallic black object left the bag.
"..."
"Is that a fucking gun?"