Ignatius went through several emotions as the class did what their teacher had asked them to do. The first was shame – while the burns were of less concern than the entrance exam, the literal blob of a head doctor – Dr. Valentine, his tag read – scolded him all the same, urging him not to push too far with his Quirk.
The most important, he realised, was contemplation. The loss didn't sting as much as he expected it to, but the fight he had with Beauregard made up for it. At long range, he might have been able to outlast the amount of water that the black-haired boy had on the suit, but what if he could control other forms of water? What if he could gather the very steam their clashes produced?
Worst of all was when he managed to get up close. His plasma didn't work nearly as well as Rayleigh's light, and the blue-eyed opponent used the water to propel his own attacks or increase their strength. Even with his mother's training, he simply couldn't catch up.
His mind went back to the plasma ball. Using two of his less used fingers on one palm, he pointed them towards each other and let the heat flow through them. The plasma coalesced into a slowly growing ball which he stopped, looking over it with amber eyes. It wasn't unlike a tiny sun – its red glow illuminating his hand and face.
The redhead made a fist with that hand, feeling the plasma dissipate and the warmth that followed. It wasn't unlike how his normal beams felt, but easier to control, to store. He imagined how the ball could even have a bigger impact than the beams. Perhaps someday, he could even fire from elsewhere on his body, and make the plasma balls much, much bigger.
Donning his muted red hoodie and relatively baggy pants, Iggy was last to arrive at the 1-α dorms. With the rays of the sunset reaching his eyes, he nearly bumped into a familiar blonde face. He gave out a slight smile, to which Rayleigh grinned and handed him a small letter, his name written in a red marker.
"There you are! I was about to look for you, man!" Without waiting for a reply, he pulled the boy inside the dorms, where the vast majority of the students were currently mingling with one-another. "We got our notes from Heroics, a bunch of us are reading them over. You're the last one here!"
"I took a bit of a scenic route back", Ignatius replied, allowing the sunglasses-wearing friend to pull him over towards their destination. He took notice of how Eir and the pink-haired girl were talking on the large kitchen table, their notes opened and already highlighted on important matters. All the while, the calico cat that bested them circled around their seats.
In the kitchen itself, he saw the winged teen, Sutaa and Valeria downing quite a bit of food – most surprising for the former, considering how lithe he seemed to be – as the boy in the dreadlocks worked with the ingredients he did have. The smell of baked goods did not reach the far end of the room, but it did at least seem to attract the large, brown-haired classmate, patiently waiting for the end result while a marble spun on his palm, no doubt with the help of his Quirk.
The red sofa was less populated, but no less inviting. At that time, only Alora was there, her brows furrowed at the words she read on the notes. She only barely noticed the arrival of the other two, the poke on her shoulder startling her for a few moments before she pulled the headphones away from her ears. "Sorry! Music... helps me think."
"Whatever works, right?" The blue-haired girl could only smile slightly, glancing at the sunglasses atop Rayleigh's head before returning to her reading and listening.
"I should probably look at what my notes say..." Sitting nearby, but not too close, the redhead traced a nail between the fold on the papers, cutting it open to reveal its contents. For how succinctly Commando seemed to talk, he had more than a few words for the student he addressed in the notes.
Ignatius Redd,
Your aim with Plasma Beam is good, and you can think light on your feet, as I've noticed. You also hold your own in terms of endurance, and it's not unlikely that you could outlast Seo-Jun in your little scuffle.
However, there are two major points of concern. The first is that your attacks up close are sluggish even in comparison to peers without close-range Quirks. Whether this is due to a drawback or hesitation, I have no clue, but I would like to see it addressed.
More importantly, you seem to be far too self-sacrificial. It's one thing to take a hit for someone you know wouldn't be able to take it, it's another entirely to throw yourself into harm's way for a reason I do not understand.
My suggestion, at least for the near future, is that you take your time training your physical body and the plasma balls – judging from your reaction, it seems to have been an undiscovered aspect of your Quirk.
Keep fighting the good fight,
Cley Cooper/Commando
"Man", the blonde who sat on his other side sighed, closing his own notes and looking towards the ceiling. "Teach really didn't hold back on us, huh? Told me I shouldn't fight recklessly – what was I supposed to do against Ariel?"
"Hit her from long range, probably?" Ignatius offered, getting a sharp exhale from his peer in response. "Maybe you wouldn't have been as winded when you captured her."
"I didn't wanna hurt her!" Rayleigh pursed his lips. "I know we're all training to be heroes, but if I used my Quirk against Ariel I'd probably have bruised her, or worse..."
"If she's here, she's probably tough enough to take a hit, right?" The redhead closed his notes, placing the folded paper with his name over the nearby table. "As long as you're not trying to hurt her, I think Mr. Cooper'll understand."
Before their conversation could continue, a familiar set of black and green hair caught the redhead's eye. Having returned from her food haven – and still mid-snack – Valeria looked over each of the small group carefully, trying not to glance behind her while thinking over her words. "Could I... sit with you guys? It's just..."
While it went unsaid, Iggy figured why she felt apprehensive, and couldn't blame her. Instead, he motioned for her to sit closeby, and she took the invitation quietly, sitting next to the tanned blonde while he closed his own notes.
"What'd your notes bring up, by the way?" Rayleigh's question made her wince slightly, to which the amber-eyed teen responded with a glare. Said glare melted away quickly enough – the light user meant well with the question – but he hoped this wouldn't worsen whatever feelings she was already going through.
"I need to... be more assertive, and take opportunities to attack when I see them..." The praise regarding her quick thinking in putting Mikhail on a time limit was unmentioned, as were the suggestions with training her physical body to allow her greater control in the close range.
"If you sent all those snakes after us, I think we would have lost before knowing what was going on..." Rayleigh sighed, closing his eyes while leaning back. "Shows how much I have to learn, huh?"
"We all do, I think", Alora finally chimed in, the silence in-between tracks allowing her to catch a bit of the conversation. "You heard Mr. Cooper – we're expected to make mistakes during these first few classes." To this, Ignatius nodded.
"Plus, we can learn new tricks with our Quirks, or improve on the ones we have." He didn't dare use the one trick he learned that day in the dorms, but from the reactions of his classmates – or better, friends – he knew his words at least resonated a bit.
Any further discussion was interrupted by the beeping of an oven, and the call of the dark-skinned teen handling it. "If anyone's up for them, the cookies are done!" For his part, the redhead stood up, as did Rayleigh. On their way to the kitchen area, they managed to overhear Sutaa giving out suggestions to improve the baked goods further, sparking a discussion between him and the boy in the dreadlocks over their methods.
Ignatius wondered if Merri's class felt this hectic and close this quickly.
Merriweather Vayne,
Your power and control with Rift is formidable for your little experience in heroism. I have had the pleasure of watching your work in both the entrance exam and this battle, and I believe that, at least in terms of your Quirk, I have no current notes to give.
This does not excuse your attitude in fighting, however. While your aggression combined with your ability does well against many foes, it will not stop all of them. Somewhere out there, there is a Quirk that can counteract yours with ease, or someone who will take your aggression in stride much like Jacob Baker has today.
You are not a one-person army. My suggestion is that you take the help of your teammates, as nobody smart fights alone, not even villains. I'm certain both you and any eventual partners will appreciate the cooperation.
Keep fighting the good fight,
Cley Cooper/Commando
Lilac eyes glanced over the text in the letter, reading it repeatedly to spot any mistakes she might have made in comprehending the notes. She found none, and it angered her.
Vayne's team had only barely managed to get the win over her opponents, and a passing glance over both teams would make first impressions very deceiving. Iggy himself had looked at her in disbelief as they passed one-another, and for good reason – many of the students in 1-β had bruises or injuries, but nobody had been in more pain than her at that moment.
The tall girl blamed herself more than she did Jacob. She didn't know much about everyone else's Quirks outside the things their teacher made them show, but it was especially true for the kid with the black buzz cut, who had used his ability a total of zero times in all of the tests. In hindsight, she couldn't blame him.
He had gone for her as soon as the test started, every attempt at a grab thwarted by a Rift she opened just in time to shove him aside and give him another tinge of pain somewhere. She had been sure she had even dislocated his shoulder at one point. However, he kept going at her, again and again. Once she had enough, she went to him, retrieving the capture tape.
The trouble started then, when his grip on her leg was all that was needed to turn the tide of battle-
"Hey, Merri!"
The sound of his voice threw off her train of thought. What she could have done differently, knocking him out before he had a chance of using his Quirk, plans to ensure she wouldn't have needed that help, all gone with a few words. "Are you gonna stay cooped up in your room? We're all talking about our notes downstairs!"
Standing up from her seat on her bed, the black-haired girl exhaled sharply with a huff, putting a black, sleeveless coat over her plain white shirt. "Buzz off. I'm gonna take a walk." She left then, not even bothering to hear his shout of indignation and anger – and something about being a sore loser – as she moved down to the common area, then out the door, paying little mind to the rest of her class.
The cold air and quiet outdoors of the high school had finally left Vayne with a slight sense of peace. She saw one of the other kids move past her with a backpack – her brain reminding her that he was part of Ignatius's class – towards the gates. Glancing back, she tried to think about why someone would be leaving so late, before almost bumping into a familiar face.
"Ah, Ms. Vayne!" Their Maths teacher looked down at her with a smile even as she muttered out a quiet apology, his strange tail twisting as if attempting to find an outlet to slot into. "I hope I didn't startle you, it's not too usual to see first-years taking walks to cool their heads."
"It's fine", she reassured Mr. Stanton with a glance back to where she had seen the sandy blonde, finding him gone. "I was distracted, it'd be my fault anyway."
Terabyte recognized all the signs the purple-eyed girl showed in front of him. He was shocked to read a lot of notes on the students they would be receiving this year, and the ones he got to see of her almost managed to make him give the principal a piece of his mind.
"If you ever wish to talk, Ms. Vayne..." He offered. It was all he could do at the moment. "With me or other members of the staff-"
"It's fine", she repeated more sharply than she intended, gulping at the threat she almost saw herself facing. "I don't need help." Before he could say anything else, she moved around him, hands in her pockets and walking away, much more aggressively than before.
It was all she could do to not be disappointed again.
Even well into his 60s and far past his prime, Frederick King liked to believe himself to be a man of many talents.
First and foremost, however, the principal of Olympia High was charismatic – his line of duty required knowing who he was speaking to, and talking with Villains rather than down to them. It avoided most stressful situations and kept him as a great point of contact between Heroes and newly-retired Villains.
It was this that netted him a job teaching in the high school. Only after retiring as a Hero did he manage to become its principal – drawing the ire of many a bureaucrat who firmly believed he would turn the place of education into a 'haven for Villains to corrupt the youth'.
If he had his way, those people would be out of a job faster than his Quirk could take theirs.
The grey-haired man had gotten the detailed notes regarding the first Heroics classes of the first-years only moments after Commando had sent the abridged, personalised versions out. It had been a personal request by the elder, catching the man in cargo by surprise, but not to the point where he wouldn't comply with said request.
Most of what he read was par for the course, in both classes. Untrained Quirks, fears of specific things, being too aggressive, not being aggressive enough. The kids weren't bad in the adaptability department, but they were woefully unrefined. Thankfully, they had plenty of time to train, and he could attest to the power of the Autumn Festival in drawing out the strength of the students of Olympia.
One set of notes caught Frederick's eye. It wasn't uncommon to see a student find a new strength of their Quirk within the Heroics class, yet, the minuscule chances of doing so within the first one of their three years in the facility did raise a bushy brow.
Working quickly, he opened the set of files in his other monitor, scrolling down to the one he needed most.
Quirk: Plasma Beam. The tips of Ignatius Redd's fingers can fire red-hot plasma. Overuse causes his fingers to suffer burns, as they're most exposed to this heat.
(Notes: Plasma is normally volatile, but can stabilise under certain conditions.)
The principal couldn't help but frown slightly as he read the rest of the notes given by the counsellor. It hurt him greatly to see a bright young man held back by both himself and his history, especially with the knowledge of him being related to someone he knew far too well.
A knock on the door to his office brought back his attention, the slightly static-y voice of Terabyte letting the principal know his Quirk had been used recently. "Hey, Frederick, are you busy?"
"Come in, Aiden", he answered with a low voice, suppressing the urge to crack a smile at his old friend as they entered the office only lit by the screens of his computer. "I'm mostly done here – we have quite a duo of classes, don't we?"
"Tell me about it", the rat man leaned against one of the bookcases in the wall with a sigh. "I ran into Ms. Vayne earlier – she seemed on edge."
"Likely she read the notes on the Heroics class she took near the end of the day", the principal nodded. "A unique antithesis to her middle school friend in how they fight, yet both carry the same fundamental issue..."
"They're both gonna get themselves hurt?" Aiden winced at his own words, hazel eyes meeting the ground for moments before he dared to look at his superior again. "I really don't think we should have separated them."
At that, Frederick nodded, to the surprise of the technomancer. "It was not my call. I'd suggest talking to Ms. Carol and Mr. Unathi about the possibility of a transfer-"
"Even if they accept it, you know she won't", the Maths teacher sighed. "I might not have your files, Frederick, but I've seen this behaviour before. Pushing away friends already made, pushing away potential friends..."
"We can only try to guide them", the principal's words did not ease the teacher's concerns. "You remember how our third-years used to be? Especially..."
"God, yeah", Aiden chuckled slightly. "If it hadn't been that Autumn Festival, I don't think they would have left each other's throats."
The older man leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath. "Exactly, Aiden. They'll have time to sort out the issues with themselves, and between each other. Worst comes to worst, we have them talk to the counsellors." He let out a slight smile, matched by the technomancer's wry one.
"I hate people sometimes", the young teacher spoke, unable to hide a smirk. "Fixing machines? That's easy, especially for someone with my Quirk. Can't exactly fix memories and emotions." He turned to leave, but paused just before the door. "By the way, did you see..."
"I did", Frederick nodded at the rat man. "Someone is covertly looking after him, as a favour. Worst case scenario, we can say it was an approved test."
"You're god damn insane, you know that?" Shaking his head, Aiden finally left the principal with his thoughts, and he took advantage to look through the files once more.
"I'm well aware, Terabyte... very well aware."
As the sun's rays began to dim and the sunset gave way to a clear, black night, Vayne sat in the middle of a bench, lost within her thoughts. She had finally reached that point she had left in her thoughts, when the Jacob kid grabbed at her leg before she could reach for his arms with the capture tape.
To anyone expecting it, it likely would have simply been a nuisance. But to the purple-eyed girl, the sudden pains flaring all over her body and especially her shoulder, which now felt out of place, nearly made her faint from shock. She stumbled back with a cry of agony that no doubt someone heard, and the teen in the buzz cut grinned, as if it was his plan in the first place.
"Gotcha!" Slowly, he got up from the gravel that was the ground, wincing as he felt pain from injuries no longer there. "I knew you were wondering what my Quirk was, and that's why-" He was cut off by a Rift tripping him back onto his face. It was only luck that made sure his nose didn't break, though he almost wished it did as the girl walked closer to him with a huff.
She roughly gripped each of his wrists, tying him up even as the new injuries went right back to her, capturing him, but not flawlessly. Merriweather wondered if it would have been worth it to knock him out instead, or go after someone else.
When she saw the metallic boy of a teammate go through at least two walls, she decided this was possibly her best choice between the few she had.
Shaking her head from her thoughts, the purple-eyed girl looked above instead, towards the skies. It was a peace she couldn't help but slightly smile at – infinite possibilities, infinite lights. If her father was there, he'd have likely tried telling her that her future Hero name should be Starwarp, the one that twists the light of the stars.
She would have humoured him not two years ago.
Before she could get up and return to her dorms, a trio approached her, wearing their displeasure on their sleeves. Scowls of jealousy, no doubt from seeing the yellow dot within the badge she wore on the heart of her shirt. She spotted two different colours of dots – the one in the middle, a green of greed and the colour of currency. The others beside him – a girl with a blue jewel for an eye and a stout boy with drills for nails – both had white dots on their own badges.
Two General Course students, and one in the Business Course, who had likely picked the choice as a fallback rather than their actual career path.
"This is just rich", the one in the middle groaned, flashing a toothed scowl where Vayne noticed her own reflection within the teeth, as if they were metallic. "This scrawny thing's in the Hero Course and we're not?"
To that declaration, she stood up, the three taking a step back to appraise their chances and seeing that, despite a difference in her build, she did still tower over them. "This scrawny thing is out of patience today. Beat it."
"Or what?" The girl challenged, pointing an accusing finger right between her eyes. "The three of us were a few points off getting in. What makes you think you're more deserving than us to wear that yellow dot?"
"Y-yeah!" The kid with the drill nails stammered, clearly already nervous about something neither of them saw about her. "We kicked ass too! Why do we have to be on the waiting list?"
Quietly, she wondered if the class back in Caelus was always this irritating. Some were jealous of her Quirk, but nobody ever thought she didn't deserve to be a Hero, even if she'd gained a lack of patience over the years.
Instead of getting worked up, however, she moved to leave, bumping shoulders with the one in the middle to get past him. A hand placed itself on her shoulder to stop her, and she growled out, fist clenching. "Leave me the hell alone."
"Man, is that it?" The Business Course student almost cackled, leaving her shoulder be. "Three people challenge you and you just walk away? Some Hero you're gonna be if you can't stand up to even minor inconveniences!"
Her arm shook. Any other day, she'd have just dealt with it, she would have walked away from something not worth her time. But her patience was wearing dangerously thin, and very few people had seen the result of it running out.
"Hey!" The loud, low voice that called out stopped her from turning around, instead moving her head towards where the voice came from.
Immediately, the red colour atop his head caught the black-haired girl's attention. He was tall, even more so than Vayne, with a piercing dark red gaze and a notable scar running along his rough, block-y face, stopping just below his eye. Wide shoulders where the back of his straight hair rested, as well as very notable muscles underneath his black sweater made her realise his build was one of power.
Her eyes rested not on his abs, but the badge he proudly wore, with three yellow dots arranged in a triangle. His name was hard to read under the moonlight except for a glittering, white 'R' that started his first name.
'What the hell's a third-year doing near the first-year dorms?' Her first thought was interrupted by the young man speaking up again.
"If she doesn't wanna talk to you, that's her business", 'R''s arms crossed over his chest, further hiding his badge. "Get back to your dorms." The older teen's eyes narrowed at the three, and they all decided to not press the matter further, moving about to leave. While the one with metallic teeth did bump shoulders with her on purpose, he didn't say another word, leaving her alone with the third-year.
"Jealous kids... gotta hate 'em." The man huffed, head leaning down to meet her eyes as his arms relaxed to his sides. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine", Vayne answered curtly, purple meeting his red. "I could have dealt with them myself."
"I'm sure you could, even with the bruise on your stomach!" He let out a chuckle, while she winced, surprised someone would have even noticed that. "But if you turned to violence you might have gotten punished even if they deserved it."
"I didn't need-"
"My help, yeah, yeah", he interrupted her response with a grin. "Heard it all before. Doesn't mean I can't help. Heroes meddle all the time!"
While his attitude didn't exactly lift her spirits, she didn't find herself quite out of patience for him as she did with the teachers or her own classmates. His energy was different, one she'd found in someone else only once before.
"Well, I shouldn't be keeping you", the redhead stretched a little, turning while giving her a little wave. "See you around, 'Merri'!"
Her eyes widened at the casual use of the nickname. "Wait, you- how did..."
"Saw your name on your badge", the young man mentioned casually, pointing to his own. "Merriweather's pretty hard to say, so I shortened it. I imagine that's what your classmates did too!"
"If you know my name, I should know yours too", she retorted, stopping the third-year in his tracks. A hand moved behind his head to scratch it, the words stewing in his brain for a few moments before he finally laughed out loud.
"Eh, fair's fair", he glanced back with a grin. "Robert Gladwin. Hope you enjoy your time in Olympia!" Without another moment to spare, he started a jog, and she could only watch as he left into the night, towards the larger dorms the third-years had.
Letting out a breath she didn't know she had, Merri turned towards her own dorms, walking towards them with more than enough thoughts to fill the night, and especially the approaching dinner.
"And that's why Peerless Liberty is better than any other current Star."
"There's no way you think he beats Lonesome Jack!"
While 1-α took a few tables in the cafeteria for themselves, a slightly heated debate began between a few first-years of neighbouring classes. What had started as a friendly discussion on favourite heroes turned into someone bringing up a State Star. Soon enough, someone else began diligently listing off the various reasons why Washington's Star was currently the best in the entire country.
Ignatius had tried to ignore it, truthfully. He was more than content thinking about his long, arduous day, all the Quirks he'd witnessed in action, all the friendships he'd slowly started to make... as well as a strange rivalry he never quite asked for.
"Does something bother you, Ignatius?" The collected voice of Beauregard called from the nearest table, alongside a tray with the perfect amount of portions to sustain himself, nothing more, nothing less. "It would be rather unfortunate for my key to heroic greatness to feel so down after losing to myself, after all."
"I wasn't..." The redhead turned to the blue-eyed teen, almost incredulous, before shaking his head. "People are just being really loud with their discussions, it's annoying. There's easier ways to argue than how loud you can speak."
"It is a highly debated topic, is it not?" Beau's smile was unflinching, studying Iggy's mild shifts in expression and crafting his image of the boy in his mind. "The best heroes... the Stars!" He stood, and the redhead could have almost sworn those blue eyes were shining as if he were using his Quirk. "Truly, there is no greater honour!"
"If you say so", the quieter response came, amber eyes turning to what remained of his food. "I just want to help people. That's what a Hero does, or what they should do." To this, Rayleigh, sitting across him, grinned, downing the rest of his soda.
"You said it!" His energy did catch some of those sitting nearby off guard for a second, but didn't startle them further. "What's the point of being the best if you don't help people or make them smile?"
"When I become the best, I'll make sure people smile!" The black-haired teen spoke with a flourish of hands, slowly sitting back down. "After all, I'll be there for them." While Iggy wasn't convinced by how the boy had declared his intentions, he was more than willing to let the topic go, not wanting his food to get cold.
Eventually, the General students decided not to continue their shouting match – especially once a second-year called them out on it. The cafeteria was just like the one Ignatius had gotten used to in his middle school – good food, and students discussing their days, or random topics they'd gotten interested in, some more loudly than others.
In the middle of it all, he found himself finally relaxing. The first day had been relatively exhausting, but he knew it would all be worth it in the end, no matter the challenges to come, whether from inside the school, or out.
Every day from then on would be a new experience for Ignatius, that he was sure he'd take in stride.
