Chapter 3: Exceptions

Kaleb

It happened so fast. The four teens were walking through the forest searching for a way out when the American Eagle swooped in. As soon as he saw him, Kaleb's nerves shot up. He could just tell something was off with him.

The superhero soared down towards Faith, his metallic talons angled towards her. Kaleb frowned; he knew he wasn't going to let him hurt her. The American Eagle snatched Faith up with a clean, swift motion. Kaleb growled and held out his palms. The pores in his skin began to shift, rearranging themselves to form new patterns. From there, Kaleb fired out silky white strings of spider's silk towards The American Eagle. The webs wrapped around the hero's wings, stopping him mid motion. Kaleb grunted and grabbed ahold of the webs, to a regular person, the pro hero was quite heavy, however Kaleb didn't have that issue.

Using all his strength, he pulled on the webs, and in return sent The American Eagle flying towards him. Kaleb leaped in the air and with his free hand punched the flying hero in the face. The man let off a loud grunt, that sounded similar to a bird shrining.

Kaleb Rexavi

Quirk: Spider Monkey- A rare hybrid of two mutant type quirks which gives him a combination of monkey and spider DNA. Like a spider, Kaleb can lift up to a hundred and fifty times his own body weight. He can scale walls and practically any surface, see in the dark, and depending on his calcium and protein levels shoot incredibly strong spider silk out of his palms. Like a monkey, he has great agility, dexterity, and balance, being able to support his own body weight and is quite nimble.

"That was awesome." Faith smiled.

Kaleb blushed. "It's no big deal."

He stopped when he noticed the dark look on Sarah's face. He turned to see The American Eagle rising slowly. Kaleb gulped. He looked like that hit barely phased him. He smiled.

"Good kids, now it's my turn." He smiled.

The American Eagle

Quirk: Bronze Wings - He has metal wings growing out of his back. Each feather is razor sharp and he can eject them at his will. However, it can take up to ten minutes to create a new feather.

"That's not good." Kaleb gulped.

The American Eagle flared his golden wings and shrieked. Dozens of metal shards flew off his wings and shot towards the four teens. Kaleb looked to see flying right towards Faith. Reacting on instinct, he shot a thread of silk and immediately pulled her out of the danger of the feather blade. That cost him as he saw one out of the side of his eye. He barely reacted in time and the sharp feather gashed his cheek.

"Are you okay?" Faith said.

He immediately placed his hand over it to stop the bleeding. "It's just a scratch."

He looked over to see Sarah stepping forward.

"Sarah what are you doing!" He yelled.

Sarah ignored him and held out her palm. The feather blades stopped in midair. The others gasped in shock.

"How are you doing that?" Matthew asked.

"Run now, ask questions later." Sarah yelled.

She grabbed his arm and took off in a sprint. The American Eagle rose slowly.

"He's never going to let us go." Faith coughed.

Kaleb growled. His protective instincts kicked in. He wasn't going to let The American Eagle hurt the others. He was sure of it. He turned to Faith.

"Run." He said quietly.

He took off in a sprint and charged at the hero. His fists raised, ready to meet the Eagle's talons. Using all his strength he swung his fist, planning to land a punch. The Eagle growled grabbed two of Kaleb's fists. With amazing speed, he flung Kaleb into a boulder before the boy could counter. He coughed and looked up at the American Eagle. The hero smirked.

"Don't worry kid, it's all going to be over soon." He said.

The American Eagle punched Kaleb in the face, plunging the young teen into darkness.

Aurélie

Aurélie nervously tapped her fingernails against the metal table in her living room. The mail was supposed to run today. Her letter was supposed to come today, she would find out if she made it into the academy. This was the start of her hero career, or perhaps maybe the end of it. She shook those negative thought out of her head.

'Relax, you made it in.'

'Maybe we failed, I was so useless.'

'Don't worry, you did your very best!'

'All we can do is wait.'

"Aurélie honey, please stop with all the tapping you're giving me a headache." Her mother stopped and sighed.

"Sorry mama." She said.

Her mother, Momoka, sighed and took another sip of her tea. Aurelia and her mother looked a lot alike. Except Aurélie was only half Japanese, due to the fact her father being French. While her mother's hair flowed like a long black mist, Aurélie wore her hair short. Not to mention her hair color wasn't anything like her parents.

"The mail is taking longer than usual." Momoka observed.

Aurélie nodded. "Maybe I didn't get in."

"Would that really be the worst thing?" She sighed.

"Yes mama, this is one of the best superhero schools in the country." Aurélie frowned.

"You could always try a career other than a superhero." She said.

Aurélie was appalled at the thought. What else was out there for her? No, this is what she wanted to do for as long as she could remember. A loud doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts. Aurelie looked up and smiled. The mail was here. She ran to the doorbell and flung it open. Their mailwoman jumped in shock, which was quite easy with her kangaroo legs.

"Someone is eager for the mail." She said, amused.

Aurélie smiled. "You have no idea."

Aurélie gratefully took the package and smiled. She finally had it in her hands. Her letter. Momoka walked over to her daughter and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"No matter what happens, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you." She said.

Aurélie nodded. "Don't worry mama,"

Aurélie eagerly ripped open the letter and skimmed over it.

Dear Aurélie Duax,

We are pleased to announce that you have been accepted into the Morning Star Academy, we at the MSA aim to train the next generation of heroes. We believe that you not only have what it takes to be a great hero, but we believe that you can help usher in a new era of peace. We are proud to have you as a member of the Lion family. Your room information along with other details will be emailed to you. Congratulations.

Sincerely, The Morning Star Academy.

Aurélie dropped her letter and gasped. "I got in."

Kaleb

Kaleb woke up to the smell of applesauce. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up with a start. He looked around to see he was in a hospital bed. He rubbed his throbbing head where he got punched.. Suddenly everything came back to him. The American Eagle knocked him out. Were the others okay?

He looked at the clock and saw it was half past six. He was knocked out for five whole hours. Suddenly his stomach dropped in realization. He never crossed the finish line. It was all over for him, he would never be a hero. Morning Star was going to reject him.

"Ahem."

Kaleb turned his head to see Ms. Morningstar standing in the doorway. In one hand she held a mug of steaming hot coffee, in the other hand was a brown leather purse.

"You finally woke up; I was beginning to get worried." She said.

Kaleb coughed. "Are you here to send me home?"

"Do you want to go home?" She asked.

Kaleb shook his head. His four eyes starting to get slightly teary.

"Please Miss Morningstar, give me another chance to prove myself." He begged.

This couldn't be over, he needed to be a hero. It's been his life goal.

"Mr. Rexavi, do you know the goal of the Morning Star Academy?" She asked.

He nodded slowly. "To train the next generation of American heroes. To find the next elites."

She smiled. "Excellent."

"Kaleb, you didn't cross the finish line. You failed and that means you have no business to be let into the academy. I mean after all rules are rules." She said.

Kaleb's stomach dropped. He hated this. He felt frustrated more than anything. Regardless, he had to face reality. "Yes ma'am, I understand."

"But I noticed something interesting when I watched the footage of your Initiation. With your quirk you could have easily escaped from him, you didn't need to take him head on. But you knew the others would have had to fight him. If it was a regular pro, that would've been one thing, but against a top ten pro, you all would have lost. So, you stalled and gave them time. You knew you might lose your spot and you helped them anyway." She gave the boy a smile.

Kaleb's eyes brightened. Was this going where he thought?

"That young man, is the kind of person we are looking for. Very rarely do I ever make this kind of offer. Kaleb Rexavi, I'm going to ask you one question and I hope you are confident in your answer." She said before smiling. "Do you truly wish to attend Morning Star Academy? Do you truly desire to be one of the elites we're looking for?"