Remi liked having her dorm room to herself, but sometimes she wished she had a roommate. Maybe then she wouldn't be currently sprinting towards her next class, having already slept through her first two and late for her next one. I can feel that bell about to ring any minute. Come on legs! Push me forward!

"That fight at the courtyard was insane! Those guys got destroyed!"

"Seriously! I wonder what they did to make that guy so mad…?"

"Mad enough to knock them all out apparently."

Remi came to an abrupt stop, overhearing a discussion two girls passing by were having. What did they say? "Hey!"

Remi's shout startled the two girls, and they turned back to see that the Jack of Wellston was making her way to them.

"R-Remi! G-Good morning!" The girl with green hair in two buns said, hoping they weren't in any trouble.

"We weren't in the way, were we?" Her friend with orange hair and blue eyes asked with a bit of franticness.

Remi raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? No, not at all. The fight you guys were talking about, which courtyard was it at?"

The girls looked relieved they hadn't done anything to anger the girl.

"The one nearby, East Courtyard I think?" The green-haired girl said, with her friend confirming it.

Remi looked in that direction, before turning back and giving the girls a smile. "Thank you! Have a good day!" She said, giving the girls a wave as she ran.

"Y-Yeah, you too." The girls replied back, waving back at her weakly.

"Juni." The girl with orange hair said, getting her friend's attention. "Remi is so pretty…!" She said with a dusting of red on her face.

Juni sighed, Oh Leora…

Remi was taken aback by the sight that was before her. There were three unconscious students when she arrived: One was slumped against the wall, a crater in the wall behind him, no doubt having been caused by him getting launched into it, and the other two were laid out on the floor, splotches of blood underneath them.

Why would someone do this? She wondered to herself in concern, then looked around her, seeing how other passing students just ignored the sight. Is no one going to help them?

She stepped toward them, and her attention turned to the nearby exit door opening.

Tanner came through the door panting, feeling a bit exhausted. Heavy ass motherfuckers…

"Are you taking them to the infirmary?"

Tanner lifted up his head, ready to send a glare to whoever was talking to him, but that quickly vanished as he saw who he aimed it at.

"Remi?!" Shit shit shit, what's the Jack doing here?!

Tanner straightened himself, trying to keep cool. "Y-Yeah, I am. I got it taken care of so…don't worry about us!" He said, walking over to collect Wenqi.

He lifted her up and wrapped her arm around his shoulder for leverage. He turned back but was shocked to see Remi carrying both Krolik and Gavin over her shoulders, her ability activated.

"I'll help you bring them there, it's no problem!" She said with a smile.

Once Tanner stopped being stunned, he just nodded and accepted the help. "O-Okay."

"So…where are we supposed to put them?" Remi asked, seeing as the two infirmary beds were already being taken by Rouker and Illena. She stood there awkwardly, Tanner beside her the same way.

"Good fucking question…" Nurse Darren muttered, sipping his third cup of coffee for the day, a slight shaking of the hand he held his cup in from all the anger boiling within him.

The three's attention turned to the sound of footsteps. Illena looked to have recovered enough to stand. She had a sour look on her face as she glanced at Tanner, seeing him hold the injured Wenqi, and her eyes widened at the sight of Remi being there. Remi wasn't even able to ask if she was okay before Illena tried to rush out of the room.

"Did I say you could leave?" Darren muttered, stopping Illena in her tracks. The look in her eyes met his glare before he sighed and waved a hand at her. "Whatever, just go."

Before Illena left, she gave a bow she barely bothered with to Remi, wanting to just leave and get through the day. Tanner went to place Wenqi in the freed-up resting space, while Darren told Remi to set the others on the chairs while they waited.

"I'll deal with making sure they're alright, so just go." He said to Tanner dismissively, the fewer brats he had around him, the better.

"Y-Yes, sir." Tanner said with a slow nod, ready to get away from the good nurse as soon as he could.

"Before you go," Remi called out to Tanner, "Can you tell me who did this to all you guys?" To beat down multiple students like that was something that was never okay in her eyes; She had to make sure it didn't happen again and that the students felt safe. That they were safe.

Tanner wasn't sure what he wanted to come out of his mouth, but he wanted to feel optimistic about what would happen if he told her. If I tell her who it was, maybe she'll be able to put him in his place, keep him in line and away from us. Or she could make Arlo or Seraphina aware, and there's no way they'd get beaten.

Tanner grinned to himself, thinking he had a great plan, before responding to Remi with a faux tone of fear. "It…It was that transfer student, John." He said, before quickly skimping out of the room to head to class.

John? Remi's eyes widened at the answer she was given, not expecting to hear the boy's name.

On the other hand, Darren just scoffed to himself, "No surprise there." He said. He saw the confused look Remi had on her face and continued, "Let's just say I've had a couple more visitors since he started attending here…more than a couple actually." That punk better hope he doesn't end up here again… Darren thought with a dark gaze in his eyes.

"What?! But…he seemed like a good person whenever I talked to him." She said, having seen more of the boy in passing the last few days. Their short conversations were pleasant and she wanted to know more about him, yet he's doing things like this?

Darren noticed the questioning expression Remi had. It wasn't his place to say whether the people who ended up in his infirmary had deserved it or not but…

Actions have consequences, maybe this will help some of these students understand that.

"Go have a talk with him if you're wondering so badly," Darren mumbled, wondering why he even bothered giving that kid some assistance. He'd just reason to himself it'd end up making his job easier in the long run, though patience wasn't always his specialty.

Remi regarded what the nurse said for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah. Good idea!" She gave him a wave goodbye as she left. Whatever happened, she hoped this all could be resolved with words.

"Hey, you sure this is okay to do, John?" Roland asked beside the slightly taller boy as he, Evie, and Dylan walked with John, up the stairs to the rooftops.

"Why wouldn't it be?" John asked with a shrug, "If there's someone else up there we can ask to share the space. If not, we'll just go somewhere else, but might as well try."

That scuffle John had earlier with all those mid-tiers made him change the plan. It gave him an energy he didn't want to deal with settling until after school, so their training was going to be happening now.

"It's just that…only Royals are allowed to be up there," Evie noted.

John couldn't help but roll his eyes at the term, "If any of them have a problem with us being up here, I'll deal with it. You guys have nothing to worry about." He said with a confidence that easily settled the worries of his friends.

So cool!

The quartet was lucky, for the rooftop was vacant at the moment. The three who accompanied John had a hurry in their step as they moved toward the fence, taking in the sight of being able to see so much of the school from below—The cool and gentle breeze of passing through the air of someplace so high up only aiding in the pleasurable scenery.

John gave them some time to just take it in. He did like how it felt up here, but likely not as much as they did. Maybe since his days atop a rooftop were much more cloudy—in both a figurative and literal sense. It wouldn't be much longer until he had them get to work, a couple of warm-ups and stretches to make sure they didn't pull anything on accident, then onto what they'd begun practicing.

The three students practiced their combo reps for a minute while John observed, seeing what needed to be corrected, and being a bit surprised in regard to something.

"So, how was that?" Dylan asked John, with his usual excitement.

"Almost, but some things are missing," John said, having removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

"Your stance and your actions were a bit too loose and flimsy, so your hits wouldn't have as much strength behind them. That's also because you're a bit sporadic, you don't follow through on any of your attacks before trying to do another one." John said, in regard to Dylan.

Dylan nodded, letting the words settle as he stared intently at his fists.

When it came to Roland, "You have something of the opposite problem. You're very rigid and a bit too tight, so you're restricting your own movement."

Roland had a sad laugh to himself, "Well, it's not like I was ever one to hit first to begin with."

"It's not a bad trait at all to have, better than the other option most of the time anyway. Just gotta learn to relax yourself a bit so it doesn't hinder you." John offered, and then it was onto Evie.

"Okay, lay it on me, any corrections needed I'll get them done!" Evie spoke with a strange determination, she'll absorb any info she gets like a sponge!

John chuckled, crossing his arms. "I appreciate the enthusiasm but the thing is I can't point out much that needs to be corrected."

"...Really?!" Evie questioned, while Dylan and Roland held impressed expressions on their faces.

"At worst, you're a bit hesitant when you start and try to make up for it afterward so you end up overextending your punches, but it's not too prevalent so it should be easy to fix," John had a smile. "You've taken rather well to this."

"Honestly, I'm not that surprised," Roland said, smiling softly seeing Evie's surprised expression.

"Yeah, you have that sort of spirit to you!" Dylan added.

They remembered, there were quite a few times when they were being hurt by the mid-tiers where she put herself in front of hits to protect them, even though it'd hurt her more. I don't like seeing others hurt, she would tell him.

Evie beamed with a smile, not expecting but very much welcoming the praise. It would only push her to want to get better. It was rather infectious, making Roland and Dylan feel the same way.

And that, John would try his best to do, spending the time he could to help them improve. He didn't have as much difficulty in putting his attention towards teaching multiple people at once as he thought, half-heartedly thinking it was a possible side-effect of the training he had to do for his ability.

The next time he checked his phone, their time would be coming to an end soon before they had to go to whatever class was next for them. John wanted to discuss what he thought of teaching them next but was stopped by his attention shifting to the rather forceful slam of the rooftop door, followed by the scoff of the guy who did it.

"The hell are all you doing up here? This area is Royals only, so beat it!" He said with an irked expression on his face.

The Low-Tier trio appeared nervous, having known Abel to be rather aggressive to those weaker than him, while John's eyes narrowed at the boy with the pecan-brown hair, Abel. That's the same guy that was hanging around when Seraphina brought me up here.

"Is this," John made a gesture with his hand towards the guy, "All you do in your spare time? Strongarm people even when they're not bothering others?"

"Are you really trying to backtalk me boy?" Abel said, stepping to John, though still holding some distance between them, while John's friends backed away from the two, knowing Abel's ability wasn't one they wanted to be caught in.

"Just because the Queen brought you up here once to talk some sense into you doesn't mean you and your weakling friends can come up whenever you please." Then, his eyes glowed. "You better leave before this becomes more than just a warning." He caused a small set of explosive cracks and pops from the palm of his hand to occur.

John's eyes narrowed at the attempt at intimidation, An ability that produces explosions? Not too shabby, before he spoke with a slight tilt of his head.

"Well look at you, I guess that almost Elite-Tier ability of yours makes you think you can act like one of those snobby pricks." He jabbed a thumb at Abel before looking at his friends, "How sad is this dude's life if this is what he does to make himself feel important?" He asked, being completely serious, but it earned him a few stifled laughs.

Abel's scrunched-up nose represented his anger clearly and so did the twitch in his hands as he turned his head and raised an open palm at the ones he considered and knew to be weaklings, "The hell do you think you're laughing at—?!"

Abel's vision suddenly shifted within seconds—from being on the rooftop to suddenly being hurled through the air, barreled through the door, and his back slamming into the stairs railing, across from the steps that led up to the roof.

Abel felt several places in his back break, struggling to lift himself up as he tried to collect his thoughts. What…What the hell was that?! He has an explosive ability like mine? As he tried to, the overall pain and the ringing in his ear made him unaware someone was moving up the stairs from his side, asking if he was okay. Only by helping him get to his feet did Abel realize it was her.

"R-Remi? What are you doing her—?" His question was cut off by a sharp pain in his back.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Remi asked with concern, helping to support Abel. After looking for some time, she thought to try the rooftop, to see if John was there.

"Try that for a warning you prick."

Remi's eyes shifted to the swinging open of the rooftop door and the familiar voice that had an anger in its tone she hadn't heard before.

"Just back off before this gets…Remi?" John's words trailed off as he saw her by Abel, surprised by her presence as he looked at them from the top of the stairs.

"John! What are you doing? What's this all about?" Remi called out, this wasn't the way she wanted to confront him. First all those mid-tiers, now Abel? Why?

"I told him…he wasn't supposed to be up there," Abel said, using the railing for support. "But he didn't listen and then he attacked me!"

"Get your story straight, asshole! You were just about to blast my friends off the roof, you're no goddamn victim!" John spat back, swiping his arm across his body in a gesture of anger.

There are people with him? Remi looked past John to see three other students come out the rooftop, students she didn't know who appeared shaken, almost hiding behind John like he was a shield, nervous looks to both Abel…and her. Why?

"Those weaklings shouldn't be up there to begin with. They know better!" Abel said back, and Remi's eyes furrowed in confusion, wondering why he was talking about them like that.

"Call them that one more fucking time and see what happens," John said with bitterness, taking a step down the stairs, eyes still glowing.

"Everyone! Just stop!"

In between John and Abel was Remi, thin lines of blue lightning around her as she activated her ability, hoping it would be enough for them to stand down. Abel did so immediately, but with John, she couldn't be sure he would. His actions were one thing, but it was also the fact that…she might not even be strong enough to stop him.

But after a few moments, thankfully, John appeared to relent—going as far as to deactivate his ability. He could tell there was something different between her and the other elites he had encountered at this school and he'd much rather be on good terms with her if he could.

Seeing there wasn't any sign of a fight continuing, Remi looked to Abel. "Do you need help getting to the infirmary?"

Abel was silent for a moment, looking away. "I…could use some help, yeah."

Remi nodded, then she looked at John. "John, we need to have a talk. Can we do it after classes end for the day?" She asked, her voice firm and resolute.

John was unsure why—this one event warranted her to give him a talking to?—but he wasn't opposed to it, sparking a dialogue might do some good. A part of him wanted to talk to Remi more anyways. "Sure, that should be fine."

Remi gave him a nod, before moving back to Abel, intending to help him to the infirmary and internally nervous about having to bring another injured student to Nurse Darren today, at least she was pretty sure that's what she was nervous about.

"I'll wait by the gates, see you then." She said to John, before heading off with Abel in tow.

John gave a short wave as he saw her leave down the stairs, before turning back to look at his friends. "Guess that's the conclusion for today's lesson, yeah?" He said, trying to give a reassuring smile.

"Can you…copy people's abilities?" Roland hesitantly asked while Dylan and Evie's faces took on expressions of shock.

…

Well shit, the cat's out of the bag again.

―

Notes

Name: Abel

Ability: Explosion

Level: 3.3

[Power: 4 Speed: 2 Trick: 3 Recovery: 2 Defense: 2]

Name: John

Ability: Aura Manipulation

Level: 7.7

[Power: 6 Speed: 2 Trick: 17 Recovery: 2 Defense: 3]

A/N: Still got it out today, nice. :D

Alright, posting weekly was rewarding but I've found myself becoming a bit more tired out by having that deadline than I'd like with writing the story and I'd rather not feel burned out and leave it. Plus then I feel like I can't spend too much time writing my other story.

I've been interested in trying out a schedule where I spend a couple of weeks to a month just focused on writing/planning for one story, and then the next weeks or month I focus on the other.

So, yeah, I think that's what I'mma do. It might be a couple weeks before the next chapter, but even if I'm not writing it, I'll be planning out what happens so don't worry, work is getting done!

Have a Happy Holidays everyone!