I woke up the next morning to see Johnny already gone and Ryan underneath his bed watching Youtube.

"Morning." I yawned, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

Ryan looked up and paused whatever he's watching and took off his headset "Morning."

"Where's Johnny?" I asked, jumping down, bare feet hitting soft carpet.

"He went for a run. Won't be back for a while."

"Doesn't the campus have a store somewhere?" I asked, throwing on a fresh t-shirt and khaki shorts.

"Yeah. It should be not too far from here." He began typing something on his computer and a few clicks later he had his monitor flipped around and pointed to it. "Right here. Campus Convenience, they sell groceries, clothes, movies, games, pretty much anything according to the website."

"Thanks. I'm going to pay them a visit." I turn around to walk out when Ryan calls: "Is that an FMA t-shirt?"

"It might be." I teased as I walk out of the room.

The little store was close to the park entrance and it literally had everything. Right at the front they had groceries that included the stereotypical instant cup ramen and a pack of gourmet cooking salts that was thirty two dollars. Over to the left side were the clothes with school uniforms, hoodies, t-shirts, and gym clothes, all either purple, black, or grey. Further back they had movies in five languages, including Japanese, that were big blockbusters in their primere countries. Then next was the book section that included manga and American comic books. I was definitely going to be a return customer. The game section was to the left of the manga and included games for PS4, Xbox, Switch and 3DS. But also the giant box with all the packs of Cards Against Humanity. Over on the far right side were posters, that included bands, games, movies, heroes, and some anime.

I ended up leaving the store with more than I probably should have. I bought some snacks and drinks, three movies: Infinity War and Spider Man: Homecoming and an old copy of the 1988 My Neighbor Totoro by some crazy feat that I bought just for the sake of having it. An old MCR Black Parade poster along with an Imagine Dragons: Evolve poster, a nice Rocket League poster with just the logo, a FMA poster and Star Trek fifty year anniversary poster with the classic original delta captain's insignia in gold with a cut out of the number fifty.

I opened the door to the dorm room and Ryan was still on his desktop. "Oh. Come on. Are you really gonna camp like that you actual piece of garbage." He protested. Ah, the joys of being spawn killed.

Johnny was back and chugging down a protein shake with a plastic bag in his hand that was filled with energy drinks.

"Are you sure you need that many energy drinks?" I asked, setting down my bag on my desk and unrolling some of the posters.

"No, I really don't" Said Johnny as he stocks the fridge. "These are for special occasions like when the weekend comes around for an extra burst. Caffeine is kinda like an afterburner for me. It pushes me faster than I can normally fly, but too much caffeine and the engines burn out."

"I take it that's from personal experience?" I asked, tacking up the posters. Two over the bed and two underneath by my desk. The Rocket League one right behind the computer the the MCR on the bottom of the loft.

"Hey Ryan." I said, getting his attention. He was done shouting so I assumed he was done with his match. "I think you'll like this." I throw him the rolled up poster, hitting him in the face.

I sit back in my chair as he unrolls it.

"Well this is unexpected." He said, as he looked over the poster, smiling.

"What is it?" Asks Johnny from the kitchen.

"A poster from an anime." Answered Ryan.

"Weebs." Taunted Johnny from the kitchen.

Ryan and I laughed as he tacked up the poster on the wall next to his desk.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" I asked. "This is a pretty large campus."

"I could show you guys the park." Says Johnny as he changes into a fresh set of clothes. "It's pretty large and there are some little food carts set up around it when we get hungry."

"You're paying." I said, pointing at him.

"You want to invite the girls to join us?" Asked Ryan as he turned off his computer.

"Yeah, I'll ask Ayden, and Nigel too." I said, pulling out my phone.

By the time I got a response we were already walking to the park. "Yeah, we can head that way." Was Ayden's response, but nothing from Nigel.

"We're already walking to the park." I type in. "We'll see you when you get here."

"They're on their way now." I said. Today was another picture perfect day. Birds flitted around campus. The ever constant breeze was slight and warm. The sun was brightly. Students were lounging around campus either on benches or walking around with friends, even with the small size of the school, the student body was so active.

The park was even more beautiful than the campus. The main gate was overgrown with purple orchids that led to an oak tree shaded track that ran for a few miles around the park. A large pond, almost a lake, sat in the middle. The water clear and brimming with fish. Some bridges ran from the mainland to small islands scattered across the lake. A small dock held some small sailboats while another canoes and kayaks.

A shinto shrine, a small buddhist temple, and a small taoist one too. As well as small open air chapel with small wooden prayer benches dotted the islands.

Around the park were clearings where people could sit and enjoy the air. Just as Johnny had said small food carts selling ice cream and freshly grilled or fried meats.

"Who paid for all of this?" I asked in bewilderment. "This campus didn't cost nothing. There's got to be money coming in from somewhere to fund this place."

"Heroes from around the country donate part of their rewards for defending the peace to maintain the school, and the director and principal also uses part of his money as well."

I turned around to see Stormbreaker dressed in street clothes, which was strange as I'd never seen him without his hero suit on. The well built man didn't seem as imposing without it on. He wore a short sleeved tee with cargo shorts, almost like he went out hiking.

"Hey, Stormbreaker." I say a little shocked that my voice went up a little. Ryan had a stupid dumbfounded expression on his face. Johnny was smiling ear to ear as he went up to shake his hand.

"You know him?" Asked Johnny, his jaw on the ground.

"Yeah, I met him once at the testing facility." I said as Johnny met the hero.

"So Rei, you liking Defender High?" He asks.

"Uh, yeah. The campus is beautiful, and absolutely huge."

"I remember having the same reaction when I came here."

Like almost all popular and well known heroes, Stormbreaker had gone through Defender High's hero course, he was actually dropped from the program, but that didn't stop him, soon he was working for some the biggest names in Canada.

"Why did you stop by?" I asked as Ryan tried to hold Johnny down, his right hand engine had started up and was lifting him off the ground a little bit.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing. And wanted to ask how Ayden was doing?

"Oh, uh. From what I can tell she's doing better."

"Good to hear. Well I won't bother you any longer, looks like your friends are arriving." With that he quietly walked off back the way he came. And a few seconds Ayden and her crew were standing right next to us.

"Can you believe that we actually just met Stormbreaker." Said Ryan behind me. "I mean that's insane."

"I can't believe it either." Agreed Johnny, almost shooting through the trees.

"You can't believe what?" Asked a sleepy Izabela.

"They met Stormbreaker." I answered. Valerie's jaw dropped and Izabela started in disbelief.

"I just missed him?" Asked Ayden, her shoulders slumping.

"Yep." I answered, nodding.

"Dang it, I wanted to talk to him again about some new tech ideas I had."

"Wait, you've met Stormbreaker?" Asked Valerie. "And you've met Stormbreaker?" She asked, pointing to me.

We both nodded yes.

"Lucky." Yawned Izabela.

"Did you not sleep last night, Izabela?" I ask.

"No not a lot. I'm used to it by now though. I'm more awake during the night so I get tired." She finished off with another yawn and glanced at her watch before muttering something.

"I know what'll wake you up." Said Johnny. "Some nice hot food."

"Are you always hungry?" Asked Valerie.

"Yes." Ryan and I answered together.

A few minutes later we were at food cart making shish kebabs that included pork, ham, beef, and chicken along with roasted scorpion on a stick. Much to Izabela's dismay as she nearly stung the man running the cart.

We kept walking along the track of the park enjoying the nice breeze and the deslishous shish kebabs. I had ordered two, one pork, one beef. Johnny was tempted to order one of the roasted scorpions but Ayden was able to convince him not to for fear of his life.

"No response from Nigel?" Asked Ayden.

"No, none yet. But I'm not surprised, he probably stayed up all night on his phone or something else stupid and won't be up till after two."

"He does that during the summer?"

"Yes, a lot." Then a brilliant, yet oh so stupid idea flashed in my mind as we passed by the lake. "You know what we should do?" I ask.

"What?" Asks Ayden as she blew a strand of hair out of her face

"Grab some of those small sailboats and race around the lake."

At that her face lit up with a mischievous look, she couldn't resist a challenge. "Oh, you bet."

"What do you guys think?" I ask the rest of the group.

"I'm all for it." Said Ryan

"Let's do it." Cheered Johnny.

"Sure, sounds like fun." Said Valerie, a small smile creeped onto her face that was quickly gone.

"And what about you Izabela?" I asked, casting a glance behind me.

"Oh. Umm yeah sure." Her voice back down to quiet and small.

We marched to the dock each picking a small sailboat. I knew how to man one, and so did Ryan. The others had no idea what they were doing so we went with three to a boat. The boats were a nice brand and were able to fit up to four people. My crew consisted of Izabela, Valerie, while Ryan snagged Ayden and Johnny.

We pushed away from the dock and worked our way upwind over to one edge of the lake where the wind was going to push us down the lake. The goal was to reach one end of the lake and then back to the dock before the other boat.

"You ready?" I called over to Ryan's boat, my hand on the mainsail line while Valerie was on the jib. Instead of using the built in blocks and pulleys we were gonna use Izabela to hold onto the ropes for quicker maneuvering, who was as close to the deck as possible, laying down right in the middle of the boat. Her tail was pinned close to her body. Hopefully it wouldn't sting us during the boat ride. "You okay Izabela?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, just don't like the water." Was the quiet reply.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Called Ayden from their boat.

"More like you're ready to lose." I taunted. Geez that was lame.

"Oh, your on" Called Johnny.

"Okay then, see you guys at the finish line." I pull on the lines, the sailing pulling taut with wind as we began heading down the lake at a pretty good clip. I angled us just right for the wind to fill our sails on a broad reach. I looked behind us and Ryan's boat was close behind, but we had the lead, and were maintaining it.

"Valerie, get ready in case Ayden tries anything with freezing the water, I doubt it because it would put out her fire out but be careful, she's crafty." She nodded in understanding. "Izabela, make sure you hold on tight to the lines until I say let them fly. And please make sure your tail doesn't pop up randomly and sting one of us."

"No problem." Her voice quivered.

"I'll end this quick, we'll be back on land in no time." I say hoping to comfort the fearful girl.

Before I knew it we reached the otherside of the lake. It was time to tack into the wind.

"Okay Izabela, let'm fly!"

She let go of the lines and the sail went limp as I turned us hard to starboard, bringing us around so we were at a shallow angle to the wind.

I let the mainsheet go as we tacked, so it would catch wind. "Valerie, hold on to the line in your left hand, let go when I say."

"Understood."

The nose came around, the wind pushing the jib. "Let it lose and pull it over to starboard."

I pulled on the starboard jib sheet, the luffing sail pulling taut as we began sailing upwind.

"Well have to do that at least one more time before we finish." I say.

Then the sound of cracking ice came from behind us. I whip around to see Ayden holding the emergency paddle with the blade just under the waterline, ice shooting towards our defenseless boat.

"Valerie get ready."

She pulled off a glove and leaned over the side of the boat, her fingers right above the water.

I watched as the ice approached the boat, and I made my call. "Now Valerie, now."

She reached her hand down and touched the ice, sending fractures through it, shattering it into shavings.

Then came what I was expecting, the whine of four jet engines powering up. I turn around and see Johnny strapped into a specially made harness that came out of nowhere. Ryan had drawn it up on the fly. They began to rocket forward, heading in a straight line for the dock.

Then they ground to a halt and started drifting backwards with the wind with the sound of backfiring engines.

"Wait, what happened?" Shouted Johnny. "Rei. You reversed my quirk dang it you." Came the aggravated cries of Johnny as he was rendered useless.

I looked down at Izabela, our speed had begun to drop slightly, and I saw why. She had a death grip on the lines that was evident from the stress bends around her knuckles, she may have an exoskeleton but that didn't mean it was unbendable.

"Valerie, take the lines from Izabela." She slipped her gloves back on expertly and took hold of the lines and we picked up a little more speed.

"I'm sorry." Mumbled Izabela softly from the bottom of the boat.

"It's not your fault. It's mine, my quirk is affecting yours."

A couple tacking maneuvers later our boat was coming towards the dock. I jumped up and ran to the front of the boat and grabbed a cleat and began to tie us off. Izabela was the first one off the boat and quickly ran to shore, followed by Valerie, leaving me to gather the lines and lower the sails.

I pulled in the sails and made sure everything was in order before stepping off the boat. I stayed on the dock and waited until Ryan's boat pulled with a surprisingly cheerful crew.

"You and your stupid quirk." Said Ayden as she got out and punched me in arm. "I nearly burned the boat trying to freeze the water again." She then marched back onto the shore to talk with Izabela and Valerie.

"So Johnny, what happened with your quirk?" I asked teasingly.

"Instead of doing what they're supposed to, my jet engines sucked in air and sputtered out. That did not feel good." He reached into his pocket and pulled a protein bar and bit into it angrily as he walked away.

We walked back onto shore to see that Nigel had finally woken up and was chatting with the girls.

"Hey Nigel, you sleep well?" I ask.

"Actually I did. Woke up about thirty minutes ago."

"Nigel it's almost two in the afternoon." I sighed, a flat expression on my face.

"Yes, I know, and I don't care." He fired back, an equally flat expression on his face.

"Now the question is where do we want to go next?" Asked Valerie. "This is a rather large campus."

"I say we just walk around till dinner, get familiar with the layout before the term starts." Suggested Ryan, who was busy drawing something in a notebook.

"Not a bad idea. Let's do it." I agreed, and we headed off to explore the main campus for the rest of the day.

I saw that Izabela was closer to the rear of the group so I walked back to talk to her. "Hey, you okay?" I ask

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied.

"Stop lying, you're not fine."

"I don't like the water, I'm scared of it." She rubbed her upper arms sheepishly.

"Well why didn't you say anything?"

"Everyone else wanted to do it so I went along."

"In the future, speak up, please. You're part of the group. And, I'm sorry."

She paused, her finger tapping her arm. "Thanks Rei." Her mood was a little bit better and I'm pretty sure she was hugging me. I looked down and sure enough one of her arms was wrapped around my waist. Then her arm was back down to her side. "And you don't have to call me Izabela all the time. Call me Bela, or Iz."

"Sure no problem."

After leaving the park we wandered the rest of the campus. First we looked at the different dorm buildings and their names. We first stopped by Nigel's building, the Crow's Nest. The building was a circular shaped building with four floors, a few spires poked out of the roof with nests, I assumed crow nests, inside.

Next were the main buildings in the center of campus. They were put in a compass-like shape with the tallest building in the middle, eight skywalks connected the eight outside building to the inner one like a compass rose, with an outer skywalk connecting building to building. They were built like skyscrapers, the towering glass spires rose high with the mountains.

The girls dorms were next in line. Ayden's room was in the castle style dorm dubbed Ravenclaw Tower. Apparently the female hero, Hunin, the Raven Heroine, was a Potterhead and couldn't resist a play on words. The building was tall, easily having six floors, and the top spire had a telescope sticking out of it.

The last, and arguably the best, place on campus was the cafeteria for dinner back on the roof, same table as last night. Tonight was creole with crawfish etouffee, and three options of spice level: mild, hot, and death. I personally couldn't stand spice so I went with the mild and a glass of milk as an escape if things got ugly. Johnny got his massive stack of food per normal from the 'death' line and then was the last one to get to the table after sprinkling half a bottle of chili powder and tabasco sauce.

"Do you actually have a death wish?" Asked Valerie in the most insulting way possible without coming across as rude which I'm pretty sure only she could pull off. Now that I think about it, she was always being polite no matter the situation. interesting.

"Hey, I want to test my limits." Says Johnny as he takes a massive bite of his food.

We all waited for the spice to hit, unleashing a violent fit of coughing and banging his fist against the table. But none of that happened, he just kept on eating like it was nothing.

"I understand testing limits." Said Nigel, who got his food from the spicy line. "But that is just death."

I used to think Nigel had a great tolerance to spice before I saw Johnny eat what could have been substituted for a plate of Trinidad scorpion peppers served with ghost pepper and Carolina reapers on the side.

"The reason I can eat this stuff so easily is because back home I lived in an apartment complex." Began Johnny. "Every month we had a dried chili pepper eating contest. To train my brothers and I literally ate chili peppers with every meal to build up tolerance. It got to the point where they had to stop letting us compete because it would always come down to my brothers and I. But by that point we had such a tolerance we could eat peppers like apples and we just kept doing it."

"Your family sounds crazy."

"You haven't heard the half of it." He said after swallowing a giant bite. "One time we tried to jump a cactus patch on our bicycles using a crappily built ramp that didn't work."

"Speaking of stupid family shenanigans." Said Ryan. "I have an older sister and brother. My sis has the same quirk that we got from our mom while my brother got my dad's quirk, which we dubbed firework. He could shoot fireworks from his fingers."

By this point we were actually interested in this, something with this much explanation had to be funny.

"It was a three part process. Design, build and execution. My sister and I drew up everything so we could then order the actual parts. You guys remember that incident were a guy wing suited down from really high up over Chicago a few years ago?"

All of the table nodded. About five years ago a guy in a wingsuit flew down from twelve thousand feet through the streets of Chicago before splashing down in Lake Michigan.

"That might have been my brother. We made a special glider just for the stupid stunt, we still have it hanging up in the workshop my brother turned into his studio. We strapped him into the glider and made sure his fingers were exposed and he just shot a constant stream of thrust, and boom, he was in the air flying."

"I wish I had any crazy stories like that." I say taking a bite of the etoufee.

"Same." Said Izabela.

My mind drifted to the start of the term next month during the conversation. I thought about what we could do before school started.

I waited for the sweet tea chugging competition between Johnny and Nigel to end before I pitched my idea. Nigel won with a slam of his cup down on the table.

"I was thinking something cool we could do before school started." That peaked everyone's interest. "Any of you guys been backpacking?"

Most people around the table shook their head no, but one surprising head bobbed yes, Izabela's.

"Yeah. I've gone a few times in the Appalachians." She said quietly.

"I say we take a hike up in the mountains around the campus. I have some extra gear at home. Including food and water bottles. I have two large tents that can fit four people each. Unless anyone has their own gear of course."

"I personally like the idea." Said Valerie.

"Sounds fun." Mused Ayden.

"I'm all for it." Added Nigel.

"Let's do it." Cheered Johnny.

They were on board. "All right then. All we have to do now is wait for the stuff to ship from my house."

Later that night Izabela and I exchanged numbers so we could organize what gear we would bring.

Once we figured out who would bring what we both asked out parents for the gear. Izabela had a large tent that she could bring along with mine. She was also bringing small day packs so everyone had to carry a little bit of the load.

I had gotten hold of my backpack and enough food for the two day hike, except for Johnny who would be bringing his own food. I also got the large four person tent and my hammock.

We found an easy route up to a great lookout point. We all agreed on the dates of the trip. School started August the thirteenth. Our hike would start from the north gate on August tenth, and we would return later in the evening on the twelfth.

Everything was ready to go. All we had to do now was wait.