Olivia and the gang filed into the gymnasium with everyone else. It seemed like all students in the school had been sent to the gym, and it took them a few minutes to find seats for all six of them. As it was, Layla ended up sitting partially on Will's lap, and Olivia was sitting closer to Ethan than she would have liked. Zach had noticed Will and Layla, and tried to copy them by offering Magenta his lap, but her stony look dissuaded him from acting on his gesture. Olivia smiled slightly; even though she had only just met them, she could tell that Zach adored Magenta, and Magenta returned the feeling, although it was more subtly.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of being shoved and pushed, a small ball of white light zoomed into the crowded gym. When it reached the center of the gym, it transformed into an established woman with glasses dressed in a white suit. She smiled and began to address the school.
"Welcome to Sky High!" she said proudly. "I am Principal Powers, and it is my pleasure to see all of our returning students back for another year, as well as to greet all of our new freshmen."
Her last statement was met from boos and jeers from all the upperclassmen, while all of the freshman looked away. Olivia was suddenly very grateful that she had never had to go through freshman year.
After everyone had quieted down, Principal Powers began to speak once more, more seriously this time. "It is my duty to inform you all that because of attacks made on the school last year, some fairly drastic changes will be made this year in an attempt to prevent further incidents."
Students began to quietly talk amongst themselves about what these changes might be, while Ethan began to elbow Zach and Magenta in a way that obviously meant 'I told you so'.
"Before you all come to your own conclusions," she continued, "let me describe exactly what will be happening. In order to do so, I will appreciate complete silence until I am done… unless you want me to call Coach Boomer in here."
Many returning students laughed. Will saw Olivia's confused look and told her about Boomer, his powers, and his annoying, egotistical attitude.
"After the Homecoming Dance Disaster last year, the school board and myself reevaluated our process of splitting you up into heroes and sidekicks. We all decided that these divisions that were originally a form of protection and safety ended up becoming dangerously disruptive."
All throughout Principal Power's assertion, Layla was nodding so furiously that Will had to lean away from her bobbing head.
"Power placement should be used simply as a measure of your abilities, and not as a way to decide your fate. So, we recruited a team of technopaths to build some sort of machine that did just that. And after a few months, they completed their tasks."
Principal Powers turned slightly towards the door, and Olivia noticed for the first time the group of ten, black-uniformed men that had been standing by the entrance. As she watched, one of the men – she assumed he was their leader, seeing as he was the only one without black glasses – marched over to the principal. He handed her what looked like a radar gun that a policeman would use, except it was double the size.
"This device," Principal Powers said, gesturing to the gun, "is what they came up with. The technopaths have started to call them Power Placement Scanning Apparatuses, or PPSAs for short. Their use is similar to a radar gun, except that instead of measuring a person's speed, it measures their potential power and rates your power with a number between one and ten."
The students began to talk about this new development with wide eyes, completely disregarding the principal. Layla turned to Ethan and asked, "Is that even possible?"
Ethan shrugged. "I guess so. I've never heard of any technology like that, but in theory, I suppose it is possible."
Tiring of the interruption, Principal Powers raised her voice for the first time. "I'm sure you are all very curious, so let me give you a demonstration."
The uniformed man without glasses approached her once more and took back the PPSA. He then walked a few feet away from her, and she turned to face him, standing with her feet together and arms at her side. The man pointed the gun at her head and pressed a few buttons on the side of the PPSA. With one final button, a bright white light was emitted from the end pointed at the principal, bathing her head in light. The man slowly lowered the device so that he scanned her whole body, and then switched off the light. The whole process took about ten seconds.
Blinking a few times, Principal Powers regained her composure, and retrieved the PPSA. She looked at a small screen located beneath the buttons and turned the PPSA's screen toward the student body.
"As you can see, my power potential was given a four by the machine." Sure enough, on the black radar gun's screen, the number 4 was clearly visible. This was met by some applause, as many people were stunned by the technology and its application.
"It's important to note that the PPSA measures your potential power," she explained. "This technology is merely a way for us to see your capabilities. For example, someone with the ability to breath underwater and swim extremely fast may be given a rating of 7, while in the real world their powers would only be useful for a few emergencies. This applies in the opposite way as well; a technopath may be given a rating of 3 or 4, and we have all seen how powerful they can be."
"There is another connotation of 'potential'; even if you haven't mastered your powers yet, or you haven't gained any powers yet," her eyes briefly met Will's, "the PPSA will still be able to measure any latent abilities you may receive." Principal Powers took a deep breath and continued, despite the loud buzz of students frantically discussing these new possibilities and what it meant to them.
"Now let me tell you how this applies to you. With the PPSA, there will no longer be any separate hero or sidekick classes; everyone will learn the same material and be assessed on the same things."
The gym seemed to explode with noise. Everyone started to yell. Some people were mourning the loss of their title as hero, while the majority of the sidekicks were celebrating. Layla's voice carried over the crowds, as she screamed in victory.
It took some time for everyone to settle back down, but eventually Principal Powers was able to start speaking again.
"As this is the first day, everyone will be scanned by the PPSA and your rating and powers will be recorded, but only a select few – including myself – will have access to them. However, the only way we were allowed to use this equipment was if the whole process was supervised by members of the Secret Supers Association." Principal Powers looked over at the men in the black suits, their presence at last explained.
"Additionally, the school board and the SSA came to an agreement that we would instate more security measures, just in case. Therefore, when you're powers are scanned, you will be asked a few questions. They will mainly be things like, 'Are you planning to attack the school,' and, 'Do you have any relation to Royal Pain?' Each of the men here have the ability to determine whether or not you are telling the truth, so answer wisely."
Principal Powers seemed to be coming to the end of her speech. "We are going to go in alphabetical order, so when the first letter of your last name is called, please come down and line up in front of the members of the SSA. After you are scanned and your information is recorded, you may return to your seats."
The uniformed men began to walk to their spots and started powering up their PPSAs, but the principal seemed to have one last thing to say.
"Finally, unlike in previous years, there will be no need for you to power up. As you saw, you merely stand still in order to be scanned. If you wish to tell your friends your powers or your rating later, that is up to you. And now – let's begin your placement!"
As Principal Powers walked over to the side of the gym to supervise everything, the lead SSA member took her spot in the middle of the gym floor.
"All students with last names starting between A and C," he barked, "please report to the gym floor to be scanned!"
Students began to stream down the stairs to the floor, some reluctant, some eager. Zach was one of the reluctant ones.
"Ugh, I don't want to be one of the first ones!" he whined. "Can I pretend that my last name is Shaun instead of Braun?"
"No," said Magenta, "you can't. Just go down there and get it over with."
Zach sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." And with that, he trudged down the stairs.
As he left, everyone began to immediately discuss what they though their rating would be.
"I think maybe I'll get a five or a six," Layla predicted, "but I'll bet that Will gets a ten!" She said it so proudly and lovingly that Magenta made silent gagging motions behind her back.
"I'll bet Ethan, Zach, and I get twos," Magenta said gloomily.
"That may be, but it sounds like we'll all still get to be in the same classes this year," said Ethan.
"Yeah, that's true!" said Layla excitedly. "I'm just so happy that they're doing away with all the labeling, although some jerks will still probably try to use their rating to score a higher social standing." She pointed across the gym at a couple making out.
The couple was Danny 'Pecs' Wilson and Violet Scott. After Lash, Speed, and Penny had been taken to jail last year, they had taken over the roles of bullies and gossipmongers. That is, whenever they took the time to stop sucking each other's faces off.
"Hey, it looks like Zach's about to be scanned," said Magenta. Sure enough, Zach had made it to the front of the line and was getting into position to allow the PPSA to work. After the bright light faded away, the SSA official showed Zach his official rating. His shoulders slumped; he looked up at all his friends, raised one finger, and slowly walked back to their group.
Everyone sighed sadly. Although most of the time he was easygoing and optimistic, Zach's powers disappointed him more than he liked to admit. As he made his way back up to the group, they all quickly started catching up on what they had done over the summer in an effort to cheer him up.
After a little while, Ethan was called down to be scanned (his last name was Daniels). He quickly got in line, got his rating, and rejoined his friends, who were waiting to hear his rating.
"I got a two," he said, and sat back down. They all settled down. They knew that none of them would be called for a while. As the got back to talking, Layla realized something.
"Olivia, you haven't said a word since placement started. Are you alright?" she asked. Everyone turned to look at Olivia, recognizing that Layla was right.
Olivia looked petrified. She was staring down at the PPSAs so intensely that she hadn't even heard Layla's question.
"Olivia," Layla called out to her again. Still no response.
"Olivia!" Will shook her shoulder, tearing her eyes away from gym floor. "Are you okay?"
She tried to shrug her shoulders, but it came out looking like a muscle spasm.
"Hey," said Zach, "are you worried that you'll get a low rating? Cause I got a one; you can't get much lower than that!"
Olivia just shook her head, and turned back to stare down at the floor. The group exchanged looks. What was going on?
A/N: I'd love to hear what you guys think about this. Please review!