Ta-dah! Weird, right? If you know me then you'll realize that this is my second story in this fandom, I'm not gonna repeat what I've already inputted in the A/N's from my first story. Just know that I made this one in case the first one doesn't work out.
I actually prefer this new one, cause I legit don't know where I am even going with the original.
A series of knocking can be heard from a quaint little house.
"Sweetie, it's time to wake up, you'll miss the bus at this rate." As the banging reverberated into the room, we see a figure laying atop a bed that was settled into the corner. The sweet voice rang again, "Breakfast is ready downstairs, hon, and you don't want to be late for school."
A groggy voice weakly replied, "Ugh... I'm up, Mom. I'll come down in a minute." The owner of said voice then sat up, allowing the blanket to roll over their form as we finally see the features of the individual. He appeared to be in his teens, with black eyes and black hair, wearing his pajamas over his lightly tanned skin. Pushing the covers off him, he sat on the edge of his bed, ready to start the day.
"All right then, Luke, remember to freshen up. I'll see you soon." The teen, now named Luke, rubbed his eyes as he stretched his body before letting out a yawn. Smacking his lips a few times, he got up and went to the bathroom to prepare for the school day ahead of him.
"That's the last time I stay up late reading comic books," he groaned as he dragged his sleep-deprived body to the bathroom across his room.
Hissing at the few rays of light the sun is letting out, he continued his trek for a nice relaxing bath. As he strode forward, we can see a few family pictures hung around the length of the hallway.
The first one contained an image of him and his mother on his first day of school when they moved to a new city. The second picture had him and his mom on a picnic, with wide smiles as they looked like they were having a pleasant time, but there was also a third member in the happy little family moment the picture captured.
Looking at the last picture, Luke had a look of slight guilt, it featured a man much older than him, with black hair and wore goggles that covered his eyes, and a grin that made you feel at ease.
Not a word was said as the young teen stared at the photo, his lips formed a grim frown as he shook his head and took a long cold shower to cleanse his thoughts.
"If only I wasn't such a failure, then maybe he would still be alive," Luke stated as the frown not once left his face as he let the cold droplets of water soothe his being.
After his shower and a few contemplating moments, he got out of his room all dolled up and ready to face the day ahead of him. He sported a red shirt with black pants and a yellow belt around his abdomen, finishing the look with a pair of black shoes with yellow highlights.
He descended the stairs and headed straight to the kitchen for a delectable meal his loving mother prepared for him. Angel O'Neil was a delightful woman, with the years being generous to her, she aged like fine wine, with her yellow sundress and minimal make-up.
"Hey, Mom, good morning." Luke kissed his mother on the cheek as the lovely woman smiled at the gesture, "Morning to you too, sweetie. Hurry and eat your breakfast, the bus will be here soon." Nodding to his mother, he sat and quietly ate his food.
"So, are you ready for another day of school, gummy bear?" Cringing at his mother's old nickname for him, he simply shrugged and gave her a brief reply.
"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," he said as he finished the rest of his food.
"Oh, don't be like that, hon, think of all the new friends you can make and the adventures you'll get into." Smiling at his mom's attempt to cheer him up, he sported a small smile.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I might as well try to find some guys I can hang out with." he hoped, as his school life was getting pretty boring after the family of two moved to the city.
"That's the spirit, sweetie, be sure to tell me all about these friends that you'll be making when you come ba-ACK!" Angel exclaimed as her foot slipped on a small puddle that she forgot to mop up earlier. Time slowed as she felt herself falling to the ground, but before she could, a hand stretched to her rescue and helped her up.
"Phew, thanks for the save, Luke." The elongated hand then retracted back towards Luke, holding an empty plate in his other limb, as he sent an extra appendage to retrieve the mop. "No prob, mom." Cleaning up the puddle, he returned the mop and set his dishes in the sink.
"I'll handle the dishes, sweetie, just go and wait for the bus. I'll see you tonight." his mom said as he complied and got out of the kitchen, extended his hand once more, and picked up his bag upstairs. "Bye, Mom, I'll see you when I get back!" "Bye, sweetie, and remember what we've talked about." Rolling his eyes as he repeated this conversation with his mother like a million times already.
"Yeah, I get it, never show my powers to anyone." "Take care, Luke." With a wave, she said farewell to her only son. Luke simply waited at the stop for the bus to come and pick him up.
Yes, you heard it, folks, Lucas (Luke) O'Neil has superpowers, not one of those make-believe powers that children came up with, but actual superpowers that differentiate him from the rest of the populace.
For you see, Luke has the capability to control every single molecule in his body, allowing him to change shape and form to whatever he can imagine. Pretty neat superpower, am I right? Though, it's not to say that he was the only one. Metropolis, the city he is now staying at, was a hotspot for heroes and villains alike, all with unique powers and skills that make them stand out above the rest.
Moving on, Luke catches the bus and sat in his usual seat by the window, the bus then moved towards its next destination. Luke simply watched the scenery as he passed by different landmarks and sights on his way back and forth from school.
"Might as well check my phone to pass the time." Looking up for anything that may catch his interest, he is met with an emergency broadcast that blared from his device.
"BREAKING NEWS: As has become apparent in these past few months, even with the aid of the likes of Superman guarding our city, Metropolis is still in dire need of super help." The newscaster stated, with a graph beside her showing how much crime has escalated in recent months. The news then cut to a video displaying a ravaging green blob-like monster with a multitude of tentacles.
"This footage was taken earlier in Midtown as an individual was seen battling against this horrific monster that terrorized our fellow citizens." The figure moved and swiftly sliced off a tentacle before charging the beast.
"It looks like a small glimmer of hope may have finally arrived, but now we're left with the question everyone is asking, who is this Wonder Woman?" Luke scratched his chin as he thought about what happened in the recent broadcast.
'Strange, must be a new hero making their debut. I wouldn't fault them, what better place to be a hero than in the city of tomorrow? Although, it still begs the question of whom the girl in question is. Hmm...' Deep in thought, Luke would've pondered the thought further before the driver signaled that the students that they arrived at their stop. Looking up from his seat, he can see the school he's been attending for the few months he's been in this city, it was massive, he thought the first time he arrived.
With red bricks lining the exterior of the school, they had a giant Lady Justice statue in the front with an enormous football field placed across the academy. He got up and exited the bus by his lonesome, during his stay he never once made a new friend, he blames his crippling awkwardness and the lack of a social presence. It didn't bother him that much to be alone, but his mom has been nagging him to open up and bring some people over to his house for once.
"Well, I did say that I would try to make some new friends, but I'm not making any promises." he heard a startled yelp from behind him, turning around he saw a short and skinny African-American girl, with light-brown skin and curly dark brown hair, who appeared to have tripped herself and had her bag with a bunch of tools and gadgets sprawled around the ground in front of her.
"Hey, you need some help with that?" Deciding to offer his aid, the girl just looked at him as it looked like she had trouble speaking. "Oh, um, I don't want to be a bother." She said as she desperately tried to pick up all her things. "It's okay, it must be hard carrying all this stuff by yourself," Luke told her, as he started placing all the tech stuff back into the girl's bag. She seemed to like bees a lot because she wore a baggy sweater that was a size too big, it had black and yellow stripes alongside her yellow skirt with black tights, to complete the look she had on a pair of beige boots with fur lining the throat.
"I'm Luke, by the way, sorry for asking, but I can't seem to recall ever seeing you around here?" he said, as the girl gave him a quick shake of her head since she found herself slightly staring at the expanse of his collar bone going down.
"Oh, I'm Karen, and I don't really try to stand out. It makes me feel anxious." She returned with a shy and meek voice.
"Ah, I get it, it's scary being the center of attention. I also prefer being by myself." He sympathized with her, maybe they can be friends with their shared fear of being under a spotlight as a basis.
"So, what classes are you in- wait a minute, what's this?" He inquired as he picked up a strange helmet, he tried to inspect it closer, but Karen reached out and hurriedly stored away the rest of her belongings before storming off, but not without a quick 'thank you' and a swift 'goodbye' on her part.
"Huh, that was weird." "Tell me about it." Luke freaked at the sudden intrusion beside him.
Standing next to him, for who knows how long, was a short light-skinned girl wearing a purple hoodie with pointed ears, dark purple shorts, yellow sneakers, and thigh-high socks with purple and yellow stripes. She also had a purple backpack as she seemed unaware of the fright she gave poor Lucas.
"Who are you, and how long have you been standing right beside me?" He questioned as the girl simply waved it off as paranoia. "Oh, relax, I just got here, and long enough to see the other girl running away, speaking of, any idea what that was about?" she said without a hint of remorse from her past actions.
"Oh, silly me. Hi, my name's Bab's, it's very nice to meet ya!" She told him with glee as she put out her hand for a shake.
Luke just stared at her before returning her gesture, "Luke, nice to see you too." He said with a slight strain in his voice.
"I'm new here, it's my first day. Have you been going here for a long time now? What's it like-" Before she can continue with her spree of questions, Luke silenced her with a finger to her lips.
'What is she, a question train? It should be inhumanly impossible to speak that fast.' he thought as the sudden onslaught of words made him dizzy.
"Now, when I pull back my hand, you are going to calm down and ask me slowly this time, okay?" He phrased to her, reeling in his annoyance whilst trying to remain polite. With a small nod, he withdraws his finger and allowed Babs to speak again.
"Sorry about that, my dad says I tend to be a bit hyperactive when meeting new people." She bashfully told him.
With a sigh, he said, "It's alright, just pull it back a little next time, alright?"
With a smile, she beamed "You got it new friend!" As she gave Luke a side hug.
Luke, for his part, was left momentarily stunned, 'Friend?' he debated with himself, 'I haven't met this girl for five minutes and she's already calling me her friend? That's all it took?!'
He stood, dumbfounded at how easy it was to befriend someone when you're not actively trying to avoid them, at least his mom can be at peace of mind knowing her son wasn't friendless anymore. Better not to let Babs know about his powers though, can't risk endangering his family like before.
"Bye, Daddy." A high-pitched voice knocked them out of their friendship moment as they turn to see a beautiful girl with an hourglass figure exiting a limo, she wore a black waistcoat with a single magenta button over a long-sleeved white shirt. With a short magenta skirt and high-heeled black knee-high stiletto boots. Her hair was a shade of purple with lavender streaks, before she can get any further the limo honked a few times before a man appeared out of the limo and called to her.
"Zee, you forgot your bag!" The man who Luke and Babs assumed to be the now-identified Zee's father held out a sparkling magenta-colored bag.
"Thanks, Daddy. Toodles~" The girl bid her father farewell as they looked back and saw her already holding the bag that they just saw from her father's grasp before she went inside.
"Luke," Barbara started as she rubbed her green eyes a few times.
"Yeah, Babs?" Luke replied frozen in place.
"Did we just see the same thing or am I going crazy?" She commented as they were still processing what just happened before them.
"I wish that was the case, but no, you're not crazy, nor am I. That did just happen, whatever exactly that even was, to begin with." He retorted as he just accepted what escalated to be surreal for his mind to comprehend. Just then another voice brought them out of their stupor.
"I'm just saying, that I don't get why I'm being punished for something I didn't do." Luke and Babs turned to see another girl, she had a curvaceous yet muscular build, having short and golden locks of hair with pale highlights. She seemed to be on the taller side, just shorter than Luke but dwarfing Babs by a margin, wearing a blue leather jacket over a lighter blue shirt. With garnet-colored ripped jeans, and cherry knee-high boots.
"And we hear you saying, 'didn't do it', Kara." A much older woman spoke from the green car that the blonde girl came out of. She continued with a short sharp inhale, "Let's reframe our thinking." She said while gesturing her hands to help make her point clear.
The built girl lets out a sigh, "Maybe you could think about a new school as more of an adventure than a punishment, Kara." "One that can help you be the best possible version of yourself," A man spoke up from the driver's seat. "And as your legal guardians, it's our duty to assist you on your path towards impulse control," he stated as the younger girl grunted before slamming the car door with enough force to dent the vehicle and break the glass, as the impact also caused it to tilt over to one side before balancing itself out.
Leaving with an attitude, she got up the steps as the man and woman in the car exclaimed, "Have a great first day of school, Kara!" "Or don't, whatever you think is best for you, sweetie!" They then drove off, it was a miracle that the car even started after the damage it sustained.
Luke and Babs just stood with aghast expressions as Luke then said, "Welp, it finally happened, I've gone insane." He dejectedly accepted his new life as a mentally inept individual as the sight of a girl that looked like his age just caused a car to almost cave in.
"I don't think so, bear with me here, Luke, but as crazy as it may sound, I think that those girls before were supers." She said with a hint of ecstatic euphoria escaping her tone.
Her smile widened as Luke just gawked, he would've called her out, but realized that they were in Metropolis, a place where super-powered people come to gather. So it may not be that much of a stretch to say that Bab's theory may hold some merit than Luke initially thought. Also, not forgetting that he himself also possessed one of these so-called superpowers, but there's no way he was gonna tell Babs or anyone else for that matter.
After a few more minutes of Babs trying to convince Luke that there were supers in Metropolis High, they went inside to attend to their vices. Barbara, which is Bab's actual name, asked Luke for his class schedule and realized that they mostly had the same classes apart from Chemistry and band practice. Going down the lengthy hall, they passed by other students of various shapes and forms, however, a disturbing handful of them was wearing the product that Lexcorp was advertising earlier.
'Huh, guess the trend's catching on.' Luke was bemused before joining Babs as she fiddled with her locker. As they were about to head out, a conversation stopped them in their tracks.
"I told you, Hal. I don't want to be a part of the Green Lantern Corps." A voice rang out as Luke along with his latest and only friend thus far, Babs, listened in. "There's methods are too violent and I am not participating in such barbaric actions." A female said.
"Look, I don't make the rules, Jess. The ring chose you, which means you now have a responsibility to uphold." The handsome guy, by Barbara's standards, was talking with a girl of Hispanic descent. The guy had the body of a jock as he wore a grey shirt with dark green sleeves. The Latina girl had a voluptuous build with light brown skin and a rosy tint on her cheeks. She wore a green beanie on her head, a green off-the-shoulder crop top, a light green tank top, pale green hoop earrings, a long green skirt with the Green Lantern logo print around it, and green flats.
The pair's brown and green eyes landed on Luke's black and Babs' green as he just looked away whistling while Barbara stored some of her things in her locker. Ignoring our pair of awkward teens, the other pair continued with their conversation as they heard who they now know as Jess pulling the ring from her finger before trying to give it to the attractive Hal, again Bab's standard, before the jock refused and pushing the ring back to the girl as they left the scene.
"You know, you might be not that far off about having supers here in this school." Luke relented, it was impossible to deny their existence after all they have seen in the past few minutes alone.
"See, I told you! I'm pretty good at this sort of stuff." She boldly claimed, and Luke just raised his brow.
"What, at scoping out supers?" "Or villains, and other people with a unique set of skills," Luke asked as Babs responded.
"But we won't know for sure until we can gather hard evidence about those girls." Bab's mind started working as she tried to devise an ingenious idea to bring these presumably super girls together in one room and have them reveal their crafts.
"Well, what can you do, I think it's best to just ignore them and get on with our lives before we get caught up in some idiot's hare-brained sche-"Luke stated before Babs interjected him.
"I got it!" "And here comes the idiot." Luke deadpanned as Babs thankfully ignored his rude comment.
"I have a plan to get those girls to reveal their powers!" 'I guess there's no one escaping this one, Luke. Leave it to your luck that your first friend happened to have a few screws loose.' "Alright, I'll bite, what's your plan, Babs?" Luke simply relented and resigned to his fate. 'I guess this is a part of making friends, you get the whole package, no matter how crazy as they come.'
"Trust me, I got it all covered, just meet me during lunch as I put my plan into action." With a snicker here and there, Luke made a silent oath to try and look for friends that won't intentionally push him into troublesome situations, such as now and what idea Babs has cooked up in that head of hers.
Before anything else can be said, the bell then suddenly rang, startling the two as it signaled the start of classes, the two then rushed for their first class together. As Luke seemed unamused while Bab's grin keeps getting wider.
After a rigorous and boring day of classes, mostly about stuff Luke already seemed to know, seems like the teachers are getting lazier, he swore they'd gone over the same topic for the last few meetings already. Moving on, lunch rolled around as Luke got out of his class, he already saw Babs rushing out of the room earlier, probably to enact her plan, or was just as, if not more so, bored out of her mind as he was.
Making a quick stop by his locker, he got his things in order as he finally proceeded to make his way toward the cafeteria. Seeing the line, he knows it'll be a few before he can put some food into his system, not seeing Babs anywhere for now, he just sequestered himself along with the rest of the student body to grab a bite to eat.
After waiting in line, it was finally his turn, he ordered a serving of spaghetti and meatballs and hastily grabbed his tray to look for a free table. Walking along the seas of students enjoying their meals he saw a hand waving at him, as the recipient of said appendage motioned him to come closer.
It was Babs, with a lunch tray of her own, who started sipping at her juice box as her eyes darted across the room, scanning for superhero prospects. Seeing the girls from before scattered into different sections of the cafeteria, she saw the short and meek girl munching on her own plate of pasta while reading a book, the beautiful girl with purple hair was nose deep into her phone, the Latina was with her group of friends chatting it up as she braided another girl's hair, while the girl that slammed her car was slouching on her chair as the person to her left was about to hurl some food at the other person at her table. Barbara locked her sights on the muscular blonde girl from before, she took aim and steadied herself as Kara laughed at what seemed to have been a failed attempt of a prank.
'Bingo.' She thought as phase one of her plan has been set in motion.
Luke just joined her table and was about to take a bite out of his healthy and nutritious tray of Italian cuisine, before a delicate hand took a handful of the delectable pasta and threw it at her intended target.
With a horrified look, he just watched his lunch being launched over a distance, his stomach gurgled, as he turned to Barbara and began scolding her for the injustice she's brought upon his food. Not realizing that a loud splat was heard and a no longer laughing blonde chick wiping off the noodles and sauce from her face before she slammed her fists and glared in front of her to find out which one had the gull to hit her in the face with their lunch.
Her eyes landed on Luke and Barbara, seeing the former's tray empty, she picked up her burger intending to return the favor. As Luke was still in the middle of reprimanding Babs for her act of folly against the people that worked hard to provide food on their table, he didn't notice the accelerating piece of fast food hurtling towards him. When he heard a zooming noise it was already too late, as the product of beef and buns hit him square in the face.
Luke grunted at the force of the burger as he grunted at his assailant, seeing the blonde girl glaring at him with spaghetti sauce all over her face, he realized what happened and was about to confront Babs before noticing Kara readying another burger and threw it at him once more.
Fortunately for him, she missed, unfortunately for Karen who got caught in the crossfire, the projectile hit her instead. The potency of the incoming burger launched the smaller framed girl across her seat as she whimpered from the pain.
Luke, seeing an opening, decided to return fire as he grabbed Babs' food, seeing as how this girl can easily crush a car door, he decided to put a little more strength into his attack. Using his power, he increased the number of muscles in his throwing arm, tightening the tissues and raising the thickness of his bones, he pulled back his arm before he propelled a fistful of pasta towards Kara. Not realizing how much power he purposefully added to his strike, his throw caused a small sonic boom as it struck the blonde teenager head-on.
Kara, to her shock, was thrown back and hit the wall, leaving a small indent from where she landed. After her initial daze, she grabbed more food and threw some more back, but with her terrible aim, the projectile swerved and was about to hit Karen again, before Jess intervened and blocked the food with a lunch tray.
"Leave her alone, you big bully!" Patting herself in the back for saving her friend she was about to check up on her before a voice cut in.
"My hair." Zee, who was on her phone was now covered in the very food that Jess deflected from Kara's onslaught.
With a sudden screech, Zee yelled as she turned to the one that ruined her fabulous mane. "MY HAIR!"
Grabbing her milk carton, with a grunt she lobbed the diary beverage straight at Jess whose response was to use the lunch tray again and block the attack. In doing so, the milk bounced and splashed all over Luke, as he slowly turned and look at both girls with a fire in his eyes, which actually caused Jess and Zee to be slightly intimidated.
As the battle raged on, Barbara jumped onto a table and shouted, "FOOD FIGHT!" Then all hell broke loose. Food and drinks rained all over the cafeteria as every student participated in the bloodbath. With many laughing and having a great time, the main perpetrators were doing all they can to survive. Indiscriminate yelling and shouting rang all around the room before the principal passed the hallway and saw the carnage taking place.
"Enough!" He said, with little to no effect as the war raged on, with increasing intensity. Only when a stray food hit him on the face did he snap and bellowed.
"I SAID ENOUGH!" The entire room settled down as every student let out a gasp from seeing the principal. The horde of students stopped before parting in the middle, revealing the main suspects of the entire debacle in a pile, grunting and strangling each other, their clothes messy and stained by various amounts of food. The pile then ceased their quarrel as they set their gaze upon the incoming principal. Luke looked on as he realized how much trouble he's gotten himself into.
"You six, let's go!" The principal stated as Kara managed to get a last hit in with a cupcake on Luke.
'What have you done, Barbara!' Luke internally screamed as his actions finally caught up to him.
This is not the longest chapter I've ever made, but since I literally just fixed and copied an entire chapter during my first attempt, I say this has been by far my greatest achievement as a writer yet.
Welp, that's that. See you guys soon, and I mean that quite literally.