Luciana awoke to the blaring of her alarm. It had been a week had passed since the dinosaur incident in downtown Empire City, but she still felt the after effects of her quirk. The exhaustion wasn't terrible, it had almost entirely faded by now, but it still wreaked havoc on her sleeping schedule.
She reached over to turn off her alarm, and she noticed something. This wasn't her first alarm, it was her fifth, the last line of defense when it came to waking up in the morning. It was nearly eleven, and the placement exams for Northpeak's hero department were scheduled for noon.
Well... Shit.
Luciana shot out of her bed, scattering the blankets she had wrapped herself in the night before across her room. She didn't have much time, to get to Northpeak, she'd have to catch a bus, and that was a forty-minute trip from her apartment minimum.
She quickly changed out of her pajamas, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She wasn't sure what she would need to wear for the placement exams. Katarina had told her what she talked about with that group of hero alumni, but they were tight lipped when it came to the exams. Northpeak treasured discretion, and most students were forced to sign a nondisclosure form when it came to placement exams. Of course, information was occasionally leaked online, but even that wasn't reliable, there were countless different reports, some directly conflicting others. The only conclusion Luciana could draw was that it changed every year, so she could only guess at what she was preparing for.
She quickly made her way to the kitchen, where her mother was busy tidying up and her father, as usual had his nose deep in a new book. Her mom took immediate notice of Luciana. "Oh, finally awake are you. I prepared you breakfast for your big day, and now it's all cold." She gestured to a plate of toast and eggs.
"And you didn't think to wake me up?" Luciana snatched up a piece of cold toast. Using her quirk, a minor heat warmed the bread, it wouldn't be cooked evenly, and it probably wouldn't taste too good, but it was better than nothing.
"I tried, but shaking you awake has never done any good. I swear, the dead are easier to wake then you sometimes." Her mother sighed. "Oh, that reminds me, Katarina came by earlier, she left you a note."
Luciana's mother handed her a page of paper, the kind that was ripped out of a notebook in a hurry, judging by the frayed left side. The writing was as sloppy and rushed as Luciana had come to expect from Katarina.
It said "Hey, sleepy head! I'm getting too antsy to wait, so I'm gonna go on ahead to Northpeak. Don't be late or I'll be super mad. Just kidding. But, really, WAKE UP SOONER!" the end of the note was punctuated with a smiley face and a thumbs up.
Figures she'd leave early. Honestly, Katarina always ran late, but when it comes to hero business, she's always first to show up. That's true whether she was waiting for the new stats on pro heroes, the hero studies electives they had taken during high school, or even when a hero is spotted on the street.
After reading it, Luciana crumples up the note and threw it in the trash. She wasn't exactly angry, but she definitely felt... Disgruntled? It was the overwhelming feeling to torment Katarina the next time she saw her, though she may just get off with a small lecture.
"Alright, I've got to go, I'm going to be late." Luciana shoved the toast in her mouth and got ready to leave.
"Are you sure, I mean, I know Katarina won't have an issue, but are you sure you're set on this? Maybe you should take this as a sign? Get a real degree instead of trying to be a hero." It was less a suggestion, more of a command from her mother, but Luciana's mind was set.
Surprisingly enough, before Luciana could respond, her father chimed in. He wasn't much of a speaker, he read a lot, and he had this strangely intense air around him. Luciana had heard a few scattered whispers among her parents, only when she was out of the room, about his old career, but they never mentioned what exactly he did. These days he worked as an English teacher, but Luciana had no idea what he could've done before that to become so hardened. "Luciana, are you determined to become a hero?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then go. And don't lose." With that he turned his attention back to his book. It was a short interaction, but it had silenced her mother, and filled Luciana with all the more resolve.
"Right!" With that, Luciana ran out the door.
She was still massively late, but she felt a whole lot better now that she was out the door. She ran as fast as she could to the bus stop nearby, luckily it was close by, enough so that a short sprint would take her right there. Unfortunately, as if to offset her luck, when she got to the bus stop, there wasn't a bus in sight.
The downside of not having a spare car in the family was that Luciana was completely at the will of the bus system. A system that was incredibly flawed and almost always late.
When she arrived at the stop, there was only one other person, a man wearing black and white athletic wear. He was roughly the same age as Luciana, probably just out of high school as well. He eyed her suspiciously as she sprinted towards the bus stop, but he didn't make any direct attempts at conversation.
Despite his silence, he continued to stare at Luciana. She shouldn't have been shocked, having a man staring at her, she was, after all, a rather attractive young woman, but this wasn't the kind of stare she got when she walked down the hallways with Katarina, this was more of a glare, and an intense one at that.
Deciding she couldn't go on being glared at she turned to him. "Hey, is something wrong?"
He spoke in a deep and disdainful voice. "Nope, not a damn thing. Just wondering what you're in a hurry for?" There was definitely a 'damn thing,' but Luciana could tell he wasn't going to be forthcoming with his issues.
"I'm just running late to an exam, and I was hoping I could catch a bus soon."
His expression softened slightly, but he still remained on edge. "Oh, I thought you were here for... something else." He trailed off, the last bit being barely audible. This guy wasn't much of a conversationalist.
Luciana felt it was better to try and continue the conversation, she didn't have many friends besides Katarina that were her age, might as well make an effort. "My apologies, my name's Luciana, Luciana Dawn."
He cracked a small smile. "What, we're exchanging courtesies now..." He paused, just to check if she was serious before he sighed. "Fine. The name's Luciano, Antonio Luciano."
"It's nice to meet you Antonio."
As she was speaking, the bus appeared around a corner coming straight towards them. "Ah, what a stroke of luck." He mumbled. As the bus arrived, a few people shuffled out, enough to leave a comfortable amount of room, so both Antonio and Luciana could take seats next to each other.
There was still something odd about Antonio, a feeling that Luciana couldn't shake. He had the same intensity her father had, that feeling of a hidden past that kept him on edge at all times. Even as they sat together on the bus, he didn't so much as slouch, like he was poised to run at any moment. Or fight.
Luciana didn't want to pry, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. "So, are you from around here? I don't think I've seen you before."
"I move around a lot." He responded.
"That so..." The silence between them was deafening. He clearly wasn't about to confess his life story, but Luciana was still hoping for more. "Are you traveling all alone?"
"Yep."
"Cool... Cool." He was like a stone wall. Though he had been somewhat welcoming at the bus stop, the second they got around other people, it was like he shut down.
Silence had settled between them, but luckily for Luciana, it was broken almost immediately. A low growl resonated through the bus, like the growl of a wild animal. Had it been any louder, it likely would've rattled windows or been mistaken for an earthquake. The source of this rumble was Luciana's stomach.
She blushed slightly as she realized how hungry she really was. Antonio gave her an odd look. "You alright?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry! I woke up late and I wasn't able to eat much for breakfast."
"Really?" He chuckled to himself. Fishing through his pockets, Antonio pulled out a small granola bar and threw it over to Luciana. "Here, I was planning on saving it for later, but it's pretty clear you need this more than me."
Her mouth was practically watering, granola sounded a whole lot better than the cold toast she had earlier. "Really! Thanks a lot!" She unwrapped the granola bar and gratefully devoured it. It tasted as good as she had hoped, and she suddenly felt ready to take on whatever the exams threw at her.
They continued the bus ride in relative silence, although there were short moments of conversation. He still wasn't very forthcoming with any details about himself, and he didn't drop his guard, but Antonio didn't seem like a bad guy.
It wasn't long until the bus had reached Northpeak campus. Luciana had said her goodbyes, but what she didn't expect was that this wasn't just her stop. As she stepped off the bus, Antonio had followed.
"Huh? Wait... Are you..." Luciana started.
"Yeah, I thought so. Looks like I'm not the only one here for placement exams. I guess this makes us rivals." He walked straight past her.
"I didn't realize, do you want to find the exams together?" Luciana was hopeful for a guide. Since Katarina had run off early, Luciana had to make her way to the exam location alone, so she'd be grateful for anyone to accompany her.
"Nah, I figure I can get there faster on my own." Antonio clapped his hands together. "It's been a pleasure, seeya there." he took his hands apart and pointed them towards the ground. In an instant, he took flight. A massive shockwave blew past Luciana as an invisible force pushed Antonio into the air and away. She couldn't tell what his quirk might be, maybe something to do with wind judging by the gust he kicked up, but she couldn't be certain.
And just like that, Luciana was left alone once again. She knew which building the exams were being held in, but she only had ten minutes to make it there. Luckily, Katarina had dragged her along on plenty of visits to Northpeak campus, so Luciana knew it like the back of her hand.
A short run and she would be at the Wildcat Auditorium, where the exam instruction was being held. Of course, this wasn't how she wanted to prepare for her exam, with constant running from place to place, but such was her lot in life.
It was strange running through the campus. Unlike the many other times she had visited, the campus was deserted, only a few scattered students passed by. The college's color of red and black lined the buildings, with the school mascot, a glorious falcon, emblazoned on every emblem.
She made it to the Wildcat auditorium with a few minutes to spare. It was a massive theatre complex, and a sign next to the entrance indicated the building was dedicated to the famous pro hero Wildcat. Luciana knew next to nothing about Wildcat himself, but she did know his reputation as the Boxing Hero who could take out a hundred villains no problem.
As she made her way inside, she was directed to the sign in table, which was worked by a girl not much older than Luciana. She was probably a college student picking up some part time hours. She had a big smile plastered on, though it didn't seem inauthentic, it definitely wasn't sincere.
"Name and quirk, please?" The girl asked.
"Uh, my name's Luciana Dawn, and my quirk is Light."
The girl nodded wordlessly and rifled through a stack of papers. After a moment, she pulled out a packet with Luciana's name and quirk on it. "Alright, go on in, and good luck!" She said, but it was clear she wanted to add you're going to need it.
Luciana took the packet, thanked the girl, and made her way into the auditorium. Opening up the packet as she walked, Luciana took a peek inside.
Within the envelope was a selection of information on the university itself. A couple of brochures, a profile on Luciana that she was asked to submit beforehand, the kind that had included her name, quirk, blood type, the usual stuff. What was strange was the last two papers. The first was a nondisclosure form, which wasn't too surprising considering how secretive the placement exam was at Northpeak. The second was a liability waiver.
Luciana wasn't too experienced in legalese, but she understood the barebones of it. It essentially said that any injuries obtained during the exam was not the universities fault, even in severe cases. She wasn't sure what they had in store for them, and it was entirely possible this was only a necessary step, but Luciana couldn't shake the feeling that this would be a matter of life and death. Call it intuition, or maybe paranoia, but Luciana could feel it.
When she made it inside the auditorium proper, she looked around, hoping to spot Katarina, or even Antonio. The auditorium was packed, there was easily a hundred people, maybe double, or even triple that. Fortunately, she spotted Katarina sitting in the back with an open seat next to her. She looked for a bit longer, but she couldn't see Antonio anywhere. She didn't doubt he was somewhere in the crowd, but as much as she looked, she couldn't see him, and she bet that was exactly how he liked it.
Luciana rushed over to the open seat next to Katarina. "Hey, thanks for abandoning me."
"Oh, Lucy, I totally thought you'd sleep through exams, I'm glad you're here." She gave a wide smile. It was surprisingly difficult to stay angry, she was just so beyond happy, even if Luciana gave her a long lecture, she likely wouldn't lose her smile.
"Ugh, whatever." Luciana rolled her eyes. "Did I miss anything?"
"Not really, they're going to start in a minute or two." She was practically bouncing in her seat, despite being a college applicant, she looked more like an excited child. "There's so many people here! I wonder what they're quirks are! Do you think they're all into heroes too!"
"Calm down, Kat." Luciana started, but then another thought came to mind. "Oh, but I did run into another guy who was coming here."
"Whaaa?!" Katarina turned immediately and took her by the hand. "While I was here being a good student, you were galivanting about with boys! Give me the deets, was her at least cute? Did he have a crazy quirk? Tell me woman!"
Luciana couldn't fight a slight blush coming to her cheeks. "I don't know about cute, but he did have a pretty weird quirk." She mimicked him clapping his hands together and then pushing outward. "He sort of did this and then he shot out a big shockwave. I think it's got something to do with wind judging by how fast he flew up."
Katarina let go, her curiosity satisfied. Now she merely stroked her chin. "Hmm, that's not exactly what I meant by weird, I was kind of hoping you'd fall in love with a German-shepherd man or something like that, but that is pretty interesting. I don't know if it was wind, considering if it was, he wouldn't need to clap his hands. I've got some ideas of what his quirk might be, but I'd have to see it in person to be certain." This was how Kat always was when it came to hero business and quirks. She barely understood basic algebra or how to write an essay, but she was an ace when it came to anything hero related.
While Katarina was musing to herself, someone made their way to the front of the auditorium. She looked somewhat familiar, though Luciana couldn't place her exactly. She had long orange hair and wore a suit, though Luciana could tell she wasn't accustomed to it. She was followed by a man in a lab coat. He was older, probably in his mid-fifties, but he was hunched over, he gave Luciana the faint impression of a weasel.
The lights dimmed as the presentation began. "Hello, everyone!" The woman started. "I'm glad to see so many hopeful heroes out for today's placement exam. If you'd please open the packets you were given on entering and sign the forms inside it, you don't need to worry about most of it, it's all standard procedure."
She looked around for any objections, but it seemed everyone followed her instructions, so she continued. "Great. As some of you may know, my name is Miss Blink, and my companion is Doctor Darwinian. We'll be the ones in charge of your exam today." Now she knew where she saw her from. Miss Blink was a fairly famous pro hero; people called her the teleporting hero, fitting considering her quirk, which allows her to teleport short distances. She was so famous in fact that she is commonly referred to as the number seven hero in the United States.
Doctor Darwinian however was much less recognizable. Luciana had definitely heard the name before, but information was still scarce. He played support for plenty of pro heroes, and he even contributed in a few humanitarian projects. That being said, he also had a few scandals, rumors mostly, but some say he even participates in human experimentation, although that was pretty unlikely.
"I won't waste your time; we'll get straight into the instruction and get you guys out there." At her command, a screen lowered and a projector lit up. Displayed on the screen was a collection of lizard-like silhouettes, ranging from large to small. "The layout for this exam is simple, it'll be a race to capture one of these lovely creatures, the good Doctor can explain more."
Doctor Darwinian stepped forward. "The creatures displayed on the screen are lizards I evolved with my quirk to reflect common villain archetypes. Some will run away as fast as possible, some will gather among similar creatures and form a gang of sort, some will even stand and fight using excessive power. It'll be your job to determine which is which and to capture them. In total, there are eighteen of these creatures that will be released, corresponding to the eighteen available slots in the hero department."
That sent a murmur through the crowd. Eighteen slots, that couldn't be right, there were hundreds of people here, there's no way they'd send them all away, right? Luciana knew there were two other days for placement exams, did they have the same intense rules?
A man shouted out from the front row, it was a familiar voice, Antonio Luciano. "So, basically, this isn't an exam. In an exam, everyone has the possibility to pass, this is more of a competition, where the only way we can win is if everyone else loses. How is that heroic?"
Darwinian clearly didn't appreciate the interruption. "You seem to have a misunderstanding, after all, this is what heroes do. If one hero stops a villain, that just means another hero missed that opportunity. In the end, all of hero work is a competition, so that is what our exams reflect. Make no mistake, violence between applicants is forbidden, so there will be no stolen glory here. If you want to be a hero, you'll learn to compete with your fellow applicants. If that makes you too uncomfortable, you can leave right now."
Looking around, Darwinian expected some to stand up and leave, but to his surprise, no one took him up on his offer. "Good, normally we have one or two who can't stomach it. Now, the exam will take place in the Simulation Dome, configured to resemble a forest. The dome is filled with cameras, the second you defeat one of my creatures we'll dispatch Miss Blink to retrieve you."
Luciana had seen the Simulation Dome more than a few times; it was basically the main event on every college tour. It was a massive super structure, and what made Northpeak such an amazing hero university. The dome could be configured to simulate any number of environments, whether it be a massive metropolis or an oceanic archipelago.
"If there are no questions, you can all make your way to the Simulation Dome."
With that the presentation was over. It wasn't exactly what anyone had expected, after all, most other universities had a more hopeful tone, like they wanted students to succeed. Northpeak only wanted those destined for success, they weren't about to take in just anyone.
Katarina nudged Luciana in the side. "Let's get going, I'm getting excited for this!"
"You're not nervous at all?" Luciana knew she was single-minded, but this was on a whole different level.
"Why would I be nervous. We either pass or we don't, right? I figure if we try our hardest, it'll all work out in the end." She didn't even stumble.
While the odds were basically a hundred-to-one, Katarina wasn't even fazed. She had no reason to be after all, she was destined to be a hero after all, failure wasn't even a possibility. Luciana knew this, and she also knew she couldn't let herself fall behind, because if she did, she'd never catch up. "Right. Then let's go."
With that, the Northpeak placement exams were about to begin. A fight to the finish that'll determine countless futures. And Luciana was determined to succeed at all costs.