A/N: Back again. Really appreciate everyone who read the first chapter, and a big thank you for those who took the time to review it - feel free to keep reviewing ;)

So this chapter is more about understanding who Kira is and her assignment. Also from here on, Storm Hawk fans may recognise some direct/altered quotes from the series.

I do not own Storm Hawks (unfortunately).

I unlocked the wooden door which swung open with a drawn-out groan.

"Fantastic," I muttered.

Despite the fact that the room looked like a scary old attic, there was no dust in sight. The floorboards were worn smooth from decades of use and the metal bed reminded me of something from the fifties. Nothing in the room looked new, let alone purchased this century.

Someone had dumped my suitcase at the end of the bed. I dropped the file on the bed and crouched to shuffle through my case. It carried only clothes and essential items. Nothing personal. I found my scissors, moved over to a full-length mirror in the corner of the room, and retied my hair on top of my head before raising the scissors. I held the ponytail up straight into the air, calculating how far up I'd need to cut to make the hair chin-length.

Steeling myself, I put the hair between the blades and snipped. Blond hair fell around my face, slightly longer than expected. I was no hairdresser, but somehow I'd done it. I was trimming the rough edges when there was a knock on the door.

I stiffened. Creed hadn't mentioned anyone checking up on me. I stuffed the scissors and cut ponytail into my suitcase. I wiped my hands on my jeans as I approached the door.

"Who's there?" I called.

A pause. "The ridiculously handsome guy you met on a staircase."

I blanched. "How'd you find me?"

"I saw you so I followed you. Can you open the door so I can talk to your face, sweetheart?"

I cracked open the door a fraction. "Are you stalking me?"

He laughed. "Nope. I just wanted to welcome you to Atmos. Officially, I mean."

I opened the door a bit more. "The Headmaster's already welcomed me officially, so you can go."

His red eyes widened. "What happened to your hair?"

"What do you think happened? I cut it."

I pulled back when he reached for my hair.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry. I should introduce myself. I'm Dark Ace."

"Unusual name."

"It's a nickname. Everyone has one here, and I imagine you will, too."

"Huh. I'm Jacklyn."

"Pleasure to meet you. Since you're new, allow me to give you some advice: This Academy is not for the weak-hearted. Your grades are determined by skill, and teachers don't accept bribes or blackmail." He smirked at that. "Trust me, I've tried."

I opened the door fully and leaned against the doorframe. "And what about the students?"

His smirk faded. "What about the students?"

"Can they be bribed and blackmailed?"

A smile crept onto his face. "I like you already. And the answer is yes, for most of them."

"Good," I said, and slammed the door in his face. I waited for his departing footsteps before returning to the file on my bed. I needed to be familiar with this assignment by tomorrow morning, giving me less than twenty-four hours to become Jacklyn, the new Atmos Defence Academy student. More than enough time.

One of the hardest decisions was choosing which fighting skill to be good at. Hand-to-hand combat was my favourite but I felt that Jacklyn the student would rather a weapon other than her own body. Firearms felt like the easy option, so I settled on blades: knives, daggers, swords, throwing knives... the whole lot. But how good should I be? How much attention would Jacklyn catch if she was a master at it?

I picked out my hairbrush and started flipping it in my hand, relying on muscle memory to do the work for me. It had been a while since I'd used a blade for defence. Probably not since... Denmark.

God damn it, why did Gabriel have to bring up that place again? I threw the brush spinning at the furthest wall. It hit the wood on its head, and the sound shot back at me.

I frowned. It sounded... hollow?

I approached the wall and tapped in different places. It was hollow all right. But the shape of the space behind the wall corresponded to the shape of a fireplace. Interesting.

I spent my free time getting into character, studying, and training. While the Academy focused on skills generally found in bodyguards, it was still a school for thirteen to seventeen year olds. I had to take classes like science, languages, and history. Though to be fair, science also taught about poisons and cures, pressure points on the human body, smoke bombs and deadly bombs – you have to know how a bomb is built to safely disarm it.

While the whole purpose of the school was to produce the best bodyguards and secret agents, not everyone graduated with that possibility in their future. Atmos Defence could help you get that little bit further, but everything was up to you and your determination.

Since Headmaster Creed is my aunt, I was a special case. In a school full of teenagers, I'd graduated when I was eleven. I had a job as a bodyguard within a year. I was certain that it had been a joke – who'd want a twelve year-old to protect them? But it had been the daughter of a very powerful man who asked me. I accepted and took on the role of her newly adopted daughter.

I followed her around everywhere. She took me shopping and bought me ice cream. It was good. But then her father found out and sent someone to test my skills.

I sent him back in a body bag.

I dropped my eyes to the file again. Still a better memory than Denmark, I thought grimly.

I flipped to the assignment details. A tip from an unknown source stated that a deadly tornado was brewing within the Academy. Vague, but any threat against the Academy was taken seriously until it was solved. Clearly this one was taking a bit longer to do so.

A couple of odd clues were noted beneath the tip. One was that an extra handgun had been found in the armoury, but there was no lead as to where it had come from. Another was a report that a mouse from the science lab went missing – multiple times. It would show up the next day as if nothing had happened. Lastly, a prank in the greenhouse gone wrong, causing many plants to wither and die and… turn blue. I shook my head.

Odd. The extra gun seemed like the real mystery, as it was an impressive feat to smuggle something like that into the school.

I read through some minor details and then flipped to the profiles of the suspects.

Cyclonis: female, seventeen. Guild captain of Guild Cyclonia. Single child. Fighting skills mastered in hand-to-hand, blades, and bow staff. Top student in all classes.

I flipped the page, and those red eyes met mine.

Dark Ace: male, seventeen. Member of Guild Cyclonia. Single child. Fighting skills mastered in hand-to-hand and firearms. Excellent student in all classes. Extra note: Troublesome attitude.

Two more suspects were siblings Ravess and Snipe. Ravess was a master with a bow and arrow – unusual – while Snipe preferred to use a bludgeon of some sort, like a baseball bat. Neither had mastered any of the three main fighting skills, though both were competent in hand-to-hand.

After them, there was quite an army of members. As I skimmed through the list of names, I realised that Guild Cyclonia must take up half the school. For a school that barely had three hundred students each year, it was huge; possibly the biggest guild the Academy's ever seen.

A/N: Ta da! So again, please favourite, follow, etc. if you're enjoying it, and review it regardless. ;)