Edward Ellens's Story

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"Hmm...?"

Having lived in a bad part of a bad city, Damon wasn't entirely sure if this thing was supposed to be normal. Did all schools have a barrier like this, or was this place special? Who knew. A part of him wanted to see what would happen if he messed with it, but he was confident of the result -- it would end with him getting in trouble. Obviously, this was a measure to protect students from those who would wish them ill, and to tamper with it would be like prank calling the police. Needless to say, they wouldn't appreciate it one bit. Still, it was quite fancy, as far as he was concerned.

Damon was not a person too comfortable with the large crowd that he found himself in. He had not arrived early, which meant he was stuck in the sea of other "aspiring heroes", forced to listen to a cacophony of chatter while he made his way to his class. It was fairly annoying to hear essentially the same thing repeatedly within the span of a couple of minutes, but, of course, everybody was here to become a superhero that everybody else was jealous of. Even between the varying personalities of everybody, there was only so many ways you could word that. Worst yet, he was definitely sure that he would be forced to listen to it all again when his class was introducing themselves.

How... frustrating.

Oh well. There was always formalities. People like those, after all. The only thing he could really do was make sure his own introduction was as short and sweet as possible. Class was more important than dealing with other people.

Damon entered the classroom, finding it about halfway full of whom he presumed to be his new classmates. Though he was quite the Sherlock, he figured he ought to find a seat before all the good ones were taking. And so, he looked at the back row, near the window.

Taken.

Well, it was worth a shot.

Damon took a seat in the center of the front row, sure that it would provide him the best spot with which to gather information. Although he was not some poindexter who was very academically-inclined, learning the subjects at this academy would likely improve his strength, which meant that he desired to focus on it 100%. He noticed another student had decided to park himself on the same row, but wasn't interested in talking to anyone. Damon decided to spend this time retrieving a pencil and a blank notebook, an action he noticed he was unique in. From that point, he remained silent and waited for the teacher to arrive.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

After about ten minutes, something finally happened. In a completely normal sequence of events that Damon was perfectly fine with, a dog had zoomed into the classroom and decided to give one of the other students in the first row a tongue lashing. This wasn't likely to be a normal dog on account of the odd color of its fur, but the more pressing issue is why he was even here in the first place? Where was the teacher? The stench of alcohol and the appearance of a drunk man had answered that question mere moments later. Well, he was more of a beast. And at first, Damon had started to question just how good that barrier really was if some giant hobo had just entered the academy along with his pet dog.

But, as it soon turned out, it was not a hobo, but his new teacher! What an interesting fact, Vayne thought. So interesting, in fact, that Damon couldn't even handle his excitement! Or maybe he was just very, very irritated at these shenanigans? Well, either way, his face sure was twitching. Luckily, it actually managed to end after what seemed like an eternity. Would this become routine?

Damon wished he could just reach out and touch this teacher's license with his right hand.

....

....

....

"...my name is Finn Silvers, and my hero name will be Dreadlocks. My Quirk allows me to control my hair, and shape it to my will." the nephew said as he introduced himself.

His power seemed kinda boring to Damon. Hair tentacles. There was a student in his older classes that had arm whips. That seemed pretty similar, except that it was arms and whips, but the general purpose was the same, right? This guy could probably do a handstand though. Vayne might've felt sorry for that nameless kid if he wasn't such a prick to him back in grade school. But that was unimportant.

A student who had taken the seat immediately next to Damon had apparently known of Tail Iron. Like many of the jerks Damon had come to know over the years, this guy couldn't help but make a rude comment, but was met with a fierce show of hair power and a glare, along with an overconfident declaration.

"Make no mistake, my powers aren't like my siblings, my father, or my uncle. But I am still decades ahead of you, and everyone else in this class."

A desk was soon murdered in cold blood.

I wonder if everybody's introductions will bring needless harm to innocent desks?

As Damon pondered important questions about his immediate school life, two other students took the stage. The first of which was a student with red-hot hair and, if anime tropes applied, she probably had some sort of fiery personality, though that remained to be seen. She declared her power to be that of manipulating fire, a rather destructive Quirk, but nothing he hadn't already seen a variant of before. Still, that kind of power was dangerous in the right hands, so he made a mental note to keep an eye on Nova.

The third student to step up was a blonde with a noticeable accent. She demonstrated what appeared to be a type of physical immunity, or hardening of some sort by deflecting a blade with her face. On top of that, she could also glow. He hadn't seen anything like that yet, but it didn't seem like it would be too useful, though she did mention another ability: a "blast" of some sorts. Well, everyone here had to pass a test to be accepted into the academy, so there was more than he could initially see about this power.

Damon decided that he might as well get his turn finished. He promptly stood up and turned turned and faced the rest of the class, holding his bag as he did so. "My name is Damon Vayne, and my 'Hero' name will be Eraser. Before I explain the exact power of my Quirk, please be advised that there is no blocking it, nor is it possible to heal from a wound caused by it." Having not thought of a proper way to demonstrate his Quirk, Vayne seemed troubled for a second, before looking at a particular student. "If you would, please throw a knife my way as well." albeit hesitantly, the student complied and threw a blade towards Damon. In response, Vayne simply held out his right hand and allowed the blade to strike his palm. It then seemingly disappeared into his hand. In hindsight, Damon probably should have made sure that knife wasn't important to him, because now it was gone for good.

"My Quirk is the ability to delete something from existence by touching it with my right hand. Because of its nature of deletion, something only partially erased will close together and reform as if the deleted section was never there if that is possible. For example, I could erase someone's arm and it would look like they simply were born without one." he explained. For some reason, he had doubts that anybody would let him amputate them, so he refrained from attempting to demonstrate that particular trait. He decided it was best to conclude his lengthy introduction, and so sat back down at his desk. Hopefully, that was satisfactory for everyone. He purposefully did not include to mention that he could delete space, but it would at least be interesting to see the surprise on someone's face if he had a chance to use it.

“Midori, eh? I like it. It’s got a certain ring to it.”

“Sir, we need the space to work.”

“I won’t leave my wife!”

“Mr. Castle, it is standard procedure in the event that-“

“She won’t have developed a dangerous quirk at birth. I’ll bet my life on it!”

“A 5% chance is enough for the government to pass laws, Mr. Castle.”

“THERE’S NO TIME, PERRY, JUST GO!” Gina interrupted with a pained gasp. The severity of the shriek snapped the doctors into third gear, Peregrine stood stunned as the sudden rush in movement left him in the dust. “I’M A HERO, DAMNIT! I’LL BE FINE!”

“AUGH!!” Peregrine paced swiftly outside of the delivery room. What he wouldn’t do to have some soft earth or stone to grind within the hospital. The consistently sterile corridors made him feel powerless, even more so than he did in the delivery room. For once in his life, his mind processed remotely selfish thoughts. What he wouldn’t give to be in the room as his daughter as she came into the world. What he would sacrifice. Some of the thoughts even frightened Peregrine. Was his daughter such a big deal to warrant such… villainous thoughts?

He caught himself, half-ashamed, but relieved that he never voiced any of those concerns aloud. However, he suspected that if he did, the people around him would have understood that irrational thought. Fathers-to-be often acted irrational at the moment of truth. He knew that Gina was correct. She was a hero, Peregrine’s other half, and both were the strongest Toronto’s ever known… but this was not taking down the Lake Ontario Terror. The Terror was easy. The Terror was held in a prison in the hottest desert, where the moisture was perfectly lacking.

As he paced, the red-haired, seven-foot hero stole a glance out the window. Police were barely keeping a handle on the reporters and camera operators on the other side of the street. Every one of them were there for the same reason, much to Peregrine’s annoyance.

Falcon Fortress and Werewolf were the mightiest heroes in Toronto. They were local legends, whose names reached out half-way across the province, and even partially into the states across the Great Lakes. They, along with The Grizzly, Jumping Jack, The Game, Nickel Son, and Chill of the North, were some of the biggest names in Canada. Jack and Chill in particular were close friends of Peregrine’s. They were keeping an eye on Toronto whilst the two were at this… admittedly enormous moment of weakness. No-doubt Peregrine would owe those two some serious favours. He did not care, he’d pay what ever dues they would demand. His child’s smile would be worth any favour.

The police also set up a strong perimeter, with spotters and snipers in every adjacent building, and several lesser-known heroes patrolling the areas beyond. At this very moment, the hospital Peregrine stood in was the safest spot on Earth, save for anywhere All Might, or any of the other Top Four stood.

The shouting of instructions and pain did not help Peregrine relax. His legs wobbled as he bit his lip. He couldn’t bear to sit down, else his spaghetti-like legs wouldn’t allow him to stand up again. He had to move. He had to do something. That’s what heroes do. They do something when all others could not. The shouting climaxed in a savage roar that left Peregrine dumbstuck, and his throat dry. The commotion was followed by silence, broken shortly after by tiny whimpering and crying. The voice was too small and too soft to be the werewolf-esque woman. The door opened a few seconds later. Peregrine clasped both hands together. His fingers squeezed, coming close to crushing each other. “Is she…?”

“Without a quirk at birth? Yes. You can come in, Mr. Cas-” Peregrine did not hesitate. His large frame almost bowled the doctor over. His blazing red hair flipped backward from the sudden acceleration.

“She’s got your eyes, Perry,” Gina said.

Peregrine laughed, “She’s… She’s got my everything, it looks like.” She looked the spitting image of Peregrine’s old baby pictures.

“I’m glad,” Gina’s werewolf-like mouth curled into a fanged smile, “I’d hate to raise a wolf cub. You remember those ancient documentaries? Those cubs bite!”

“Thank goodness for that, eh?” Peregrine chuckled. “Aw… look at you…”

“Midori… Castle,” the doctor started as he wrote down some notes on a clipboard. “Date of birth… 1:23PM Local time. May 19th… year…”

Peregrine did not hear the rest. He was in another world as he gazed upon the closed eyes of his daughter. When they would first open later on, he would see eyes that perfectly mirrored his own.

—

“Ca-astle!” Gina called. Her double-jointed hind legs tapped padded and clawed feet lightly across the hardwood kitchen floor. Her steps silenced completely when she crossed over the living room carpeting and towards the stairs leading to the elevated platform that was Castle’s bedroom. “Ca-astle, it’s time to get up!”

The apartment seemed to have jumped right off the storyboard of the old Superman cartoon. The main room was enormously spacious with a high ceiling. Mother’s bedroom was located in a rectangular “building” within the apartment, within the large main room The kitchen and bathrooms branched off the spacious living room, leaving plenty of space where huge floor-to-ceiling windows were framed at the far end. The view of Excelsior Valley was complemented with a balcony. In a fifty-year-old city, modelling it after a Golden Age-inspired Metropolis seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. Theirs was not the only apartment of it’s kind. Rather, it was technically one of the cheaper ones. If a simple journalist like Lois Lane or Clark Kent could afford an apartment like that, Werewolf certainly could with her earnings, combined with the inheritance left behind by Peregrine.

Castle’s plant-like hair accidentally got tangled up between blankets. She did not absorb that much moonlight comparatively, so she moved with an almost drunken sway. She groaned in annoyance. “I can barely move, mom…”

“That’s what you get when you roll around, You’re not doing yourself any favours blocking the light.” Gina called.

“It’s so hot down here…” Castle complained, “This bed’s like a furnace…” She had been tossing and turning to get cool air flow in her bed, and the blanket ended up covering her hair by the time she started snoring uncomfortably.

“Well, you’ll be moving to a dormitory where you can control the temperature,” Castle’s mother’s head poked up from the bottom of the stairs as she outstretched her double-jointed hind legs, “You know what today is?”

Castle suddenly surged with adrenaline as she threw off the covers. Her large green eyes shot open, and wavered as she strained to keep them open and focused. “No! Oh no oh no- am I late?!”

“It’s today,” Gina held up a plate with bacon, eggs, and toast. “Don’t worry, you’re not late… yet.”

Castle emitted a frightened “eep” as she tripped out of bed and hurried down to meet her mother. Without skipping a beat, she immediately wrapped her root-like fingers around parts of the breakfast and wolfed them down, starting specifically with the toast. Castle did not need to eat. Her roots and hair always could manage to provide her with the nutrition her body needs. As a redundancy, and especially in the event that she found herself in consistent darkness, ordinary food would keep her alive just like any other human.

Plus, every once in a while, it was nice for her mother to treat her. It helped soften the scary image of her wolfish face in the dark. Gina laughed, “At least you inherited something from me,” she joked.

Castle looked everything unlike her mother. Fair, pale, almost green skin, matching the cuffs of leaves erupting into root-like appendages along her hands and feet, and the green hair of leaves and stems that sat atop her head. Her green eyes were exactly like her father’s. Her hair used to be a bold red just like her father’s, before her quirk developed itself. Gina did not move as Castle downed every scrap of food on the plate. The greases left on her fingers were quickly absorbed through her roots. “Thanks, mom!” Castle chimed.

“I’m actually surprised you passed, to be honest.” Gina’s voice had the softest growling undertone, unsurprising considering her physique, “I remember my entrance exam at Paragon involved fighting robots. I beat your father’s score, I remember.”

“I actually disabled a few robots using some well-placed hair clippings. Clogged up the mechanics, eh?”

“Clever. But that seems like a double-edged sword.”

“Yeah, yeah, it was all I could come up with… Anyway, most of my score came from “Rescue” points, where I helped other examinees who were getting fatigued from the fight.”

“The Rescue points.” Gina smiled, “Not many remember those are a thing.”

Yeah… myself included… “Anyway, I gotta get packed u-”

Castle only just noticed that Gina had been holding the plate with one clawed hand. The other one was holding a hand bag and a duffel bag. A backpack would not suffice for her daughter, for putting it on would prove tedious when it came to brushing her relatively heavy hair out of the way every single time. The duffel bag appeared to be packed to the brim.

“Your things are already packed,” Gina replied, “You should know- you packed them last night.”

Castle took her bags and hopped in place. The energy provided by the ever-growing morning light through the windows began to fill her reserves. She slowed down as she admitted. “First day at Paragon… I know I managed to pass in the Department of Heroics, but I’m really nervous…”

“You’ll do fine,” her mother smiled a fanged grin as she lowered herself so her face was level with her daughter’s. In the daylight, the teeth were not so bad to see. In the dark, the things that tore many a villain still frightened Castle at night. “You have a wonderful quirk, and everyone will see that- if they haven’t already.”

Part of Castle wanted this promise of greatness as a hero to be a lie, if only so that she could leave. Then she and mother could return to Toronto, to bring back the old hobby shop, back to the way things were. However, that would be a greater lie. Father was gone, and nothing can go back to the way things were. She could only go forward. The Crumbler would not wait for Castle to get strong, after all. The Crumbler had to atone.

Gina then pointed to a personal gym that had not been in the corner last night. The gym was packed in a semi-transparent box for security to easily look through. “I’ll deliver that to the dorms later today. You’ll want to train your body when you’re in your dorm room. It’d be good to cover all the basics.” A clawed hand gently brushed over Castle’s fair, skinny arm. “You’ll need to be strong in order to survive the courses.”

After a quick shower in the corner bathroom and subsequent dressing, and with a tearful and proud farewell from Gina, Castle was out of the apartment. The roots of her bare feet absorbed nutrients from the carpeted hallway floor as she made her way to the stairs, down several flights, and out the door. The elevator was confined and dark, unlike the wide open windows of the stairwell Castle loved to use. The morning sun bled through the windows, filling the girl with energy as she walked. By the time she left the apartment front door, she was entirely the opposite of when she first woke up. She was energized, and ready for the day. She ran, barefoot, up and down streets and roads, through Excelsior Valley.

The relatively new city held a shiny, spick-and-span look compared to the cliffs and dusty wastes that surrounded the location. Much like the nuclear bombs generations ago, this location served as ideal grounds for testing and developing Quirks. It was very smart of the Founder, and Principal, to set the valley as the location of a Heroics Academy. Yuuei was probably envious of this spacious, sunny, and construction-friendly location, compared to the tight quarters the Japanese school had to work with.

Her green plant hair swayed as she jogged. Her breathing was perfectly even, almost as if she were standing still. Her legs did not easily feel fatigue. So long as her hair remained in the sunlight, she could jog indefinitely. Hard sprinting, or carrying heavier objects like her duffel bag, on the other hand, was a different matter. She could only sprint for short bursts before she needed to take a breather, a normal behaviour for a fifteen-year-old girl who did not compete in sports… though now she wished that she should have.

—

Logan performed his morning routine. A long jog around a section of Excelsior Valley after basic strength training. He sweat up a storm, turning his long black locks shiny and wet with sweat. He often wiped his forehead with an arm band. His jog continued, through his heavy, yet steady panting, as his music player blasted some ancient history, “rock and roll”. His run came to an end when he arrived at the Auto-body shop. Over top of the shop was his home. Much like ancient European houses, Logan’s place was a home upstairs, and workshop downstairs. He had built the place with his bare hands… holding power tools. Many Quirk-gifted citizens laughed at his relatively slow progress.

He was a young Quirkless man, probably the only Quirkless in the entirety of the town. Much like the Quirkless, he led a humble life. He fixed cars with skill and care few Quirk-gifted souls could properly match. However, that was probably because most Quirk-gifted souls did not specifically train to repair vehicles, especially not with their flashy quirks.

As he approached the front door to his home and workshop, he noticed a five-foot girl jogging by, emitting a trail of waving roots, stalks, and leaves. He got a good look at the girl’s face, though she did not notice him. Logan was suddenly filled with puzzlement. This girl was strangely familiar.

Peregrine…? he wondered. That was impossible. Even Logan knew the Falcon Fortress was gone. No, that’s gotta his daughter. That’s right, cousin Gina moved here, Logan hummed as he unlocked the garage door and entered. Jeez, she looks just like him.

He washed up quickly in the upstairs bathroom, and began unlocking the garage doors, ready to open for business. A Quirky woman with hair made of rattling gold rings stepped out of her car. Her husband appeared to have been pushing the vehicle with what appeared to be a directional forcefield. “Hey Logan,” the man greeted. He was twice Logan’s age, but half the size. The man could project a hard light shield the size of a dinner plate. It was hardly a suitable size to block attacks from villains, but the man discovered early in life that it ignored the laws of physics. It was discovered to be a perfect quirk for pushing objects with little effort. The woman’s rings seemed to emit music, calming like wind chimes. Neither were particularly hero-worthy quirks, but they were not without use.

“Horace, Pat,” Logan returned, “Got a problem?”

“Yep. The ignition is fine now, thanks to you, but now I think we’ve got a leak.”

Logan nodded as the garage doors finished opening. “A’ight, I gotcha. You guys gonna be alright heading to work?” He asked.

“It’s a beautiful day for a walk,” Pat replied, her hair rings clanked and sparkled in the morning sun.

Logan chuckled, “Well, you have a wonderful day. I’ll figure this out, and get it fixed in a jiffy.”

“You always do, Logan!” Horace barked a laugh as he and his wife strolled off, hand-in-hand.

Logan worked the shop alone for the first several hours in the morning. After that, the student interns arrived and pretty much finished Logan’s jobs, or practiced repairs on extra parts the Quirkless man had around. He brought the car into the garage and secured it to a hydraulic elevating platform. He’d determine the source of this leak within the first minute.

“Odd… it almost looks like…” Logan ran a finger lightly over the rather obvious tiny square hole. The edges curved inward, rather than outward, like someone punctured it with a nail. Logan produced his phone and snapped a few clear photos from different angles. He imagined he’d need them if this turned out to be sabotage. Until then, Logan had a job to do. “I’m not a hero,” he muttered like some sort of mantra. He then continued work. “They’re already gone anyw…

He paused... A minute was hardly enough time to lose them. Logan closed the doors and began running in the direction Horace and Pat strolled off. At the very least, they should see the photos.

—

Paragon Academy’s front gate was open. Dozens upon dozens of students and teachers from different departments were milling to and fro across the campus. Dozens more were more than likely simple visitors, or workers on-contract. The lack of obvious, hard-core security seemed to indicate that Paragon had no worry about villain attacks. Hardly a surprise, as Excelsior Valley had more good-hearted people with powerful quirks than dust clouds swooping in from the surrounding wastes. The only one who could possibly take on the entire city area and walk away in one piece would probably be All Might himself. Perish the thought of All Might going rogue. Perish the thought.

Castle’s relaxation ended when she noticed that she and many others could pass through the gate because of a barely visible forcefield. A reader detected her school I.D., and the forcefield shifted a Castle-sized hole for her to pass through. It wasn’t long before the crowds thinned into nothingness as everyone made their way inside the campus buildings. Being a Paragon alumni, Gina would have little difficulty getting the personal gym move sorted out.

Castle produced her phone from her hand bag. She resisted the urge to play Tetris in favour of pulling up the notes she had jotted down based on her acceptance letter. Castle was to make her way to her dorm room to drop off her stuff, and then to Class A-4, the Department of Heroics. The first day of truly becoming a hero, and the rest of her life. She relished the opportunity to make her father proud, were he still breathing. She still had time to spare, even after dropping her duffel bag off at her assigned dorm room, but she still jogged up and down corridors, weaving around students and personnel of any sort.

The classroom was sterile like a classroom would be at the beginning of a semester. The desks were perfectly spaced in a grid fashion. Each and every chair and table was sturdy; none of them had warped legs. At the front, facing away from an enormous wall-spanning blackboard, the teacher’s desk sat. The teacher’s desk, unlike the maple student desks, was made of solid oak. The edges were cut into form-fitting wedges. No screws were used to fasten this desk together. Every desk shone with a fresh coat of wax with a matte polish to dull the intensity of the shine. There were no windows to be seen. On the wall opposite the side with the door, many slots seemed closed off for reasons unknown. If Castle had to guess, the slots seemed to be… compartments of some kind.

Other students were already there. Only a few were familiar from the entrance exams. Castle skipped to an empty desk near the middle and took her seat. The uniform was uncomfortable and stifling, but she would have to make do… unless this school didn’t do with uniforms like her old schools.

Hey, there’s a thought, she smiled at nothing in particular, what if my hero’s costume becomes my uniform? Oh I hope the Support Class designed something wonderful.

The teacher- a huge burly man with a pet dog and a flask on-hand entered the room. Mr. Unbreakable was not quite as tall as Falcon Fortress. The man seemed very eager to play favourites, pulling aside a boy he called “Nephew”. The boy was slightly taller, with unusually coloured hair. Castle imagined that, like her, this boy’s quirk had something to do with his hair.

Her suspicions were confirmed when the boy performed a rudimentary task to retort against another boy seated at the front, using a long “rope” of hair to crack a desk in half. Using quirks indoors? Castle pondered as she stared incredulously at the unnecessary destruction. Her hand shot up. “Sir, using our quirks indoors seems irresponsible. Shouldn’t we be demonstrating our powers outside, where we have the space to let loose?”

“Who might you be?” a student a little farther to the back asked.

“I’m Castle,” the green-haired girl replied briskly as she crossed her leaf-covered arms. “You can probably figure out my quirk.” She flicked her plant-like hair as she turned to face the student in particular. “I can’t just show it off in a classroom where nobody’s hurt, though.

Castle set her hand bag on the floor. She heard Paragon was the place Peregrine and Gina had learned to become heroes. This was nothing like she expected. She was expecting… professionals…

It was a day full of nervousness and anticipation for Chun. Flying for an entire day to the states was hopefully worth it, but this is the first time Chun has been this far away from home, with no one he knows around him. No, he corrected himself subconsciously, he had the spirits. As Long as he has their companionship, he could never be alone or helpless. In his eagerness to get to class, he disregarded the milling students, though some of them caught his eye.

Once he reached the classroom, Chun slid into the seat near the centre, next to a girl with Long golden hair. She introduced herself with a bright smile and offered him her hand, that he took without hesitation to shake it. "It's nice to meet you, Lori. My name is Chun." Lori turned away to banter with other students then, while Chun simply half heartedly summoned a table full of tiny spirits, waiting for the lesson to start. A odd looking dog bounced in then, and headed immediately for the strange, hostile boy with silver hair. It appeared to know him, and after a strict command from the boy sat down obediently. It was a cute dog. Odd looking, by all standards, but Chun found it adorable. After seeing spirits for so Long, he has somehow become numb to the level of weird things he can experience. The teacher entered next, bringing with him a strong smell of alcohol. Wrinkling his nose, he sneezed softly as he regarded the mountain of a man with curious eyes. Their first assignment, to introduce themselves and their power. It was a task that seemed easy enough, and the teacher nominated the strange boy first. They seemed to be related by blood, the boy was only becoming more and more interesting! Chun made a mental note to talk to him later.

The other student was rude of course, but his surprise is rather expected. From what Chun heard of Alloy man, he was an incredible superhero, whose strengths and durability is the envy of many. The boy however, could only control his hair. He was rather impressed by the demonstration he showed, the tentacles slicing through a table. Amazing quirks. He might be among the greatest and most talented youths from all around the world right now, and the fact excited him to no end. What even happens in the school for superheroes? Everything was awfully fresh to him. Lori turned out to glow and be neigh destructible, Damon with the power to erase anything, and Nova, whose fire manipulation abilities were amazing to say the least. A girl spoke up then after the initial destruction, claiming the irresponsibility of using quirks indoors. Well, things were going just fine, and the teacher didn't look like the most responsible one anyway. Chun wasn't the least bothered as he moved toward the front of the class.

Well. How should he go about it? "My name is Zhu Chun Long, but feel free call me Chun. My primary quirk is channeling and summoning spirits." Taking a deep breath, he pressed his fingertips together and concentrated, the markings on his forehead glowing Crimson red, no longer concealed by his hair. With a painful crack, the back of his shirt was ripped through by a row of spikes that grew suddenly from his back, golden horns forming on his head. "The one I am channeling now is Bai Ze, who is my hero namesake. Let's see..." Chun raised his foot and rested it on the ground in a deliberately light motion. The ground beneath his foot split open, cracks running thorough it as he gave the teacher a rather apologetic look. "Ah, it seems a bit too late to regret using our quirks indoors, isn't it, Castle. My apologies, Mr Unbreakable."

So much for not destroying anything. It wasn't unsafe indoors per se, simply inconvenient. Pushing the shocked looks aside or the impression eh might have given, Chun nonchalantly decided to continue with the rest of the self introductions. "From the previous demonstration, I'm strong." He smiled pleasantly, as if that was a daily occurrence. Of course, he doesn't channel Bai Ze all the time. His life would get troublesome if he had such strength day to day. "I'm fast." In a flash, he circled the classroom in less than a second, returning back to his spot calmly.

"This ability is unrestricted to only him, I can channel others as well. For example..." His form returned as a gust of wind seemed to leave him, but another transformation took its place. White ears popped up, and nine silver tails swished from his back. Raising his hand, a ball of crackling fox fire appeared in his palm, suspended in the air. "The kitsune." He commented lightly, his appearance reverting back to his normal one. "As for summoning, well." It only took a small incantation under his breath for a rabbit to appear, looking perfectly normal apart from the fact that it was currently floating around him, circling the boy. Chun reached out easily to pet it, stroking its pristine fur. "As far as channeling goes, I cannot channel two spirits at once. Summoning however, is much easier. Apart from that, I'm perfectly normal. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

♫ Yellow Flicker Beat ♫

---

"Catalina~"
A hopeful lilt to her guardians voice as the curtains were pulled back allowing the sun to flash over her closed eyes. Slowly Cat opened her eyes and sat up to see Miss Wanda ready to go in her usual robes. This petite woman who never spoke above a hushed voice, was the teacher of Combat and Weakness/Strength assessment at Paragon. One of the most respected tutors in the academy and it had been her who took Catalina in, after all no one else would be able to quell her mood swings and her Quirk as well as Miss Wanda. Catalina had never seen Wanda's Quirk but from what the other people in town say, it's unbeatable.

Catalina grudgingly got up and slipped out of her nightgown as Wanda lit her pipe again with a sweet smile. Once Cat was dressed and ready Wanda looked her over and sighed, the child's boobs were practically spilling out of that tiny bikini top she insisted to wear every day. They walked together through the town and up to Paragon.

"Catalina, I have to go to my homeroom, your teacher for that is Mr. Unbreakable, Ron Silvers. Go on up there and I'll see you for my classes later." They hugged and Cat nodded as she proceeded on. She had been here for awhile, but now this was her year to be a part of it all. She trotted up the steps and got into class late. Thankfully though it seemed Mr Silvers and his nephew were speaking and then the students began introductions.

Cat slipped into the back and took the farthest seat she could, better view in her opinion. As she then went to observing with, raucous opinions, all her classmates Quirks. The last one being a Wolf, she grinned watching it.

"Yer a dog! That's a riot!" She laughed from the back, truly amazed. She had hardly seen any Quirks but her own which in comparison to these, was most like Finn's. After the pup sat down she coughed, and Mr. Unbreakable beckoned her up.

Slowly and cooly she strode up to the front of the class, hands in her pockets. She looked over the room of her new classmates and a huge grin came onto her face.

"Yo." She said taking her hands out of her pockets and rubbing them together. "I'm Catalina Vasile, call me Viper." She said as she bit down on her thumb, causing a small ruby bead to form as she softy chanted a spell in Romanian, the tattooing on her chest and stomach lit up crimson. A bright light glowed in between her boobs as she positioned her bleeding hand over the light, a hilt slowly rose from her. She grasped it and pulled forth a sword, her smirk large and proud as she swished it in the air a few times.

"This is the serpent blade, it does many cool things, none of which I'll do here. Not safe. But. . .Yeah." She said as she slid it back into her, her boobs bouncing slightly. She folded her arms and laughed loudly. "I'm so pumped to finally let loose." She stated as she went back to her seat.

It was a generic morning. The sun was making its gradual ascent into the Nevada sky. Birds melodically chirped, denoting that the day had begun its strut yet again. But their hymns fell upon deaf ears, Ender’s to be specific, because they were already clouded by the incessant conversion of sunlight into wieldable energy propagated by the 120 acres of solar panels that comprised Excelsior Valley’s AFB Solar Two. The photovoltaic power station employed the usage of 60,000 solar panels, outfitted with top of the line sun tracking systems to supply a good chunk of the valley with power. Its main beneficiary was of course the air force base that had leased the land it currently resides in, but the two locations, albeit officially delineated, are commonly referred to as of the same element.

How did the boy arrive at an area operated and maintained by the government, one might ask? Well, it’s simple. The plant called to him. Not of its own will, but a myriad of devices in the place were crying out for a helping hand. Just imagine the looks on the guards’ faces when a fourteen year old randomly made an appearance at four o’clock in the morning. And just imagine them attempting to explain their reason for giving him access to their superiors. He was very determined to heed the dissonances’ beckonings for assistance, and once the on-site staff confirmed that they were indeed having issues in multiple loci, Ender instantly shifted gears and went to work. Under his direction all of the errors that cropped up had been remedied, and yet again the young boy, with a tool bag in one hand and a volume of manga in the other came in for the save.

As a reward, he was given the privilege of taking refuge at the power plant whenever he needed. And that’s how we got here, the day of the year many Paragon Academy students refer to as ”The Day”, usually spoken with exclamation or aspiration. Meanwhile, the young hero still in the midst of his slumber recited it with listlessness. But as soon as the analog clock located in the staff lounge four stories below displayed the numbers 6:50, Ender instantly sat up, sending the blanket flying forward. He raked the back of his head and stretched out, finally coming to the realization that he had fell asleep on one of the many main complex’s catwalks. The grated flooring wasn’t the most comfortable surface, but the boy was sufficed with his choosing. ”Why’sh it sho shunny…” He managed to sluggishly say to nobody in particular. Half-opened eyes autonomously surveyed their surroundings and came to the conclusion that all was well.

All of a sudden, his lids flew wide open, as if Ender had just watched the worst atrocity at the world’s disposal, besides axeing amazing series. ”OH MY KUUDERES I’M GOING TO BE LATE” He abruptly switched into overdrive and grabbed all of his belongings, then made his way for the showers located four floors down. At a cursory pace, Ender began his descent through the web of catwalks, but out of the blue stopped on a time. ”Wait… where’d I leave it.” Rather than trying to delve into his memories, the boy instead closed his eyes and took in all of stimulus in his vicinity. Discerning one item among over 60,000 devices was already an arduous challenge, but for the young hero, it was a process as smooth and fluent as cutting butter. After a few moments, he finally homed in on the object and directed his gaze in its direction. The Clockwork Cannon was located on the catwalk he had managed to solicit. It was probably forgotten late last night during a calibration session. Without moving a muscle, Ender took control of his weapon and levitated it above the railing. It then flew down towards him and came to a complete halt just before it was going to collide with its user. He swiftly toted the cannon by its shoulder strap and made a beeline for the showers.

”I’m heading out, will be back to help out this weekend!” Ender called into the staff lounge and was met by a chorus of acknowledgements and stay wells as a response. He had a lot of ground to cover to even get to the entrance of the power plant, and subsequently the air force base’s gate. Stamina wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but the invigorating feeling of energy coursing through jet engines was enough to get him to his destination. From there he caught a bus headed for the main city. Luckily he was the only passenger at the time, so his cannon was given its own row.

Now this is when things got difficult. Instantly the noise increased upon entering the city. As soon as he got off the bus and gave his thanks to the driver, Ender instinctively slipped on his headphones. Music was one of his main sources of energy utilized to get him through the day. Walking was already enough for the tinkerer, but now he also had to navigate his way through the flow of pedestrians. Luckily due to his foresight he had alotted enough time for him to be punctual. That was the case, until Ender found himself being drawn through the doors of a bookstore. ”Pretty sure the ib Omnibus was released recently. I should have enough time I think....”

Like a beam of light, Ender bolted out of the establishment with an expression of visible distraught clearly written on his face. ”Craaaaaaap. I bought way too much! The moe was too stronk!” Time was of the essence, and due to his inability to remain on track, he was now running against the clock. He gritted his teeth as he evaluated the current situation, and soon drew the conclusion that there was no way he would arrive on time by running. ”Well, it’s now or never! Clockwork Cannon, melee mode!” He reached behind him to press a button next to the weapon’s trigger. All sixteen clocks shifted into six o’clock position and just like that, the muzzle collapsed into a triangle. Without a moment to spare he effortlessly swung the cannon around to the ground and forced it to float. The student planted both of his feet on its exterior and used the strap in place of reins. Now the cannon had been repurposed as a means of transportation. Innovative. ”Alright players, start your engines! Aaaaaaaand, go!” The cannon jerked forward and matched the speed of the cars beside him. Since it was impossible to steer through citizens and illegal to drive on the main street, he instead sped through the small cut of asphalt between the two. Heads instead swiveled and watched in awe as the kid flew by.

It soon became evident that taking the roads wasn’t going to work either. This was probably going to have some adverse effects, but Ender was out of options. His improvised ride suddenly ascended and scaled the buildings. For a moment, the boy was entranced by the morning sun. A near collision with a flock of birds sucked him back to reality. He could already feel his stomach beginning to churn after directing the movement of the cannon for so long. ”Running...low...on...charge.”

Battery… empty.” Ender managed to croak before falling through the doorway to the classroom, promptly crushed by his weapon. Most of the members of class A-4 were already present. A majority of his classmates were immersed in their own little conversations, most revolving around fairly common topics. If he didn’t spend an extra two minutes being enchanted by the mechanics of the force field, he would have had more breathing room. But luckily the homeroom teacher had yet to make his arrival. Taking the coincidence as a gift from the game developers up above, he went from the doorway to his desk in the blink of an eye, and set his weapon against his seat. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he stretched out across his desk, lost to exhaustion.

Ender perked up when a… unique canine pawed its way into the classroom and instantly fixated itself on student with white locks. His nose picked up the all too familiar smell of alcohol lurking into the classroom. Following it was a burly man built strong enough to withstand a nuclear warhead. ”WOOOOOOOAH! FLUFFY PUPPY!!!. S+!” He thought with overflowing excitement, as displayed by his ecstatic expression. The man introduced himself as Ron Silver, preferably designated as Mr. Unbreakable, or as Ender soon found out, Finn’s uncle. The teacher held the titles of homeroom, Quirk Theory and Applications teacher. Quite a lot for a sole person to take on, but despite his name, the man was probably quite flexible.

Following their teacher’s command, Ender’s classmates began their introductions and showcased their abilities. Although the boy was captivated by each student’s unique abilities and how picky his was in contrast, his mind was mostly focusing on narrowing down compatible classmates. Perhaps the guy’s declaration rubbed him the wrong way, but the tinkerer already felt a tinge of animosity for Mr Unbreakable’s nephew. ”My protag-ometer is going off…” He thought as the next classmate began her introduction. ”Oooooooh, I like her character archetype. I’m feeling a fiery personality, a burning sense of justice.” In case it wasn’t obvious, Ender had enough foresight to deduce that Ange’s ability. The two orbs of vibrant light filled both of his eyes. She’s probably pretty capable at CQC as well as mid-range combat. Next up was Lori, who demonstrated her ability by having a fellow classmate fling a knife at her. It was then deflected by an invisible force. ”Oooooooh, a defensive player. Gonna go off on a limb here and guess she couldn’t push her ability to its fullest extent due to the complications of indoors… and us! Yay, a good samaritan!”

Now the next one was pretty scary. Damon, or as he proclaimed himself accurately, Eraser had the quirk to do as his hero name implied. After him a few other students systematically displayed their quirks, a couple even lightly criticized the instructor’s judgement. Meanwhile, Ender was practically fanboying over every character that was shown.”I think I’m gonna have a nosebleed....” Castle was pretty interesting. Every fulfilled class needed a green thumb, and she flawlessly played the part. The next student turned out to be a super duper cuddly rabbit- summoner. Ender had to intensely focus on the students as opposed to the spirit currently circling him. The boy had to hold back a squeal when the student following Chun, Esther, suddenly transformed her stature and body to emulate that of a wolf. ”...I’m seriously gonna have a nosebleed.” He murmured as he cuffed his hands over his nose. Too. Much. Fluffy. Catalina then took her spot under the spotlight, and after some plot development, brandished her blade before the whole class. After she wrapped things up, the classroom fell silent.

The boy soon realized that it was his turn and curtly stood up from his seat. Unfortunately, the back of his head set a collision course with his cannon and he collapsed back onto his seat. ”Owiiiie” He began to childishly wail while rubbing the crash site. The boy sniffled as he got back and finally delved into his introduction. ”Heyo! Pleased to meet you all, and may I say, I’m blown away by all of your quirks! Wish mine was as nifty…” He trailed off before getting back on track, perking up into his usual jollity demeanor, ”Oh, right! My name’s Ender Vesti, hero name is Voltaic, but feel free to call me by what you like!!!” The boy energetically announced with a (*≧▽≦) expression clear on his whilst waving his hands. ”My quirk’s kind of a gray zone. By definition, it’s an emitter type. Hm, lemme see… Hey, you! Student three seats down and two over, you have a calculator, right?” His jutted finger fell upon the student in mention, who was surprised that Ender even knew of this fact. He awkwardly sifted through the contents of the bag and produced his calculator. ”Alright… Ah, there we go!”

Suddenly the calculator turned on by its own free will displayed the numbers 07734. The student, already perplexed enough, turned it over and read aloud ”hELLO… Oi, do you have the ability to control calculators?!”

Ender smirked at the query, ”Close, but no combo! Nice guess tertiary character whose sole purpose is to flesh out this single panel! Anyways, to give you all the scoop, I diverted the flow of electricity to specific LEDs to create those numbers. But cool thing is, my quirk is a two-part system!” He took a moment to catch his breath before continuing on, making sure to make eye contact with his classmates, ”What I meant by gray zone is that my quirk can also be categorized as a mutant type, but its constant effect is not visible on the physical plane. I can sense, or rather “hear” electronics and the coursing of energy through them. Your cellular devices, the vending machine down the hall, the cars passing by outside of the academy. All of it is blaring at all volumes. In laymen’s terms, I have long forgotten the definition of “complete silence” after the manifestation of my quirk. But I've gotten used to it.” As if completely unaware of the gravity of his state of affairs, the boy still spoke with his iconic youthful smile. He then concluded his introduction and took his seat, wishing everybody a class year of good luck.