Chapter 3: The Elites
I want to retract my statement about how this place may not be so bad. This school may be the worst place for me to inhabit. My first day here started pleasantly but ended in humiliation I do not think I could recover from.
Rachel had kindly woke me up that morning to break my fast with the school. I was grateful that she did, for I most likely would have slept for the rest of the day and missed my classes if it had not been for her.
I still blame the weather for my exhaustion. Usually, I am energetic with only a few hours of sleep with the proper amount of sun exposure. But alas, it looked like it would be another cloudy day at Titan Academy, and I would have to adjust to being tired for the whole day again.
"Does the sun ever come out here?" I asked Rachel as we made our way to the dining hall.
She shrugged. "Occasionally. It's mostly cloudy during the fall and winter seasons here. The summer months are sunnier. I personally prefer this weather."
Of course, she would. From what I could tell from her dark decoration choices on her side of our room and her interest in books, I was not surprised. "I am most looking forward to the summer months here," I told her. "My people rely on sunlight for energy, and I have been so exhausted lately due to sun depredation."
"Caffeine may help with that," Rachel suggested, "On...I'm sorry I forgot the name of your planet, but where you are from...is there a lot of sunlight?"
"Tamaran," I informed, "And all we have is sunlight. Clouds and rain do not exist where I am from."
"That sounds insufferable," Rachel said, "Is it all desert then? I couldn't imagine much vegetation to be able to survive there."
"It is," I said, "But it is all I have known my entire life, so I did not think much about it until I arrived here. And honestly, I could never tell if it was too warm there. Tamaraneans can adapt to any climate. It is part of our survivability instinct."
"That's useful. I suppose."
When we arrived at the dining hall, Gar had sought us out so that we would sit with him. He found us a smaller table that would sit the three of us and then complained about the lack of 'vegan' food being served for breakfast, and he would most likely starve again.
"That is 100% your choice, Gar," Rachel told him. "And are eggs really that bad? I don't consider them meat."
"Uhhh yeah," Gar rebuttal, "Those would be baby chickens if you let them incubate long enough. You do realize that you are eating chicken fetuses, right?"
I looked down at my plate of scrambled eggs and considered them. He was not wrong; they did look like that, but I was not bothered by that thought. I have eaten many other things on my planet as a delicacy that would horrify Gar.
"Don't let him meat shame you, Kory," Rachel said as she flicked some eggs at Gar. "Being a changeling of animals comes with being an overbearing animal activist who wants to make everyone else feel bad about their eating habits."
"I am not bothered by it," I said as I shoveled another fork full of eggs into my mouth. "These chicken fetuses are quite delicious!"
Gar gagged. "Murderers..." He mumbled under his breath.
Then, as promised, Miss Petrov arrived with my class schedule just as we finished breakfast. Fortunately, I discovered that either Rachel or Gar was in most of my classes. I would then not have to worry about getting lost or figuring out where I needed to be.
The first couple of classes that I attended were relatively easy. I was not surprised. The material I had studied upon arriving at this school was more a review of the subjects I have learned with my teachers on Tamaran. What was surprising to me was who was teaching the classes. Most were human, but the chemistry class was taught by what humans called a gorilla.
I had to confirm this with Gar, who shared the same chemistry class with me, but typically, gorillas on Earth do not speak English so affluently, nor do they wear glasses. Mr. Mallah, in this case, was a highly intelligent gorilla who dressed very gentlemen like with spectacles that looked much too small for his face. No one knows much about him or where he came from, but he was hired right before the new school year started. However, he seemed qualified for the job. He was the most intelligent primate species I have ever come across and seemed to take quite a liking to me on my first day since I was the only one who wanted to participate in class.
"Good morning, class!" Mr. Mallah began, and I noticed his accent sounded similar to Miss Petrov's. "I hope everyone has been studying up on our previous lessons because we'll be having a pop quiz."
There was a chorus of groans from the class. I did not know what a pop quiz was yet, but everyone acted as if it was some torture device.
"Quiet, quiet," Mr. Mallah attempted to silence the groans, "This won't be graded. Instead, if you get one of these questions right, you'll receive one homework pass for any upcoming assignments."
Everyone seemed to perk up after that.
"Now!" Mr. Mallah said once he captured everyone's interest. "Can anyone tell me the molecular geometry and bond angle in a sulfur hexafluoride molecule?"
I raised my hand. I had learned that was the proper way to answer a teacher's question. I was told several times today when I had responded to teachers without being called upon. But now I am starting to get used to the practice.
"Ah! You must be Miss Anders," Mr. Mallah chirped, "The newest member of our academia family. Let's see how much you have been studying on your own. Go ahead and take a crack at it."
I did not know what I was cracking, but I did reply with his answer. "Certainly. In sulfur hexafluoride, sulfur is surrounded by six fluorine atoms. The sulfur atom is at the center, and the fluorine atoms are positioned around it. The molecule adopts an octahedral molecular geometry, with the sulfur atom at the center and the fluorine atoms occupying the six corners of the octahedron. The bond angle between the sulfur atom and any two fluorine atoms is 90 degrees."
The intelligent gorilla looked shocked. It was the look I received from most teachers today when I answered their questions effortlessly. "That was quite an explanation, but you are correct. Well done, Miss Anders! One homework pass is yours for the taking!"
Mr. Mallah turned to the chalkboard and started writing an equation. The equation read Al + HCl - AlCl3 + H2. "Would anyone like to come up to the board and try to balance this equation?"
I took a moment to study the challenge on the board and then quickly balanced the equation in my head. I had the answer within 30 seconds, but I waited to see if anyone else would like a free homework pass. But after about 10 seconds more of silence with no one moving and Mr. Mallah probing to get someone to respond, I raised my hand again.
"If I may, Mr. Mallah," I said, "If no one is willing to solve the equation. I would be able to do it."
I heard someone snickering from the row of students closest to Mr. Mallah, but no one seemed to respond, so I did not either.
Mr. Mallah smiled and raised a piece of chalk in my direction, inviting me to approach the chalkboard. "Take it away, Miss Anders."
I assume he meant to take the chalk away to solve the equation on the board. "That would not be necessary," I told him, "I have already solved the equation in my head. We need an equal number of atoms on both sides to balance the equation. By examining the elements individually, we start with balancing aluminum. The equation then becomes 2Al + HCl to AlCl3 + H2. Next, we balance the chlorine atoms. Then the equation becomes 2Al + 6HCl to 2AlCl3 + H2. Finally, we would then balance the hydrogen atoms. In conclusion, the balanced equation is 2Al + 6HCl to 2AlCl3 + 3H2."
Mr. Mallah clapped his hands together. "Well done, Miss Anders! It appears that you have been taking your studies quite seriously. No doubt you will do quite well here!"
The same area where the snickering came from had finally said something. "Alien nerd!"
I glanced at who had said that. A boy with bright red hair was still laughing behind the palm of his hand. I believe he was making fun of me, but I did not let that bother me. As the primary subject of what the royal court would like to gossip about, I learned not to be concerned about what others thought about me.
"Mr. West," Mr. Mallah had called on him. "If you want to speak up in class, you can now answer the next question. I'll make this one easy for you. Define electronegativity and explain its significance in determining the type of bond formed between two atoms."
The boy gave Mr. Mallah a confused stare. I knew the answer, but it looked like he did not. The boy casually placed his feet on his desk and brought his hands behind his head. "I don't need to solve physics equations." He said smugly, "I defy all laws of physics by being the fastest boy alive."
Mr. Mallah gave an impatient sigh. "Firstly, I did not ask you to solve an equation; secondly, this is chemistry. Not physics."
The classroom started giggling. Gar and myself included. In what seemed like one blurred motion, the red-haired boy sat back up, slammed his fist on his desk, and turned around to glare at the rest of the class. The giggling ceased almost immediately, but I kept smiling.
The boy's eyes met mine, and then he narrowed them. "Laugh now, alien nerd. You won't be later."
The room fell silent. It felt like everyone was holding their breath in anticipation of what would happen next. I said nothing. I had no reason to defend myself or apologize to him. I was just confused about why he felt the need to threaten me.
Mr. Mallah had finally cleared his throat. "Enough Mr. West. May we please get back to the lesson now?"
The boy turned back around and waved his hand unenthusiastically. It was as if he was granting permission to Mr. Mallah to continue.
I chose to remain silent for the rest of the class after that. Not because I feared what would happen if I said anything in that boy's presence but because I spent most of my time trying to figure out why everyone seemed so afraid of him when he became angry so quickly. The moment he had shown aggression was when the classroom seemed to be in his control. I even noticed Mr. Mallah flinched when the boy reacted the way he did. Could this boy be one of the Elites Gar and Rachel had discussed? And was aggression and intimidation a form of the 'bullying' the Elites were doing to the students? If this was what bullying was, I was certainly not pleased with it.
Once the bell had rung to signify the end of class, Gar had volunteered to walk me back to the girls' dormitories since that was the last academic class for me for the day. I could have found my way back, but I appreciated the company nonetheless.
"Um, Gar?" I started to ask him as we walked through one of the school's many courtyards. "Who was that boy in our chemistry class who became angry when others laughed at him?"
"Oh yeah," Gar rolled his eyes, "That was Wally. He's one of the Elites. But don't worry about him too much. He's on the lower end of the totem pole in their hierarchy, so his threats are empty. He likes to intimidate people and then does nothing about it. It's the other ones you have to be careful with."
"I was not worried at all," I told him, "But how do I know who are the Elites so that I can avoid them?" Or challenge them and see if they are as intimidating as they try to be.
"Oh, they'll make themselves known." Gar said, "You have combat training today, right?"
"Yes, with Rachel."
"You'll see them there then. They run all the combat classes here. As a freshman, you won't be able to participate now. It's another stupid rule made up by the Elites until they deem you worthy. But you'll be required to observe and take notes. And by observing, I mean you'll be forced to watch others getting their asses kicked by the Elites and telling them they are worthless and blah blah blah. I guess it's to make examples of what happens if you don't train hard enough, but the Elites don't always fight fair and find some angle to point out our weaknesses. Never our strengths."
"That sounds," I was not sure how I would describe it, but Gar found the right word for me.
"Awful?" He said, "Yeah, it is. I dread going to those trainings. And if you happen to skip one and they find out...well, let's say you're going to wish you were the one in the fighting ring with them getting beaten to a pulp."
"It sounds like I am bound to have an interesting afternoon of being bored watching other people fight," I said. But I was silently vowing to myself that I would find a way to fight one of the Elites even if they deemed me unworthy.
Gar shrugged. "It will be over before you know it. Just stay quiet and pretend you are interested in their demonstrations."
"Understood," I said, and then once we were back at the girls' dormitories, Gar wished me good luck and then ran off to wherever he had to go next.
I met Rachel in our room before heading toward the fighting field. After hearing Gar's explanation of how these combat training sessions usually went, I was eager to see if he was telling the truth. I was anxious to see who these Elites were to size up my opponents. If I could defeat one of them in combat, the other students might not be so afraid of them.
I was quite confident in my fighting abilities, for I had surpassed most of my teachers at a young age during my warrior training. I had no choice. If I had shown any weakness or had failed to be less than perfect in my lessons, I would have disgraced my family's name. With my older sister not fit to be the heir, all the responsibility was on me to demonstrate the strength of the next generation to lead Tamaran.
Once we arrived at the field and found our spots in the bleachers, Rachel told me that it was initially an athletic field where football or soccer games would have most likely been played. However, since there was not enough interest at the school or students, the field was used for combat training. That, and none of the other schools in the area, would have wanted to compete with Titan Academy for apparent reasons.
For today's demonstration, pairs of students were sparring with what looked like long metal staffs as their weapons. That must have been the weapon of choice we were expected to learn how to fight with today. This fighting style looked easy enough to understand, and the weapon looked similar to the weapons I was required to fight with in the past. This exercise would be easy for me to master. I just needed to find one of the Elites to convince them to let me participate.
However, to my misfortune, the only Elite that I could tell monitoring the participants was the same boy who threatened me in chemistry class. Odd, considering he was in a freshmen class, and first-year students could not participate. But maybe that was what Gar meant when the Elites had made their own rules that were favorable to them.
Wally was strutting around the field, observing each pair. Occasionally, he would stop one of the fights, to only what I could assume give direction or scolding. I was not sure. He was too far away and spoke too low for me to hear what he was saying. And then I watched a girl approach him. She looked a couple of years older than him, with red hair that matched his. I watched her say something to him and wondered if she could have been one of the Elites. She certainly held herself with proud authority.
Once she stepped away from Wally, I heard him call out. "Joseph Wilson! You're the lucky one who gets to face me today!"
A boy with blonde hair stood up from the bench that held a group of students who must have been waiting to be called upon by one of the Elites. I watched him slowly approach Wally, who was holding a staff to him. Joseph hesitantly took the weapon and followed Wally as he grabbed another staff from the weapons rack.
The pair moved to their designated sparring spot, which happened to be directly in front of where Rachel and I sat so that I had a clear view of them. They were positioned where I could see Joesph's pale face appearing nervous and Wally's back turned toward us. Wally glanced back to the bleachers to say, "You better be taking notes, fresh meat."
The same girl who spoke to Wally strolled over to them, and I heard her say. "You both ready?"
Wally nodded, and then Joseph. The girl's eyes shifted to Wally, one side of her mouth curled up, and then nodded at him. She was most definitely one of the Elites. They were silently plotting something, and I immediately felt nervous for Joseph.
The girl brought her arm in between the two and then, in one motion, brought it up and stepped back for the boys to begin their match. Joseph immediately lunged forward with his staff at Wally, but the moment Joseph made that move, not even a second went by, and Wally was directly behind Joseph. I was not even sure I saw Wally move, but then I remembered what he said during chemistry class. 'The fastest boy alive,' so it must have been superspeed was his special ability.
Again and again, Joseph attempted to strike Wally with his staff, but Wally kept moving away right before it hit him. Sometimes, running multiple circles around Joseph within a second to dizzy him and throw him off his balance. And then Wally would take the staff to push it against Joseph's shoulder blades and roughly throw him forward. This was by far an unfair fight. How could one defeat Wally when he would not even allow himself to be touched? From what I could observe, the only way to get Wally on the ground was to outsmart him somehow.
"How much do you know about Wally?" I asked Rachel, hoping I could get some information from her that might help me defeat him in a dual one day. "Is superspeed his special ability?"
Rachel nodded. "Yep. Rumor has it that he's related to the Flash and somehow inherited the same powers."
"Who's the Flash?"
"He's a member of the Justice League." She said as if I knew what that was.
"And what is the Justice League?"
"Right, I keep forgetting you're new here," said Rachel, "On this planet, there are people known as superheroes. They have special abilities like the students here, but they have mastered their powers and use them to protect the people on Earth. And some of those heroes have formed alliances in case larger threats arise. The Justice League is supposed to be the most prestigious one."
"Are threats common here?" I asked her.
"They can be," She said, "Not everyone with special abilities uses them for good, so the superheroes need to stop them and maintain the balance in the superpower paradigm."
Rachel seemed to want to say more but then changed her mind as she returned to watch Joesph and Wally fight. She was a very mysterious girl. It was almost as if she would reveal something about herself, but she changed her mind. I understand that I have only known her for about 24 hours and that it would take some time for her to open up to me.
I went back to watch how Joesph was getting along with Wally. There was little progress from what I could tell. I could see the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead as Wally continued to dance around him. Laughing each time, Joesph missed a swing at him. Wally was playing with him and did not attempt to attack Joesph.
Wally started to swirl his staff around so fast that the weapon almost seemed invisible and mocked a yawn. "Oh, come on, Wilson! You're boring. Aren't you going to do anything to attack me?"
"He is! You're not giving him a chance!" I must have said that too loudly, for I felt Rachel's elbow nudge mine slightly.
"Shhh," She said, "It's best not to try to interfere with the Elite's methods."
"What methods?" I said, "If they are supposed to teach him how to fight, they are not doing a very good job. They are just laughing at him!"
Rachel said nothing. She kept her eyes on the field, not wanting to address my concern. Why was everyone so afraid of them and what they thought? These Elites could not have held that much power in the school. They were trying to use intimidation and bullying as a source of power, but to me, all of that is an illusion to make others succumb to fear. Once that illusion is broken, there is nothing to be afraid of.
Wally eventually got bored from toying with Joesph and finally made an actual attack on him. He shoved one end of his staff against Joseph's back. Joesph lost his balance from dizziness and immediately toppled over onto the ground. Wally swiftly brought the staff to Joseph's neck and then smirked.
"Wally wins...again," said the red-haired girl on the field, who I guessed was supposed to be monitoring the match. However, it looked like she was not interested in ensuring it was a fair fight.
Wally brought the staff across his shoulders and puffed out his chest. "Heh, loser!" He said while looking down on Joseph, who was still on the ground.
That was my breaking point. I jumped up from the bench I was sitting on, but Rachel pulled me back down. "Don't!" She hissed, "I know it's not fair, but getting involved will only make matters worse for him. Trust me!"
I looked at her in disbelief and was about to question why everyone was letting this happen until I heard the girl on the field say. "Hey, Dick! Were you able to watch the fight? I'm curious to know what your thoughts were?"
I felt my heart skip a beat and returned my attention to the field. Was I about to see who this infamous Elite leader was? Perfect.
Not knowing where he had come from, nor did I see him enter the field, I watched a boy with short black hair and a very bored expression walk over to the match between Wally and Joseph. He was accompanied by another boy about twice his size and darker colored skin. Only this other boy, I could tell, was not 100% human. His bald head was half metal, with the half that was metal holding a red laser eye.
"I think he wasn't even trying." The black-haired boy said. His voice was soft and silky. But not a tone that would ease a child after having a nightmare. It sounded like it could quickly turn threatening, and this boy would become the nightmare. "Why weren't you using your abilities, Joseph?"
Did he see the same fight I did? I saw Joseph trying his best, but Wally was making it impossible for him to make any contact. I clenched my fists and ground my teeth to keep myself quiet.
"I'm sorry, sir." Joseph stammered as he brushed some grass off his school uniform. His voice was so timid that it sounded almost like a mouse. "I just...I can't..."
"You can't?" The boy asked, "Or won't. Those are two very different excuses for why you were not participating in this fight properly."
He might have said a few other things, but my fury clouded my ability to make out his words. As soon as he made his final remarks on the fight he observed, he started to turn away from Joseph to leave the field. But I had to talk to him before he left. This was my chance to put an end to this ridiculous tyranny.
I quickly stood up and hopped over the railings of the bleachers before Rachel could stop me. I heard her say, "Kory, don't!" but I had softly landed on the ground of the field as she said it.
Taking a deep breath to put myself in my warrior mindset, I walked toward him with his pack of Elites following close to him as they all began to leave. I could feel all the eyes of the rest of the students on me now. I am sure there were looks of bewilderment and shock, but if no one else was going to do this, I would have to be the one.
"Are you Dick Grayson?" I called out to him.
He turned around, and I immediately noticed his eyes. They were blue, but not like Rachel's. They were lighter, almost like the skies in Miami. His eyes were striking, and I could see why women here would find him attractive.
He did not say anything for a long moment. He only stared at me with an intensity that was a little unnerving. But I kept my chin up as I noticed his eyes scanning me down and then up again. He was not going to intimidate me.
After what seemed like hours, he finally said, "Yes, I am." Only now, his voice sounded deeper than how he had addressed Joseph.
Straightening up with my head still held high, I said, "Good. My name is Kory Anders, and I understand you are the student president here. And with that, I would like to challenge you to a dual."
His eyebrows furrowed, but only slightly. From far away, he still probably looked like he was giving me an emotionless stare. But I noticed it. He was likely not used to someone standing up to him, so it must have been a lot to process. That was probably why it was taking him so long to respond to me.
"Kory Anders," He repeated my name slowly. "You're the new student that arrived yesterday."
Ok... I was looking for a different response.
"Yes," I told him, "And I have heard rumors that you are mistreating the students here. And after observing your Elites' demonstration with this student, I now see it is true. That is why I would like to challenge you to a duel for the title of student president."
His eyebrows raised, and I could see the shock on his face. I had him right where I needed him. The red-haired girl who was by his side had then started laughing uncontrollably. I did not remember saying anything amusing to make her laugh like that, but she was not my main concern.
Dick ignored her laughter and said, "I understand you are taking refuge here on Earth while your planet is under siege. And you are of noble blood. The heir to your planet's throne, is that correct?"
Again, he was not accepting or denying the challenge. Just repeating information he may have heard about me. But the information he had heard was oddly specific and accurate, and I wondered how he knew the details of my planet's demise.
"It looks like we have a princess on our hands, boys." I heard the Elite girl jeer.
Wally started to laugh and hopped in front of the girl to bow down lowly and, with his nose up in the air, said snootily, "You're majesty!"
I glanced at them momentarily as they made fun of me and then turned my gaze back to Dick. I could still hear them laughing. The tall Elite, who had said nothing since their arrival, still said nothing and remained impassive.
"Yes, that is true," I said, getting impatient. I did not see the purpose of this conversation and mockery.
"That may be how titles are earned on your planet," said Dick, "But not at this school. The rules are different. And if you want to try to take on one of my Elites to demonstrate your fighting abilities, you are more than welcome to."
He started to turn away from me as if he was finished with our encounter. But I was not going to let him get away that easily. "No. I want to fight you."
I could tell he was getting annoyed and eagerly wanted to exit this interaction. But if he were to walk away from this challenge without giving me a proper reason why he would not fight me, I would have no choice but to label him as a coward in front of the school.
Dick turned to me and said, "You're a first-year. What makes you think you have the skill level to challenge me?"
True. He might have been a little older than me with more experience. But he also had yet to learn who I really was and where I came from. He probably thinks I am some helpless alien princess. "The most feared warlords trained me in my planet's galaxy system. I believe I am competent enough to face you."
I watched Dick's chest rise and fall in an impatient sigh before he said, "If you want to fight me, you will need to prove yourself like all the other students. Just because you are some warrior princess does not exclude you from the rules here. I will consider your request if you can defeat each Elite in a sparring match."
Another ridiculous rule I was to abide by. But seeing he would only entertain my challenge once I had proven myself, this was the obstacle I must face. At least I would be satisfied with taking down each Elite in front of the school. "Fine. Who shall I defeat first?"
Dick took a moment to consider me and decide my best opponent. "Babs," He said, "Care to show the new girl the ropes?"
Babs, the red-haired girl, responded eagerly. "With pleasure." She said this with the most mischievous grin.
I followed Babs to the same area where Wally and Joseph had fought. As we made our way there, I could see Rachel leaning over the bleacher's railing, silently trying to get my attention. Her face looked pale. Well...paler, I suppose, and her eyes were wide as she mouthed, 'Don't do this' when my eyes met hers. I ignored her warning and grabbed the staff that Joseph left. Babs would be an easy opponent for me to face. I have defeated creatures three times her size in sparring matches, so I had nothing to be worried about.
I also noticed that the bleachers looked fuller now. News must have gone around quickly to any student near the fields that the new girl was about to fight one of the Elites. Yet, I was not nervous. The more people who could see that the Elites could be defeated, the better.
"Don't worry, princess," Babs said as we got in position to start our match. "I'll make sure to take an easy on you so you don't break a nail."
I am sure she was referring to how I am from a noble family and assumed I lived an affluent and delicate lifestyle. Perhaps that's how it is for the princesses on this planet, but not on Tamaran. And besides, Babs did not look far off from a princess herself. I had to admit she was pretty for a human girl and might have lived a life of luxury, considering how she carried herself.
The tall Elite with the half-metal face had approached us and asked, "Are you ladies ready?" Out of all of the Elites, he actually sounded pleasant and kind.
"You know I'm always ready, Vic," Babs said with her eyes never leaving me.
I nodded, not breaking her stare either. "Yes."
The Elite known as Vic brought his arm in between us. Just like Babs did for Wally and Joseph. I looked around with my eyes to see if Dick was still at the field. He was. I could make out his rigid stature from the corner of my eye.
"Ready. And. Go!" Vic raised his arm up at the word 'Go,' and I immediately lunged at Babs with my staff to attack, and Babs blocked my attack with a force to match.
The weapon I had to use was lighter than I used to. I was initially thrown off by getting used to the weight and balance. It was trickier than I thought. So I spent the first part of our battle trying to block each of Bab's attacks until I could get used to the feeling of it.
Babs was quick. Even though she might have been one of my smallest opponents, she moved quickly with such provision and grace. If I had not tried to ward off her attacks while focusing on keeping her from swinging at my feet to knock me over, I would have admired and studied her movements. She already seemed like a well-trained warrior and knew exactly what she was doing.
Once I started to get comfortable with the weight of the staff, I decided to use my strength to push her attacks away from me. The first powerful push surprised Babs as I heard her let out a little yelp when I pushed back. I saw her stumble backward as she lost her balance and chose to drop her weapon to keep her from falling on her back. She fell forward but caught herself with her hands and used the momentum to do a backflip from her hands to get away from me before I was able to reach her on the ground.
Impressive. She has some very skilled moves. I picked up her weapon out of respect and tossed it back to her. I was at least going to play fair.
When she caught the staff, she looked at me and cocked her head. "Ok...you are stronger than you look."
"Shall we continue?" I asked and graced her with a charming smile.
Babs smirked back before she made the next lunge at me. Perhaps she was having fun fighting a more challenging opponent. Only now, she was being careful with getting too close to me. She knew it could be over for her if I were given the opportunity to push back with my strength. So she chose to be quicker and tried to take me down from behind.
We must have been so enthralled in our battle that we had somehow traveled to the other side of the field and made it to the smaller set of bleachers there. Babs tried to throw me off by leaping high onto the top steps of the side entrance of the bleachers in one motion. As she did, she managed to yank my staff from my hands with hers, and I heard my staff clanking down against the metal floor of the bleachers.
I stared at my hands in disbelief. How could she jump that high and simultaneously knock the staff out of my hands?
"Hey!" I heard her call me, and then she threw my weapon back. "We're not done yet."
As soon as I caught my weapon, I ran up the bleacher steps after her. Babs hopped from one bench to the other and beckoned me to continue to fight her on the narrow platforms. She tested my balance to see if I could stay standing on a foot-wide bench and focus on blocking attacks. I did not disappoint her, for my balance was perfect. But so was hers.
We traversed up the bleachers and then back again. Babs must have been tired of fighting on the bleachers when she leaped onto the front railing to change our direction.
"Not bad, princess," She said, balancing on one foot with her staff still in hand. "But are you fast enough to catch me? Come on! I think you have earned one free pass at me. Hit me with your best shot!"
I bared my teeth at her as I ran forward my staff while letting out a battle cry. I aimed a swing at her legs to knock her off the railing, but right before my weapon could contact her, she sprung off the railing to do a couple more backflips and landed perfectly back on the field.
During that short time of her doing her fancy flips, the momentum I had put into knocking her off the railing had caused me to lose my balance, and my head made contact with the railing instead. A shot of pain and stars flashed in my vision. I rolled over onto the metal floor to hold my head. I growled in frustration, not from the fall, but because I thought she would give me a free pass. I should have known better by now that the Elites would play fair.
"Aww, did you hurt your pretty face?" I heard Babs taunt me as I blinked a few times to regain my vision.
When I brought my hand away from my forehead, I noticed lines of blood streaked across it. Seeing the blood made me angry. I picked up my staff and jumped over the bleacher railing to land directly before Babs.
"That was a dirty move," I told her. I was confident that was the right Earthly thing to say in that scenario.
Babs shrugged. "Sue me."
We were then back fighting in seconds in the field. My anger fueled my every move. Each attack I thought would surprise her was met with a quick block. As I turned for another attack on her, I noticed the staff where my hands were had become hot, and the metal started to melt away.
"What?" I asked my hands dumbly. Within that second of talking to my hands, I felt my legs come up from underneath me, and before I knew it, I was on my back with Bab's staff against the side of my neck.
I had lost...but how?
Babs crouched beside me while I was still on the ground in a dazed state. "Welcome to Titan Academy, your majesty." She said in the most mocking way possible. She stood up and was about to walk away until she turned back to me and said. "You should probably get that bump on her head checked out. It's not really a good look for you."
And then I watched her saunter away back to the Elites. Vic and Wally gave her high fives to congratulate her victory, and then I glared at each of them. I reserved an even fiercer glare for Dick when it was his turn. Thinking that he would not even look at me after that disaster, I was planning to give him a rude Tamaranean gesture. But when I found him, I noticed he was already looking at me. His face was still bored and emotionless. Once our eyes met, he flicked his away and then turned to leave the field. Not joining his friends in their celebration. Odd, but I had a feeling that was just how he was. Cold and soulless.
I fell back on the ground and stared at the grey sky. It was turning darker, and I realized it was getting late and I should start heading to the dining hall for dinner. But then, I would have to face everyone who had witnessed my embarrassing failure. That sounded awful.
I considered not returning back to the school. I could run away and try to live off the land. I was trained to survive in the wild on several planets, and I am sure the woods outside the school had all the natural resources I needed to survive while I devised a plan to get off this planet.
I stared at the sky, going through my options, until I saw Rachel's face hover over me. "Are you planning to spend the night here tonight?"
"No," I told her flatly, "I am trying to decide if the woods here would be sufficient for me to live in so that I do not have to face public humiliation."
Rachel rolled her eyes and then pulled me up from the ground. "Come on and stop being such a drama queen."
A/N
Yes, I'm making the sidekicks the assholes in this story. But before everyone starts going up in arms, they are that way for a reason, and will make sense later. Also, remember that this is all from Kory's point of view, so this is how she perceives them.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first fight scene! There will be many more to come! Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow, favorite, and review!
