Chapter 6/The Training Begins
The next day I met my other roommates: Gabriel Rochester and Karl. I was actually kinda glad that Karl would be rooming with me, just because I had known him from before. The calm of the familiar I guess. Gabriel was an interesting dude. His hair was spiked up in rock hard cones and died an unusual shade of bluish purple. He had a lip ring, an eyebrow ring, four earrings in one ear and two in the other. His skin was a light caramel color, not unlike Ana Lucia's. He wore an outfit almost as outrageous as his hair. Next to him, Karl and Connor looked normal. I had yet to discover his personality.
Connor was just as rude in the morning as he was yesterday. Not saying anything to anyone, he got dressed and left before Karl had even stirred. That was when I got up. Josh had given me my schedule the night before so I knew I had to get down soon if I wanted to have breakfast.
I was just buckling my belt around my almost too thin waist, when Gabriel woke up. He jumped down from the top bunk and slapped at Karl to wake the other boy. He gave me a grin full of slightly pointed teeth before heading into the bathroom. Karl leaned on his elbow and blinked at me.
"So," he said, his fingers twitching. "You're here."
His sandy cowlick twitched and I watched fascinated. I had no idea you could twitch your hair. . . . I forced a small, tight smile.
"Yes, I'm here." It hurt to talk and the words came out mumbled. Then I remembered the lip ring. I touched it lightly and winced inwardly. The lip was swollen and it hurt. A lot. I tried to ignore the pain.
He looked at me silently for a second before jerking abruptly and getting out of bed. By this time Gabriel was out of the bathroom. He nodded to my swollen lip.
"Hurt like crazy when she did it to me too," he said. "Don't worry. The swelling will be gone by tomorrow if you take care of it. Then it'll hurt for a couple more days then you'll be fine." He grinned, displaying those small pointed teeth. Somehow I didn't feel very reassured.
The three of us arrived at the cafeteria in time to catch a bagel or two before we all were ushered into a stark white room. Bleachers had been placed around a ring that was covered by a clear, hard plastic dome. We spotted Connor and made our way over to him. Connor actually greeted Gabriel a friendly manner. They exchanged some sort of secret handshake and then Gabriel sat down next to his apparent friend. That left me with Karl. We sat down beneath Connor and Gabriel. Just as I feared, Chanel caught sight of us and ran over, her dirty blonde hair done up in some crazy style that made it look similar to a bird's nest.
She seated herself close by me. I resisted the urge to push her off. She looked at my lip.
"Yeah, that figures," she said, nodding at its swollen state.
She looked happy about it. I told myself I would never understand her. I looked around the room as the students came wandering in. I suddenly got a weird sense of déjà vu. The students soon filled the ring of benches that faced the plastic dome. I spotted Josh with Megan beside him. The dark girl had her arm wrapped through Josh's but when she felt my gaze on her she turned and gave me a subtle wink. I quickly looked away, afraid that Chanel might be right about her.
All the students were talking among themselves and I wondered why we were all gathered here and what was going to happen next. Just then a high pitched screech rang throughout the large room and the conversation died down while everyone clamped their hands over their ears, me included. When everything quieted, a tall dark haired man entered the dome. Next to him was a thin lady with a face that resembled a bird's (and an ugly one at that). I looked quizzically at Karl, but it was Chanel who answered my unspoken question.
"That's Mr. and Mrs. Elridge. They're two of the most important teachers."
Just then Mr. Elridge spoke and his voice was amplified throughout the large room.
"Once again we are here to train and equip you for what you will face out there during your missions. I expect the best from everyone. When we call your names, you and your opponent will enter this dome. The fight will begin, and will end with the victor as the last one standing."
I was surprised. This obviously wasn't Sky High in the least. There was no citizen to save at all. I wondered what type of superhero academy this was. None of the students I had met so far seemed hero material. Maybe that was the point. Maybe this was to whip them into shape or something.
That small branch of hope was immediately broken off and chopped to pieces when the first two students entered the dome and proceeded to beat each other to a pulp until one could not rise. I watched with a slack jaw as the medic team came in and carried the loser away on a stretcher. I gulped so deeply I was sure everyone around me could hear. I'm sure I had gone white. Well, whiter than I already was.
"Rochester and Baliene, you're up."
Chanel rose from beside me and gave me a wink, I kept my face impassive. Gabriel stood and stepped over my bench. Together they made their way down to the dome. I got a queasy feeling in my stomach. I realized I was about to watch two people who I just met beat up each other. I didn't want Gabe to get hurt because he seemed like a nice dude, pointed teeth and all. I didn't want Chanel to get hurt just because I can't stand to see girls get beaten. It made me remember my mom.
When the crowd roared to greet the new opponents, I was hit with another sense of déjà vu. Man, I was getting these feelings everywhere! What was wrong with me? I had never been here before, had I? I was suddenly confused. What if I had been here before? I didn't exactly remember what had happened to me after Karl had stuck that needle in me.
Gabriel and Chanel had entered the dome. Everything grew quiet as they began to circle each other, neither letting the other get behind. I watched intently. Connor had moved down to sit with us so he could get a better look. His eyes were shining with excitement and his fists were clenched. I wondered who he was rooting for and guessed Gabriel.
Suddenly Chanel's foot went flying out of nowhere and headed straight for Gabriel's face. Gabe merely blocked it with his arm. Chanel's next attack was a double punch to the stomach. Again Gabriel blocked her, standing almost completely still. She stopped and stood unmoving as well. For a few seconds they just looked at each other. Then there was a flash of red and a fireball came hurtling towards Chanel. I started. Another Warren Peace, eh?
Chanel dodged the fireball and disappeared. She reappeared directly behind him and lashed out at his face as he turned. There wasn't enough time for him to block her and she had him pinned to the ground. He held out his wrist but Chanel kicked something out of his hand. Suddenly he screamed in pain. Connor stiffened beside me and I watched horrified as Gabriel began to writhe on the ground with agony. Chanel stepped back, that small, slightly sadistic smile on her face.
Even without my powers I could feel Connor's anger growing. Karl looked nervously at him, twitching slightly. I watched fascinated. How was she doing it? Was it a mind thing? Was she hurting him inside his head? Finally Gabe went still and Chanel was called the winner. Connor's jaw was working back and forth. The medics came and took Gabriel away and Chanel exited the dome. She was wise enough not to come over until Connor had left to check on his friend.
She grinned at me as she sat down. "So? What did you think?"
"What did you do to him?" I asked, unable to keep the awe out of my voice.
She laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, I can heal a wound or make it worse in terms of pain, and teleport. All Gabe can do is manipulate fire; he has to carry a lighter to use his powers. All I had to do was scratch his face, and then intensify the pain. I could have healed it up right after we ended but I didn't want to. He's Adams's friend and tried to come onto me a while back. He's not my type." She made a face then looked at me significantly.
I turned away. Mr. Elridge was calling the next two contestants.
"Taylor and Walker, you're up."
Chanel grinned. "Oh, watch the fireworks!"
I really had no choice in the matter. I watched as Megan stood from beside Josh and made her way to the dome. Another girl with dark hair and slanted eyes also started down the bleachers. This second girl looked slightly familiar and I knew I had heard that surname before.
The two girls faced each other in the dome. I wondered what would happen, since I knew Megan's powers were indestructibility and power sensing, how was she going to fight? I realized she must know karate or some such martial art. This Walker girl still seemed annoyingly familiar. Why?
"Violet Walker is a shapeshifter," Chanel told me. "She can shapeshift into a tiger. This'll be interesting."
Violet Walker. Shapeshifting. Violet Walker. Shapeshifting. No! Magenta Walker, shapeshifter! That was why this girl looked so familiar: she was Magenta's older sister. I had heard about her, but never seen her. She had the same dark hair and eyes as Magenta, minus the purple highlights. She wasn't dressed like Magenta either. She looked like one of those preppy cheerleaders that Magenta would make fun of. This would be interesting indeed.
Megan instantly whipped out her fist and connected with Violet's chin. We were soon watching a full out kung fu fight. Both girls were very skilled. I realized Megan was keeping Violet busy so the shapeshifter couldn't shift. This went on for a while until the girls began tiring. Finally Mrs. Elridge blew a whistle and they stopped, breathing heavily. A groan rose from the students. They obviously didn't want it to be a tie. I for one was glad Magenta's sister didn't get hurt.
Mr. Elridge's voice rang throughout the room, over the noise of the students.
"Newton and Adams, you're up."
I started in surprise. Me against Connor? Did they have a thing with picking people who obviously didn't like each other? And I was surprised that I had even been chosen. I had just got here for crying out loud! Stiffly I stood at Chanel and Karl's urgings.
"Go get them, Alex," Karl said. "Just like last time."
I froze, almost falling over as Chanel gave me a hard push in the back. I walked down to the dome in a daze. What had he meant? I had never been here before. Just like last time? Huh?
I entered the dome and a black door shut behind me. Inside the dome you could not see the outside. It was all completely white. I stared at the black door in the white room. Where had I seen this before? I remembered that I hadn't remembered anything from after Karl stuck me with the sedative to when Ana Lucia found me in the rain. I smiled slightly as I remembered the worried look she had given me, the feel of her hand against my face as she wiped the wet hair from my eyes.
Just then Connor was before me. He gave me a hard glare.
"I don't like you," he stated in a low voice.
I frowned. "You don't even know me." I pointed out.
He smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Oh, I know you better than you think, Alex Newton. And believe me I've been nice to you so far. I have to. Megan won't let me touch her precious new recruit. But if you ever cross me, try to fight me, or just annoy me, I swear I'll kill you." His voice turned deep and menacing.
"What did I do?" I asked, more confused then frightened by his threat.
He ignored me. Stepping back, he held out his hands to the side.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Training has started."
I reached out uncertainly with my powers, sensing his feelings to see how I could manipulate them. I was astonished at the amount of hatred I felt, most of it directed towards me. Now I was more confused than ever. I didn't even know him before yesterday. What could I have possibly done to deserve all this? And how could I use this to my advantage?
Adams snarled. "Just like I thought. A coward. Now it's my turn. Let's take a stroll down the memory lane, shall we?"
A/N: Ooo, cliffhanger! That wasn't supposed to be there, really. I was going to keep going, but I thought that was an interesting place to stop. And this next part is going to be long and it's already almost midnight here. :-P
Anyway, don't forget to click that pretty little lavender button down there to leave a review. Come on, you know you want to. :-P