So here's to new beginnings, And here's to breaking free


Chapter One

There was something awe inspiring about standing in the building were thousands before me learnt to fight and defend Xandar, and the rest of the galaxy. Also that these men and women fought alongside the greatest heroes of all; the Guardians of the Galaxy. Hopefully, one day I could be half the warrior Gamora is. If I achieve that, I'll consider this experience a win.

The boy that stood next to me, Sam, was rocking back and forth on his heels. He wore a burnt orange short sleeved shirt and light blue distressed jeans. On his feet were high tops, converse all-stars, red in colour. They were much like mine however mine were lemon yellow in colour. From his lips he whistled a familiar tune. I want you back, Jackson 5. I grinned at his song choice, old school. Not what I expected from someone that looked about ten hundred times cooler than me. Mentally I began singing along to the song in my head.

"I am honoured to present to you, your mentor for the process of this year, Denarian Dey," Nova Prime introduced our mentor.

Through the glass revolve door came a man standing taller than most in the room. His hair was a deep brown, in tight curls at the top of his head. His nose was rather large and somewhat resembled that of a strawberry. His eyes were an olive green and a smile a set upon his face. He wore the traditional royal blue jacket, his ranking on his shoulder. Over this jacket was the body armour, metallic blue with glowing yellow circles connected by lines to symbolise his ranking. From the fact there was three circles I assumed he was highly ranked. He was an Denarian after all.

"Hello students of Nova Academy, it is my greatest pleasure to be working with you this year. I'm honoured to be standing here in front of you today. I know you shall not only grow physically but mentally as well. From nervous beginners you shall become fully fledged warriors, ready to defend the honour of Xandar and its loyal people," he spoke with the same eloquence of Nova Prime but his accent still held that American twang that reminded me of holidays with my dad and Zoë.

I nodded to what he said taking in every word that seeped from his lips. However long winded and dull it may be. I heard the fake snoring coming from my left, I turned to see Sam. His eyes drooping and from his lips came a grumbling snore. I rolled my eyes disgusted by how disrespectful he was being, especially on the first day. Other mumbles of disapproval came from my peers, I was glad to see I was not the only one who held such viewpoints close to my heart. I work incredibly hard to be here, I was not going to let the experience be destroyed by some foolish adolescent looking for a laugh.

I did not come here to make friends.

A young man stood next to me, he was incredibly tall, probably about 6'3. He had a pale blue complexion, deep violet eyes. On his face he had the distinctive black war paint of the Kree, under his large purple eyes. His head was bald, no parts of his body were blemished by hair, spots or scars. His body was toned and muscular. Through his black shirt I could see the rippling of his muscles. His muscular frame commanded attention and it sure as hell got it. His wide lats only added to his perfect V shaped figure and slender torso. He looked like a body builder. A blue, Kree body builder.

He must have noticed me staring at him because he turned to look at me. His violet eyes were filled with a sadness, like a man who had lost everything. We've all lost someone along the way, that what gives us the strength to do the right thing.

"I am Falzon, but you fair maiden may call me Fal. Who may you be?" he addressed me with a formality I thought was long dead. He was Kree though.

"I'm Liberty, but you may call me Libby oh wise Kree warrior," I giggled.

He nodded solemnly, bowing slightly. As if I were royalty of some sort. Last time I checked I was just a regular teenage human pretending she had some place here in Xandar. Which I didn't. I stood out like a goth at a pep rally. He turned back to the attention of Denarian Dey, as did I.

"As some of you may not know, Nova Academy is a boarding school. While you are welcome to go home to your families each night it is suggested you do stay for the best experience possible. This is obviously your home if you come from broken homes or traumatic pasts. We will do the best to build you up and keep you from harm's way. I am your mentor, if you are worried or need help do not hesitate to ask me," he smiled earnestly.

I had decided I had taken a liking to Denarian Dey. While he was rather bumbling and didn't command as much respect as Nova Prime, he had a caring aura about him. I suspected he was a father, he just had the essence about him. If I did have a problem he would be the first person I would address the situation to.

"Later in the year, you are to be visited by past students and the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves," he told us.

A mumble of approval filled the room. A few whoops and cheers escalated into a full blown round of applause. We were suddenly silenced by Nova Prime. After being hushed into silence we carried on listening to our mentor. But while he was talking my thoughts drifted else were.

Tall. Curly ginger locks and big green dreamy eyes. Awesome sense of style. That ravanger leather jacket really worked for him. Funny, a great leader, and hero. I of course was thinking of Star Lord. My favourite of all the Guardians by far. If I had to marry someone. Anyone to insure the fate of the galaxy rested intact I wouldn't even have to blink to choose. I would choose Star Lord. I mean c'mon I can't be the only one who thinks he's outrageously hot, can I?

"Miss Williams, are you listening?" Denarian Dey questioned me.

Instantly I snapped back to reality. I saluted him to indicate I was listening and not day dreaming about the hottest guy in the galaxy, Star Lord. I heard the sniggers coming from Sam. I turned to look at him, giving him a sharp stare. I hissed at him until he silenced himself. That boy was a jerk.

Frankly, I much preferred Fal. He was quiet reserved but nice and not always laughing at me. If I had to pick a partner, I'd definitely pick him. Sam was conceited, obnoxious and annoying. He just wanted to grab people's attention. I came here to learn and further myself as a person. He came here to make friends and party, we obviously, clashed. I was a stick in the mud and he was the life of the party.

"If you care to follow me, I shall show you to your chambers," he instructed us.


We turned a corner, coming to what looked like the love child of a tube and a lift. I was ushered into the tube and the button was pushed. Before I even had a chance to protest I was accelerated into the sky. It felt as if gravity had given up on me and the only thing keeping me upright was the power and force of the wind that pushed me upwards. It was like flying. I tempted to lift my hands above my head and scream as if I was on a rollercoaster. Suddenly the force of airstream deceased and I was shoved out of the tube. I stumbled from the lift, falling flat on my face. Dragging my body from the floor, I dusted down my clothes with my hands.

"Stupid space aged technology," I cursed.

I heard a chuckle coming from behind me, I turned on my heel expecting to see Sam but it wasn't. A young girl stood in front of me, no taller than five foot at the most. Her skin was a light purple, her hair shoulder length white and flowing. She wore dark blue wrap dress with blue flats on her feet. She had two eyes in the normal sockets, a vivid blue by on her forehead was a third eye. She blinked, her third eye blinking as well. I opened my mouth to say something but no words came. She had three eyes!

"It is the third eye is it not?" she questioned.

I nodded sheepishly, still spellbound by the sight of a third eye set in the middle of her forehead. It was just immense. I'm pretty sure my mum told me about this race, Pomlar. They were the sister race of the humans. While we humans were more technologically advanced they had furthered themselves in medicines. From what I recalled, they were harmless.

"Newna Rinow," she introduced herself.

She placed her hand out, her fingers were long and dainty much like her. I shook her hand with a firmness, shortly after shaking her hand I worried I did so with too much force and authority.

"Liberty Williams," I smiled.

Once again we were greeted by the familiar sight of Denerian Dey. We took several turns, left, right and right again. We were met with the sight of a large blue door. It had golden circular door knobs and a key pad to the left of the door. He punched the number combination of 1914, the start of the war with the Kree. Also the start of the First World War. What a coincidence we both started wars at the same time. The large doors flung open automatically.

The walls were painted a pale, pastel blue. The floor was marble and shone from the lighting, hanging from the ceiling. The room seemed to be divided, bunk beds with pale blue duvets and bunk bed with pale pink duvets. Clearly the colouring showed were the different genders designated areas were. A main head pillow sat at the end of the bed. Around the edge was serval throw pillows, probably meant to bring some sort of comfort to the room. The top bunk had safety rails around the wooden frame. To stop us falling out of bed while we slept. The lower bed had a privacy curtain, which could be opened or closed for your preference.

At the back of the room there were two large doors, again with a pad to the left of them. This time it was not a key pad. I wondered what the purpose of these large doors were. Did Nova have some personal vendetta to put key pads were ever it be possible?

"If you look to the back of the room, these are the electronic closets. You may have heard of walk in wardrobes but these are a hundred times better," he explained.

He walked towards the wardrobe, the rest of us hot on his heels. He tapped various commands into the pad. From readying over his shoulder, I saw he typed in smart casual. My personal preference in clothing. A whirr and grumble came from the wardrobe. The door opened and produced from inside the wardrobe was a white shirt, dinner jacket, dark blue demin jeans and brown boat shoes to match. I smirked. It was fantastic, this was my new favourite thing.

"Ta da," he exclaimed.

Murmurs of approval and excitement flowed through the crowd of excitable teenagers. This was probably the coolest thing we'd ever seen. Apart from the three suns in the vibrant blue sky of Xandar at noon. Now that was spell bounding. One girl walked towards the front of the crowd, to try out the technology. This girl was tall with a slender figure, milky white skin and long black hair in a fish tail side plait. In the mists of her black hair were indigo and violet highlights. She typed something into the keypad and with the same whirr and grumble her desired clothes appeared from the wardrobe. It was an indigo dress with violet lining at the sleeves and long black boots. This girl simply wore rags, she must be from one of those broken homes Dey was speaking of earlier. She pulled the clothes from the hanger and grasped the boots in her hands. She walked out of the room, to change in the en suite bathroom, through the arch way in the wall.

"Hey, who wants to go watch that sexy Jotun get changed?" someone jeered.

I was instantly infuriated by whoever said such a thing. I turned around on my heel to look at whoever would say such a vulgar thing. A boy with an athletic build, a golden tan, and platinum blonde hair falling to his shoulders. I knew him almost instantly. He was the lead singer of the flop band Light Yearz. They were a boy band full of young, attractive men trying to make money off desperate lovesick preteens. They weren't my music preference really, I preferred seventies stuff and rock. ZaRoon, I think it was. It had been so long since their break up I could barely remember. What on Terra was a pop star doing in a military grade school for people who want to fight to protect the innocent. Not a school for players who want to rip off teenage girls. If that was a school, I'd get it closed down.

"Oi, back off you creep," I piped up.

He walked towards me, staring me down with his amber eyes. He flicked his hair out of his face and sneered at me. He placed his hand on his hip, laughing. I crossed my arms across my chest, getting ready to stand my ground.

"And you are exactly?" he spat.

"Someone you don't wanna mess with," I replied.

Another burst of laughter escaped his lips. He pushed me back, as if to challenge me or something. I growled under my breath, ready to attack him. But before I could Falzon, grabbed me around the waist to stop me from scratching his eyes out completely.

"That is enough of that, both of you. ZaRoon, you shall not address any of women like this or you will be suspended. Please leave Miss Wishmia alone. Liberty, please refrain from attacking other students," Denerian Dey yelled at us.

I nodded, ashamed of what I had done. Falzon undid his grasp around me. My eyes were downcast, not wanting anyone to see the shame in my eyes. ZaRoon simply chuckled in response, running his fingers through his golden locks.

"Is it just me or is it getting awkward in here?" a young girl commented.

This girl had orangey ginger curls framing her pale face. Deep hazel eyes, with large framed black glasses. Across her face were loads of freckles, mostly on her cheeks and her nose. This little girl wore demin shorts, and a plain white t shirt. Her shoes were scuffed black converses. It appeared as if she was from Terra. It gave me some comfort to know I wasn't the only human in the whole program. Later, I made a mental note to befriend her.

Miss Wishmia walked back into the room, I made an open gesture to stand in front of her, as if to protect her from the glare of ZaRoon. She seemed grateful for the gesture. Her name was Akira and we were both seventeen. I smiled, at least I had two friends in this thing. Akira and Falzon. I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to be a popular person in this school. Popularity was never one of my strong points.

"Now, for the sleeping arrangements. You've been put into pairs but there may be room for adjustment later on in the academic year," Dey explained.

"Xander Knight and Jamie Johnson," Dey called.

Xander was a young boy with pale white skin, vibrant blue eyes and blue hair that was spiked up into a quiff. Jamie was a boy with tanned skin, deep brown eyes and spikey black hair. His face gave him a cute quality that made him seem young than he was. On the back of his hand was a black water symbol. That must mean he is of Hebrarian descent. The two boys wondered off to the first bunk bed.

"Liberty Williams and Terra Arrows," Dey hollered.

Terra had a mass of brown curls, with blonde highlights running through it. Her eyes were sapphire blue in colour. She was a lot shorter than I was and she wore a sky blue shirt and demin trousers to her knees. We walked over to one of the bunk beds. She too had a symbol on the back of her hand, but hers was a flame.

"I call top bunk!" she cried with excitement, her accent resembled somewhat of an American country girl.

I couldn't care less but I allowed her to clamber up the ladder to sit on the top bunk. She swung her legs over the side of the bed swinging her long legs back and forth. I decided, I liked Terra.

"Falzon and Adriano De Luca," he announced.

Falzon nodded curtly, striding over to the bed, not waiting for the arrival of Adriano. Adriano was standing tall at six foot. His build was that of a swimmer, athletic but not overly muscular. His silver hair was styled into an undercut pompadour, slicked back out of his face. His eyes, hair and skin were all silver in colour. He was definitely striking.

"Akira and Newna," he declared.

Akira shuffled over to the bed and Newna was hot on heels. Neither of them made conversation or eye contact. I couldn't exactly a great friendship blooming between them.

"Sam Alexander and ZaRoon," he called.

Sam muttered something about being paired with the loser. I chuckled in response. He heard, turning to me he winked. I blushed a beetroot colour, hiding my face behind the frame of the bed. ZaRoon looked annoyed at the person he was paired with, it seemed as if those two hated each other almost automatically.

"Reagan Katschen and Ceceus Fendottir," he said.

Reagan skipped over the bed, climbing up the ladder, jumping onto the bed she already claimed to be hers. Ceceus simply chuckled in response to the childish claiming Reagan was practising. I guessed Reagan only just turned fifteen and Ceceus was about nineteen. Ceceus had light blue eyes which darkened around the rim. Her hair was black and flowing, it fell to the middle of her back, settling quiet comfortably there.

"In the sideboard you will find a cellular phone which you can use to contact friends and family with. Also in a case of an emergency you can contact the base for immediate response. I will leave you to settle in," he said, before briskly making an exit.

I opened the to the side board, finding the phone with my name on the back. It was almost a light as a piece of paper and on opening the lock screen you could select the colour of the case for your phone to be in. I chose a lilac colour, it was a simple pastel shade. It reminded me of violets in the English countryside. A simpler times when New York hadn't been invaded by Loki and his aliens. When Thor didn't come to save Greenwich from destruction. And when mention of a group of space crime fighting policemen were no existence. When my mother was simply in New Zealand on a long business trip. Well that was a big fat lie wasn't it dad? I swiped my finger across the various apps. There were games, cameras, photo editors, music players, access to the internet. The one that caught my eye was the communication app. I pressed on the icon of the smiley face and waited for it to load. Within seconds a list of friends and family appeared. My mum, dad and sister were the first loaded onto it. A friend request appeared on my screen, from Terra. I chuckled, accepting it quickly. I also sent friend requests to Falzon, Akira and Reagan. I was tempted to send one to Sam but decided against it. He would just annoy me.

I clicked on the icon of my sister. Her picture was of her next to the Eiffel Tower. A large mint choc chip ice cream in one hand and the peace sign on the other. Her black hair faded into a light orange, almost like strawberry blonde. She had three ear piercing on each ear. She wore a deep red mini skirt and a white vest top. She was curvy and a lot sexier than I could ever be. The worst thing of all, she's fifteen and she has a boyfriend. I've never even kissed a guy. I pressed the option of face time. It had been already a month since I last saw her. I had to come a month early to Xandar to complete the initiation ceremony. After three rings she picked up. Her green eyes filled with tears and she screamed down the phone.

"Hey little sis, how's Earth?" I joked.

A little squeal came from her deep red lips. What was it with her and wearing excess amounts of red lipstick. It must be that Taylor Swift influence on her. Taylor Swift was Zoë's idol. She wanted to be just like her when she grew up. She even bought a pair of sunglasses that Taylor once wore of Amazon, just so she could be closer to the, and I quote, greatest woman in the history of the world. She isn't exactly Rosa Parks, Emmeline Pankhurst, Florence Nightingale or Mary Seacole. Some of my idols. Along with Gamora, of course. Not that Zoë knew who Gamora was.

"It's not the same without you!" she moaned. "How's mummy? Does she miss me and daddy?" she questioned.

I nodded, grinning. I loved how she still called our parents mummy and daddy. She may have a boyfriend and be extremely grown up but deep down she was still a little girl who liked unicorns and sparkly stickers. Not that she would ever let her boyfriend Sean know.

"I can't believe we aren't gonna have Christmas together! The Trafalgar Square Christmas eve party won't be the same without you," she complained.

I completely forgot about Christmas. I loved Xandar, but it wasn't home. Christmas wouldn't be the same. Where else in the world would I watch home alone, eat figgy pudding till my stomach ached and sing carols until the neighbours told us to can in. I really, really wanted to go home. Maybe I wasn't so cut out for this life after all.

"Maybe I can come home for Christmas?" I reasoned.

Her eyes sparkled with glee, she nodded enthusiastically. I settled for that, I'm sure if I worked extra hard Dey would let me go home for Christmas. He didn't seem like an unreasonable man.

"Is dad home?" I inquired.

She shook her head, and my heart sank. I really wanted to see my dad. Truth be told I was a real daddy's girl. I think I might be suffering from homesickness. I wonder if I could be inoculated for that.

"He's working a late one again, he misses you. He's thrown himself back into work to compensate for losing you," she told me.

The bubble of guilt sitting in the pit of my stomach grew even larger. I felt bad for leaving in the first place but this news made me feel even worse.

"Oh, okay. Speak soon Zo," I mumbled.

"See ya Libby!" she grinned, before signing out.

I let a sigh out, I didn't even know I was holding in. I really did miss the comforts and normality of Earth.

The doors were pushed open and in ran a young boy. He was tall at 6'5 and toned almost as much as Falzon. His skin is tanned and along his cheekbones and down in a curving, sloping manner there are dark red glowing lines. His platinum blond hair was cropped short and slightly spiked on top. His big, wide childlike eyes were a watery silver. He wore a white tank top, showing off his rippling muscles and a pair of dark blue jeans. I pulled myself up of my bed to go greet him.

"Hey, are you a new student?" I asked.

He nodded, his eyes glistening with an excitement and joy that suited with the childlike grin he wore on his face.

"Yeah, Calbane Het-Heru but you misuses can call me Cal," he waggled his eyebrows.

He took my hand in his, placing a soft and gentle kiss on the back of my hand. I blushed red, again. I opened my mouth to say something but the words got caught in my mouth, I just took my hand back curtly.

"Libby," I finally said.

He smiled a warm smile, which seemed to melt me like butter on a slice of toast.

"Well Libby, it's been great to meet you," he stated.

A lose strand of hair fell into my face, and in one quick movement he swiped the hair out of my eye line, pushing it behind my ear. He walked off to claim another bunk bed and I stood in the middle of the room, completely aloof.

When I eventually decided to drag my feet from the floor, I flopped down on the bunk. I noticed I had got a notification. I opened the message from Reagan it said.

"You like him."

I scowled at the message from the little girl.

"Shut it." I replied

I rest my head on the pillow, my arm underneath it. I exhaled deeply. Okay, maybe this school wasn't so bad after all.


Hey! For this story I'll be doing the author's note at the bottom, new thing for me :)

I hoped you liked this second chapter and the start to the training shall begin soon! I have got five girls and six guys!

What did you think of this chapter? Whose your favourite character, what will lie in store for these students, does Liberty fancy Cal, will I ever stop asking questions?!

Hopefully I shall return next weekend!

Boys: Falzon, Xander Knight, ZaRoon, Jamie Leo Johnson, Adriano Norrin De Luca, Calbane Het-Heru, Sam Alexander

Girls: Terra Roz Arrows, Newna Rinow, Akira Wishmia, Reagan Katschen, Ceceus Feline Fendottir, Liberty Williams

I have a poll on my profile, please cast your votes

~I've been Jotunheim Storm~

Thanks xoxo