Fire. The element of emotions. A source of comfort. But never forget! Touch the fire, you're gonna get burned. But does the same rules apply if the flames burn hotter than the sun? Owners of fire-based semblances have mixed opinions about their semblances. Some loved their semblance, some hated it. But not Nova Etherion. She both loved and feared her semblance. Her reason for fearing her semblance, dubbed Supernova by literally everyone, was her lack of true control over it. After all, having the power to unleash flames with the heat and energy to that of an exploding star can be terrifying, especially when you can't truly control it. Very few people saw Nova for who she really was, the girl with an unstable semblance who just wants to be accepted. Most people however only saw a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any second. Her years on the streets were not helping her gain control over her flames, they only added fuel for the fire, making her semblance more and more unstable. Causing her to accidentally set buildings ablaze during emotional outbursts on multiple occasions.
It wasn't until she was taken in by Professor Goodwitch at the age of seven, that her inferno died down slightly. Professor Goodwitch, or Glynda as Nova knew her, found Nova in an alleyway near a recently burned down building, crying. The building had been an orphanage, but not just any orphanage, it was the cruelest orphanage in all of Vale. From what Glynda managed to learn, some kids had been bullying Nova just outside the building, and managed to make her cry, and due to the great amount of emotional stress, made her turn supernova. Scorching the entire orphanage and some of the nearby buildings in the process. With people still inside. Not that she knew until only ash remained. Making a decision to adopt her in order to not only give her the love and home she desperately needed, but also to teach her how to control her semblance. That was ten years ago, but it the happiest ten years of Novas life, so far. With a new year approaching at Beacon, and finally being old enough to enroll at Beacon directly (having Glynda as an adoptive parent has its advantages), Nova is ready to take Beacon by storm. And hopefully not a firestorm.
B
Nova was feeling very nervous about meeting her soon-to-be classmates. Well, nervous doesn't exactly cut it. Nova felt like she was gonna explode out of all the stress. Not literally explode, but more like needing to blow off some steam, or in her case, blast something. Sadly, to her annoyance, the initiation was tomorrow, meaning that she needed some other way to make sure that she didn't explode. There was a rumor surrounding Beacon, which Nova herself was partially responsible for making. The souls of failed initiates haunted the school grounds in the form of will-o-wisps, which in actuality was just fireballs created by Nova. And she knew for sure that some would sneak out in order to try and find one. Which Nova let very few do. Something that many people were curious about was the burn marks that suspiciously looked like footprints. Someone who decided to follow them was Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. They eventually found the source, Nova. Nova had a bad habit of burning the ground, resulting in her footprints being burned in the ground.
Ruby and Yang were greeted by the smell of ash and the sound of a rock song from a girl's headphones. Yang recognized the song, and decided to say hello to the girl by singing along with the lyrics.
"While we burn it to the ground tonight!" sang Yang, decently, catching the girls attention in the process. The girl looked at Yang with a "What-do-you-want?"-expression on her face. "Nice song." Before she could say anything more, the next song started playing. It was a song that Yang knew very well, as she tended to listen to it very often. The song was her favorite, I Burn. "I'll say this now, you have a good taste when it comes to music. Anyway, I'm Yang. Yang Xiao Long. And you are?"
"Nova. Nova Etherion. Beacon's resident pyromancer, guaranteed a spot in Beacon regardless on weather or not I complete the initiation. And to the music comment, thanks." said Nova. "And as much I'd like to just stand here and talk, don't we have an opening ceremony to get to?" With that, they left.
B
After the ceremony the crowd had mixed opinions and reactions. Most expressions were those of confusion. Nova on the other hand had an expression of amusement.
"I've heard the exact same speech for six years and I still can't believe how hard it is for most people to figure out that the whole point of the speech is a cryptic "Get Ready." thought Nova to herself. Glynda then told everyone to gather in the ballroom for the night, with emphasis on everyone, which included Nova.
After gathering in the ballroom with the rest of the students, Nova decided to read a manga next to a raven haired girl with a bow, who was reading a book. The raven haired girl seemed to have noticed Nova sitting next to her, and her question confirmed how she noticed Nova.
"Do you smell something burning or is it just me?" asked the girl. And sure enough, there was something burning, specifically Novas non-fireproof socks. Being prepared for something like this, Nova grabbed a cooking pot with a lid, and put her socks in it. "Fire-based semblance?"
"Yeah. One of the most unstable around. Literally everyone I know and myself call it, Supernova. Fitting if I say so myself. I'm Nova, Nova Etherion by the way. What you're reading?" asked Nova, hoping to get to know the girl.
"Are you referring to my book?" asked the girl, earning a nod from Nova. "It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body. I can see that you're reading a manga. Mind telling what it's about? I'm Blake by the way. Blake Belladonna."
"Well Blake, it's about a pair of siblings who gets transported to a world where everything is settled through games. Even politics. I have a subscription on this one and a few other series that I like. Anyway, good night Blake, hope we'll be part of the same batch of initiates."
"Me too. Good night Nova." said Blake. And with that they returned to their sleeping bags and went to sleep.
A/N: Hi everyone and welcome to a new RWBY-story, Playing with a Supernova. As you might have guessed, the main character of this story is Nova Etherion. Her semblance is called Supernova. She's 17 by the time this story plays out. Her semblance, Supernova, is very similar to Cinders semblance but is far more (for lack of a better word) volatile. The main sources of inspiration for Novas character was (loosely) Oliver Twist and Liz from Dark Horse Comics, Hellboy/Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense-series.