Before we begin with this chapter, I had someone ask me a great question:
How will Luz's Quirk work within The Boiling Isles, seeing as Magic and Quirks are two different power systems and work/behave differently?
While not worded exactly like that, that was the gist of the question. So, allow me to answer it before we jump into this. For Luz to be able to use All For One in the boiling isles, and so that it functions properly, after a long discussion with my sister (who is my resident Owl House expert moreso than myself) we both concluded that Quirks and Magic are linked inherently and function similarly due to them being genetically given to people in both realms – the bile sacs for witches and warlocks, and the quirk factor in humans.
Doing a bit of a logical leap, seeing as All For One can steal quirk factors, it wouldn't be outlandish to believe it could drain, steal, and copy the same energy that the bile sacs provide witches and warlocks of The Demon Realm.
I won't go too much further into this, but just know that I've had this planned out for a while and that when the time comes, you'll get to see what I mean if my explanation doesn't make much sense.
Now, on to the chapter
[The "Not-So-Dull" Summer Camp – Pt 1]
The day came and went, and the next thing Luz knew, she was up the next morning following the same routine as she had done yesterday; only this time having to drag down a suitcase behind her filled with extra pairs of clothing, some sunscreen in case she ever needed it, a few books, as well as a sketchpad or two so that she had something to do during her off time at the camp.
After an admittedly silent breakfast, Camila said her goodbyes before heading to work, leaving Luz to walk to the bus station just as she was supposed to do yesterday. A part of her wanted to just turn around and go back home and maybe hide somewhere in the house, but she knew her mother would've been rather upset at her for a stunt like that. So, she elected against it.
The walk was an hour long, and when she got to the bus station, she was annoyed by the fact that the bus had actually been there this time around. It was a green and brown coloured school bus with the words: Reality Check Summer Camp plastered on the side of the vehicle in big red letters; as if it wasn't already obvious that it was there for that specific reason.
Standing in front of the doors of the bus was a thin, dark-skinned woman wearing a light green button-down vest, underneath which was an orange shirt. They wore a pair of light brown shorts and long black socks with white air-force ones. Atop their head was a green hat, while underneath said hat, Luz could see that the edges of their hair were black with the front tips of their bangs being dyed green. In their hand was a clipboard, and when they saw Luz, a small smile appeared on their face.
"Hello, are you here for Reality Check Summer Camp?" The woman asked as Luz nodded unenthusiastically. The woman hummed and then nodded. "Name please?"
"Luz Noceda."
"Ah! Alright," The woman said, looking down at their list before checking something off. Luz was about to get on the bus when the woman stopped her. "Hold on, there's one more question I'm legally supposed to ask you before you enter the bus," the woman began as they flipped the paper on their clipboard to reveal yet another piece of paper. "With what's been going on recently, higher-ups want to know whether or not you have a superpower or not. Don't worry, we ask all children who board the bus that question, so don't think much of it."
Luz blinked at that. "Why…?" She questioned, a hint of apprehension in her tone as the woman sighed. Not a sigh out of frustration mind you, but more like a "they had been forced to read off of a script the whole time, and that this question didn't have a scripted answer" kind of sigh. Luz had been in that situation before, namely for group projects when school was still up and running; you know, before summer break?
"Well, you see…." The woman began, keeping up the happy-go-lucky "smile at everything that moves" façade they had been holding onto since the beginning of their conversation, only for it to drop to a more annoyed one. Once again, not annoyed at Luz, but more like they had been annoyed that they couldn't default to a scripted answer, and had to make one up on the spot.
"Honestly kid, I don't know. Higher-ups won't tell us squat. Just answer the question, please. You'll be able to board the bus either way," the woman tried to assure Luz, although it didn't work.
Now Luz really didn't want to go to the camp. A part of her was worried that the place was a little bit more of the… deceitful kind than what they were advertising themselves to be. If they were asking questions like that, just how much more did they want to know about her?
Luz was never a paranoid person, but she did get uncomfortable when mega-corporations started asking strange questions about her personal life. Unless it was a doctor or her mamá, no one else needed to know about how the inner workings of Luz Noceda went.
However, Luz knew that if she turned back now, it would've made no real sense to do so. What else was she going to tell her mamá? That she walked away after being assured she could go on the bus regardless of her new-found, mystery hole-hand power?
Honestly, she was banking on them not accepting people with superpowers, but seeing as that was not the case, Luz had no real choice but to continue forward. Of course, she could lie to her mama; but that was only something rotten, nasty, and mean people did, and Luz was decidedly none of those things. So, seeing as she had no other option, she decided to spill the beans on her superpower, even though she barely understood it herself.
"Well, I do. All I got are these holes in my hands, and I can see strings connecting to other people with superpowers. That's it…." Luz responded as the woman nodded, allowing her to continue up the stairs and into the bus. Once she did, the woman followed in behind her, leading Luz to believe something that she had been sure was the truth since the beginning.
"Guess I'm the only one from Gravesfield to actually be going here…. Lucky me!" Luz thought wearily as she stepped into the aisle between each row of seats, her eyes glancing over all the people inside who were chatting with one another. A common thing she was beginning to notice when it came to her and buses was that the seats were almost always full when she boarded, relegating her to the back of the bus.
And so, to the back of the bus, she went.
A Luz meandered her way to the back, she noticed that almost everyone in the bus, minus 7 of the other kids as well as the driver, and the lady she just talked to, had superpowers; that was if the strings she saw indicated anything.
Most of them weren't visible powers like gills, bug eyes, or whatever the news had been reporting on yesterday about strange mutants that some of the hacks on CNN and Fox News have been saying lately. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Regardless of what it entailed, at least she knew she wasn't going to be the only one with superpowers.
Out of the 40 kids on the bus, 33 of them had superpowers. That was quite the difference. Oh, and she was counting herself in that group of 33, so excluding her that would've meant that 32 kids other than her had superpowers on this bus, but what did that matter?
When she got to where the only remaining seat was, she noticed that it had someone else sitting there already, with only the aisle side portion of the seat being available.
The kid in question was a girl. She had long pale-blonde hair, pale skin, and light green eyes. She was wearing a white sleeveless blouse with a flowery collar as well as a pair of blue jeans, the cuffs at the bottom of which were rolled up to stop them from going past her ankles. She was wearing light brown ankle boots for footwear, though they looked a little dirty with splotches of dried mud on the edges of the boots.
There was a little flower pin in her hair, and her face rounded, just like most other girls their shared age; or well, she assumed they were the same age. Not that Luz cared per se, but that was beside the point.
Overall, if Luz had any say in what to think of the person in front of her, Luz would say that she was, objectively speaking, pretty. Almost unnaturally so. However, looking past that, with the calm look she had on her face, she also judged immediately that she was nice. She had nothing to base that on, so naturally, she assumed that to be the case.
Putting her suitcase underneath the seat, she sat next to the other kid, who glanced at her. "Uh… hello," Luz began as the girl smiled.
"Good morning," the girl replied, placing her hands comfortably atop her legs in an overlapping manner. The first thing that Luz thought of was just how fancy that seemed. No one in Gravesfield sat like that, and so that was when the second question kinda just… came out with no real forethought.
"Are you rich?"
The suddenness of the question made the girl blink in confusion. "What gave you that idea?" The girl asked, though there was no hint of annoyance in her tone, more or less just shock. Luz realized what she had blurted out, then sank into herself a little.
"Uh… sorry, I was just thinking out loud…. I didn't mean to upset you," Luz said as the girl quietly giggled to herself, making Luz raise an eyebrow. She… wasn't mad? Most people were mad at her for blurting stuff like that out. Or, for just talking to them in the first place.
"No, it's alright. I've had people ask me that a lot, so I'm used to that question," the girl replied as Luz felt a wave of relief brush over her. "But, to answer your question, yes. My mother and father are wealthy. They're oil tycoons," the girl said, sighing. A sombre expression came to her face for just a split second, before disappearing at a moment's notice. "May I ask for your name?"
Luz chuckled awkwardly at that. She felt like an idiot. Only now did she realize just how rude it was for her to not introduce herself to the girl before asking that "are you rich" question to her. So, she made up for that by giving the girl her name. "Names Luz! Luz Noceda, nice to meet ya, uh…?"
"Oh, right! Julia, Julia Wittebane of the former English noble family of the Wittebanes," Julia replied, though her expression made it clear that what she was saying was some sort of rehearsed introduction. "But, please, call me Julie. It's what most of my friends call me, and… well, you seem like a nice person… so…?"
Luz's eyes widened, followed by a small pink colour dusting her cheeks. It was barely visible, though. Just the idea of someone asking her to be their friend was enough for her to be ecstatic, but someone nice asking that same thing? Well, sign her the heck up! "Uh…. Sure! I don't see why not!" Luz said as Julia smiled.
But, before Julia could continue speaking, another voice made itself known. "Alright everyone, listen up!" The voice of the woman from the front of the bus called out. Everyone within the bus quieted down as she gained their undivided attention. With a smile on her face, she continued.
"This will be a rather long bus ride to the camp, around 10 hours or so. We will be making pitstops at gas stations to refuel the bus when need be, so at that time, it is suggested that you go into the gas station to purchase some snacks or whatnot; don't worry, you'll be allowed to eat and drink on the bus, so long as you clean up afterward. If you don't have any money to buy anything, ask the person you're sitting next to for a couple of bucks to get something. This will be your first "lesson" at the camp, so to speak. Loans, and how to pay them off properly. 'Course that's up to the person next to you to decide whether or not they'd consider it a loan or an act of giving to the needy. Either way, the idea is simple enough. Get comfortable, it's going to be a long trip! Hands and feet in your seats at all times, but if you can't help it, that's fine too. Those with superpowers, keep it to yourselves. No overly loud shouting, Yadda-yadda-yadda, you know the drill, standard field-trip procedure, let's go!"
After that announcement, the woman sat down in one of the front seats as the bus began to start up, and for the doors to close. When the bus began to move, Luz jolted forward from the sudden bounce of the tires. Julia giggled to herself at the sight making the teen flush with slight embarrassment. "I take it your sense of balance isn't the best?" Julia questioned as Luz frowned.
"Well… I did try out for being a cheerleader at the school. It… didn't work out," Luz replied as Julia nodded.
"I see. Well, the point is that you tried, right? As my mother told me once: If you don't try something, and give it your honest effort, then what's the point in saying you don't like it? Honestly, it's admirable of you to try something that could seem so daunting. I know I would never let myself do that. I guess I'm a bit more… reserved than most others. Especially with what's been happening recently…." Julia said, looking over to the window of the bus, avoiding meeting Luz's eyes.
Luz quirked an eyebrow at that. "Do you mean the whole "people randomly waking up with superpowers?"" Luz questioned as Julia glanced back over to Luz, nodding her head slightly.
"Yes, that would be correct. Our family has had… a rough go of things as of late. Being related to a rich oil tycoon leads to… well, perilous situations. But, I'd rather not get into that. With people now gaining superpowers my father has been worried that perhaps some of the people who want us dead might have gotten some. The whole purpose of sending me to this camp was to protect me and help further my education with school being out for the summer."
Julia paused for a moment, pursing her lips as she bit back a sigh, instead taking in a deep breath before facing Luz. Luz only saw it for a split second, but there was a look of conflict in her eyes. It was almost as if she was having trouble with the idea of asking whatever it was that she wanted to say. Luz knew that feeling all too well, especially when it came to her past teachers.
But, that was beside the point. This wasn't about her, this was about Julia. Speaking of whom, the conflict in the pale blonde's eyes disappeared and was replaced with a hint of resolve as she asked the question that was on her mind. "On the topic of superpowers…. Do you have one?"
Without so much as hesitating, Luz flipped over her hands to reveal the holes in their palms. "I got these things. I don't know what they do, mostly because I never tried to use them for anything yet. Aside from that, I can see strings that attach to other people with superpowers, but that's about it. And…!" Luz blinked, and sure enough, just as she had assumed as to how the "invisible strings" worked, there was one pointing directly toward Julia. Oddly enough, or more like coincidentally enough, the string was pointing toward Julia's forehead.
"Come to think of it, it was the same with that other kid in the doctor's office. All the strings were pointing toward their heads. I wonder why?" Luz thought as she blinked again. "You have one, too. My power doesn't lie, so…? What about you?" Luz questioned as Julia's eyes widened in shock for a split second, before turning back to their normal calm, not shocked wideness.
"Ah, yes. Well, this is what I can do…." As soon as Julia said that, thick green vines began to wrap around her fingers. Luz opened her mouth in awe, her eyes sparkling with wonder, well metaphorically sparkling, that was. Julia giggled, the vines retreating into her fingers. "Of course, I can extend them past the tip of my fingers, but I don't know to what extent…."
Luz smiled at that. "Well, maybe at the camp you could test yourself with your power. I mean, you'll be in a wide open space, so I don't see how that could be such a bad idea, right?"
Julia hummed at the response, then lazily shrugged her shoulders. "I for one don't mind that idea, but I think I'd have to do it in secret. I doubt the staff would want anyone to use their powers if it could be helped," Julia said as Luz nodded.
That was another thing that she felt was strange about this whole scenario. Hell, it all felt so bizarre. Why the camp was even opening amongst such chaos? When the Ebola outbreak happened, the whole world, or at least parts of the world, ground to a halt. If something so chaotic as every young teenager across the globe, or at least a good majority of them, suddenly woke up with superpowers, wouldn't the government want to take control of the situation?
To Luz, it was almost as if those in power either didn't care enough to do something about it, or they themselves were panicking to get everyone wrapped together into doing something about it. Then again, it wasn't all too surprising considering who it was who was in power right now. Then again, Luz was exactly too bothered by this, you know, except for actually having to go to the camp.
"Well… If I didn't go to this stupid camp, I wouldn't have met Julia… maybe this won't be so bad after all?" Luz thought as she looked over to Julia, who had gone back to staring out the window. The way she watched the cars pass by them almost looked like she was gazing on in nostalgia. Julia glanced back to Luz, then yawned, covering her mouth with one of her hands.
"Sorry, Luz. I'm a little tired… say, wake me up once we get to any pit stops, will you?" Julia asked as Luz nodded.
"Sure thing!"
Julia smiled. "Thank you, Luz…." With that, Julia turned her head in the other direction, and leaned against the back of the chair, before closing her eyes. It only seemed to take the pale blonde about a few seconds before falling asleep. Luz kind of envied that. It usually took her an hour at best to go to sleep. Then again that mostly had to do with the fact that she never seemed to run out of energy. Even right now, Luz had only just noticed that this whole time she had been tapping her foot against the metal floor of the bus for the last five or so minutes she was talking with Julia.
Luz sighed. Just as the bus attendant at the front had said; this was going to be a very long ride.
-To Be Continued-
Yeah, I know, quite the small chapter in comparison to the first. However, I don't want these chapters to drag on too long and miss their meaning.
Also, introducing the first of many of my OCs: Julia Wittebane! And yes, she's related to everyone's favourite villain of the decade, though I think that was obvious considering her name. How is she related to him? Well, you'll just have to find that out, no won't you?
Also, don't worry about me doing some fringe shit and having Luz have some kind of romantic interest in Julia. That's not happening. Y'all already saw the tags and ship in the description of the story, we're sticking to what ends up happening between Luz and Amity in canon… for the most part.
Till next time everyone, I'll see you all soon. Peace!
