Seltron Super Academy Chapter 12

Coach Beachwood was waiting for us students as we arrived in the gym under the school. They didn’t have the walls dividing the space this time, just a wide-open room for the entire class. All the students were there, Combat Class being larger and only happening once a week (and was twice as long as a regular class). I shuffled off to the girls changing room after Alex asked for help with her uniform again when they entered the gym. Outwardly I looked perfectly fine, but I was feeling incredibly drained from my restless nights.

I saw the shiny whistle hanging around the coach’s neck, and I dulled my hearing a bit when I saw him raise it to his lips. “Line up!” He shouted out, and the class fell into a horizontal line before him.

“Listen well; this class is going to push you hard, and I’m not going to accept any slackers. Is that clear? Good! Now, we’ll begin with a quick warm-up.” He directed them through a rather grueling pace of suicide runs, burpees, and sit-ups.

Without powers being limited this time, a lot of a few more students did better with it than they had during Physical Education, but not too many more. Trevor, for all his complaining, seemed to work out a bit as he had no problem, and Kadir again showed off his odd physical training juxtaposed with his power.

“Got your eye on someone?” Alex said, nudging me. At first I didn’t get the winged girl’s meaning until I turned and caught the playful look in her eyes. Right, she’s a teenager and assumes hormones rather than scoping out the competition. I’m glad I shut those down - puberty has been annoying enough the times I’ve gone through it.

“Not at all; he’s way too annoying for my tastes. Just surprised that such a slacker can keep up.” I raised my voice slightly for the last part, and to his credit, he managed to flip me the bird and then lower his hand, all without breaking stride on his exercise and too fast for the Coach to catch it.

“If you say so.” At my raised eyebrow, she added, “You two just always seemed to have a vaguely flirtatious vibe.” Did it look that way to outsiders? Well, he was flirtatious at least, and I enjoyed the banter. 

Not what I would have thought I missed from my life before, but it’s true, there were some excellent moments of wordplay and verbal sparring. In between the very real, terrifying, and bloody, less fun fights for my life. Still, I’d rather not have people thinking that about me. Perhaps I should be a guy around him? No idea if that would stop it or just have Kadir ramp things up; he’s hard to read.

The coach whistled again, calling us all back in line and a warm up to end. “We’ll be beginning combat training today. What this means is I’m going to try and whip you all into fighting shape and teach you the basics of how to survive a fight, what it does not mean is for you to start wailing on each other or trying to seriously injure each other. I’ll grade you based on how much you improve and how well you do in the exams at the end of the terms. These tests will be a round of fighting against another student.”

He pulled up a small hologram of the breakdown, which was forty percent ‘Participation’ (i.e., he gets to decide however much he wanted for our grade and why), and then fifteen percent for each ‘Practical Demonstration’ at the end of the term, as well as a final exam at the end of the year for the rest. Some cries went up about ‘how unfair it was,’ ‘what if they got paired up against someone really strong,’ etc. It was all very annoying, and I was almost glad when Derrick blew his whistle again, even if it was still too shrill for my ears.

“Settle down! You’ll all be graded fairly. You can get full marks even if you lose your fight, provided you show your skills and a bit of intelligence in your matches. That being said, winning matters for your overall class ranking. Headmaster Kiren has decided that whoever is in the top spot can choose one class and automatically pass it, full marks.” At his declaration, all eyes were trained on Trevor, a few spots to my left, who gulped audibly. A good way to motivate the students to try their best for his crummy rankings, while realistically, the best way to get good grades would be to just spend our time studying harder all around.

“This class will be going over unarmed combat for the first four weeks; after that, we’ll move on to melee weapons for four weeks, then ranged - you get the drill. This should hopefully get all of you up to a basic level of competency, but I’m not one to get my hopes up. Let’s see if you can make me a believer.” He pressed a button on his tablet, dismissing the holoscreen and drawing slight lines all over the floor, splitting it up into several small boxes. The texture felt different too.

I raised my hand and he continued talking. “Now let’s get to the class itself. And it looks like we have a volunteer, excellent,” he said, pointing at me. Roll with it. I nodded my head and stepped forward.

“I’d be happy to volunteer. I also had a question about what the final test was.”

“Ah, right. That’ll be another match, but that time it’ll be against one of us teachers.” More whispering spread out throughout the class, but he yelled at them. “Pipe down! You should all be paying close attention to this as you’ll be practicing this with a partner soon. We’re going to go through some basic throws...”

I was flung about several times, though it wasn’t as bad as I initially feared. Despite the ‘air of menace’ he tried to give himself, Derrick wasn’t needlessly cruel. The floor had even been given a soft, springy quality to it so no one would be hurt when being thrown about. He even made a point of commending me when my (repeated) experiences gave me the knowledge on how to break my falls properly, pointing out to the class the right way to fall to avoid spraining a wrist or worse.

“Partner up and get to work. And try to avoid using your powers if you can here; this is about learning the basics; you’ll have plenty of time to learn how to use these moves with your powers later,” Coach Beachwood shouted at us. Even when he isn’t angry, that man has no volume control down.

I picked myself up and moved back to the group, finding most of the group had already partnered off. Alex was moving about, trying to find people, but it seemed like everyone was avoiding the winged girl, ‘coincidentally’ finding other people before she could ask them, and some even outright saying no. I can hardly blame them; we all saw her insane strength during the tournament. I started casting my eye about for someone else before Alex ran up to me.

“Hey Cam, do you need a partner?” She asked with a hopeful smile on her face. I was about to turn her down and try to find someone else before I gave my head a shake. Alex’s smile faltered for a moment.

“Wait, no, yes, I do. Thanks, I said, making it clear I was accepting Alex. Why had I even not wanted to practice with Alex? It’s not like I’m afraid of her, right? Probably just my headache.

The class began throwing each other in earnest (or with reluctance for some), and most of the efforts were sloppy. Feet positioned the wrong way, grips out of place, not rotating the right way, etc. Very amateurish, but I suppose that this is the first combat day for many of them.

Alex was no better there, even worse in some ways due to her strength. She’d either barely pick me up or send me soaring through the air (letting go of her grip one time so I just went straight up a meter). The coach was busy with some of the other students, so I took it upon myself to instruct Alex.

“Alright, first off, stop treating me like a porcelain doll.”

“What? But I-”

“Tossed me up really high because you were going too strong and then overcompensated. Obviously that has to be worked on, but for now, don’t worry about holding back so much. I can take it, and you need to work on your stance and the like. Here,” I said as I moved the winged girl’s body into the proper position. I could have sworn I heard her ‘eep’ nervously once, but Alex soon got the hang of it. Once she lost her nervousness, I could see that she was actually a fast learner.

“Thank you,” Alex whispered to me as the Coach was calling the class back to order. “You’re so... ‘take charge’ and confident. I wish I could be like you.” I was taken aback momentarily, touched by the compliment.

For the next drill, we were all told to switch partners. I was quickly picked by Kadir, and while I felt he was annoying, I didn’t refuse - I could hardly have anyone think he’s actually getting under my skin, after all. I have to appear above that. Alex... had no one. I watched on as Robert Willowsby faked a sprained leg to avoid facing her.

“I just- I don’t think I can fight any more today, sir,” he stammered out as Alex looked awkwardly on. “I must have missed it in that last throw- uh not your fault, Holly; great throw,” he said, his eyes darting from his old partner to Alex and then to the coach. He couldn’t be more obvious if he tried (a sentiment that Kadir shared, facepalming at our classmate's actions). “I’ll, uh, make it up later?” He offered, and the coach sighed.

“Fine, go to the nurse’s office. You’re dismissed.” The student barely seemed to believe his ears, smiling brightly for a moment and nearly skipping off before he remembered to fake his injury and limp off. Alex’s wings dropped as she saw that and looked around for someone else to spar with, most of the other students averting their eyes. I was about to offer to rotate their group around with Alex when the coach said, “Alright, you’re with me, Miss Herron. What are the rest of you waiting around for? Get to work!” The class scampered to start practicing.

“Bob really didn’t get it, did he?” Kadir commented as we practiced the grip-breaking techniques the coach had shown us.

“No, though I’m surprised someone like you noticed it too.” I wrenched my hand away cleanly and efficiently and then gripped him, making sure to have a tight grip but not one beyond what a regular person could give. Derrick practically came out and told us how much our performance in the class mattered, and that stint will cost Robert quite a few marks. Sessions afterward probably wouldn’t make up for it either; the course was rigorous, but there was a lot to cover, and most other students would need to practice at least a couple of times a week if they wanted to keep up.

“Ouch, you hurt me,” he deadpanned as he tugged his wrist away. “You know, if you don’t want me to bug you, you probably shouldn’t tease back so much.” I drew my lips into a thin line, unable to deny his words.

“Your technique is sloppy. You aren’t pulling at the right angle, which leaves my grip stronger than it would be.” It was Kadir’s turn to frown at my matter-of-fact words. For all his obvious training beyond Seltron, Kadir seemed to at least rely on his teleportation for some things, like breaking grips.

The class continued in that manner for the next few hours. It was an intensive training regiment Beachwood put them through, I could grudgingly admit. It was still only bare-bones beginner techniques currently, like how to throw a punch without breaking your own thumb, but it taught the other students well.

I switched partners a few more times, and I noticed that again and again, everyone avoided Alexandra. I took pity on the girl and partnered with her most of the time, Seven partnering with her when I was with other students. The robot was as new to fighting as the rest of them but learned incredibly fast, perfectly positioning itself after trying a move once. That robot will be one to watch out for as well; it has quite the incredible power to go along with its lack of standard biological weaknesses.

After several more drills, Coach Beachwood called the class to a wrap, listing off the times when a teacher would oversee the gym so we could spar against each other outside of classes, then dismissing us to get changed.

Lunch was a tiring affair, filled with yawns, and not only from me. It looked like the class had taken as much out of the other students as the lack of sleep had on me, if not more so.

“Hey guys, want to go check out the island after class today?” Alex perkily asked. I held back a sigh. I want nothing more than to take a restful nap on my bed at the moment, but exploring the place has been a goal of mine, and we finally have the free time for it.

“Fine, let’s try to get in early, though.”

“I dunno,” Trevor said, looking at Alex funnily.

“Oh, c’mon, it’ll be fun.” The boy looked away at Alex’s persuasion before mumbling something that sounded like an acceptance. She cheered, and he scurried away to his next class while I stifled another yawn.

***

I took in the fresh air as we stepped out from Seltron’s walls. The school was very large, but going out in the open really helped me appreciate how much of the rest of the island wasn’t used.

“Hey, I- wait, who are you?” Trevor asked, looking confused at me.

“Decided to go for a change,” I said, turning to face the boy. I changed my build to a decently buff, black-haired young man with a sharp, angular face. It’s nothing like what I looked like when I was young, but I can’t say I miss that body too much. Besides, anything close to that and Null would recognize me.

“Ah, that’s... quite a change,” he said, looking a bit embarrassed but shaking it off.

His gaze turned venomous, surprising me. I turned over my shoulder to see what had raised his ire, and it was just Alex, waving at us. I thought if he had any biases, they’d be against me and shifting genders. What’s his problem with her? “Are you guys ready to go?” She asked excitedly, not noticing Trevor’s mood. She looked me over once before giving me a thumbs up. “That’s a good look for you.”

“Thanks. Where to first?”

“I kinda want to explore the forest to the southeast of us, and then maybe see what the beach is like.” I was fine with that, and Trevor didn’t have anything to say, so off we went. The perception-blocker seemed to loosen up as we went on our trip.

For its part, the forest was fairly dense, probably the biggest and tightest cluster of trees on the island, but there were a few paths to walk through it. Having Alex trailblaze also helped as she tore through any branches that would have hit us often without her really noticing. Trevor even tried his hand climbing up a couple of the thicker branches.

“Having fun there?” I asked. Ah, to be young again. At heart and mind at least.

“Yeah, it’s great. Always was a bit of a monkey as a kid,” he said as if he weren’t still a child, swinging himself around. “I’d love to practice here instead of at the gym or the field.”

“I know, this could be pretty cool for capture the flag or tons of other stuff,” Alex said, looking at all the plants. Probably, but the forest and environment would be wrecked for years after a single session out here with all our powers. I didn’t voice those thoughts, though, feeling no need to bring my companions down from the joy of their daydreams with the harshness of reality.

It seemed like this island was somewhere off the Western coast, given the vegetation, but I had never heard of or known about it. Not like I’m a cartographer or anything, but still, if it was publicly known before the school was made, I’d bet good money that the Empire has covered any traces of its existence up by now. There were a few birds and small furry creatures scampering about, but no larger creatures. 

Anything that could potentially cause problems was likely cleared out by Seltron (though really, any superhero hopeful that can’t deal with a bear or something probably deserves to die), along with a few sensor arrays I spotted, placed and hidden among the trees. If anyone thought they could hide here and still be able to get at anyone in the school, they’d be in for a surprise.

It didn’t take us long to make it all the way through the forest and overlook the edge of the island (though that was only because Alex had managed to spot where the path had ended and forced a way through; it didn’t look like the staff wanted any students here). The ocean stretched out before our eyes, the view of the horizon only slightly marred by the force field shimmering off in the distance. The water met a rocky beach, which stretched up before stopping at the large cliff we stood on. Peering straight down, I could see a system of caves below us, in the cliff face.

“Wow, this place looks... foreboding. Are we gonna head back?”

I shook my head at the boy. “No, there’s still so much to explore down there.” At Trevor’s look, I scoffed. “It’s just a cliff. Barely 30 meters tall, and there are plenty of handholds.” Indeed, the rock face was very uneven, with plenty of outcroppings to descend with.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to explore more!” Alex said, pumping her fist in the air. She was grinning like a... kid. I don’t really know why I was expecting anything different.

They began their descent, Trevor going first and then Alex. I was about to follow when something went wrong - the cliff shifted under the winged girl’s foot, and part of it started tumbling down. Alex let out a shocked cry, trying to right herself with her wings and keep herself from falling but went off track, further out into the open air. Trevor was in a worse spot, though, the rocks tumbling down by where he was gripping. He forced himself to the side, but was pinwheeling off the cliff with his grip disrupted.

Stretching an arm out a dozen feet, I grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back up. Trevor gasped and stopped screaming as Alex managed to land herself back down on the cliff.

“Oh my gosh, are you alright?” Alex asked, moving towards Trevor, who flinched backwards and knocked her hand away. The strong girl pulled her hand back, seeming hurt, though I knew it could only be emotionally.

“Stay away from me!” Trevor cried out. “You tried to kill me, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t, I would never!”

“Lies! You shattered the rocks to try and send me to my death, so you could rip out my heart and steal my power! You can fly; why would you need to even climb down in the first place?”

I crossed my large arms over my chest. “That’s ridiculous; it was an accident, we all saw it. There was no way of knowing that the cliff would break like that.” If anyone is to blame, it’s me, not that they’d know that. I didn’t see it when I totally should have. I have a power literally designed for spotting this kind of stuff, but I wasn’t paying enough attention. It’s not a very strong power, but I know that and should be more observant because of it. At least I caught him in time. “No one got hurt, and it was an accident. Let’s just take our time and be more careful when we go down next time.”

“‘Next time’? Like hell I’m going back down there again.” He rubbed at his shoulder aggressively, making me think that perhaps my pull had been a mite more painful than I’d thought. Or he’s being a big baby about the whole ordeal.

“Yeah, maybe we’ve had enough excitement for today,” Alexandra added, shuffling nervously. Trevor had calmed down slightly and was no longer ranting and raving at her but still wasn’t happy with her and looked like he didn’t know what to do with the winged girl agreeing with him. I know that feeling every time one of my views (very rarely) lines up with Null’s.

In the end, we went back to the school in silence, Trevor quickly leaving once they got there. Alex looked helplessly after him. What would someone say in a case like this? I’m no good at this kind of stuff. I racked my brain, but all I managed to say was, “Hey, he probably didn’t mean that, he’s just shaken up. He’ll be fine in a bit.”

Inside the building, Robert Willowsby waved us down. “Hey, we got a party going on tonight to celebrate making it through the first week; you two should totally come. Though... huh, I don’t think I recognize you,” he said, pointing at me.

“I’m Cam.”

“Cam, as in Camila? That h-” His eyes boggled, and he not-too-inconspicuously looked down at my chest and what was missing in barely concealed disappointment. “You, uh, gonna go like that? Ah, whatever, anyways, the party will be on the third floor in the west wing student ‘study area,’ an hour and a half after dinner. Just make sure you don’t tell Major Edderton; that guy’s such a snitch.”

He walked off, and Alex said, “Wow. I’ve never been invited to a party before,” causing me to look at her in shock. The girl wasn’t exactly unpretty or had a bad attitude. That’s just sad. Even when people were well and right to fear for their lives around me, I still got invited to a couple of parties at least.

She looked nervously at me, seeming on the fence about going or not. I may have been tired and emotionally worn out, but this just couldn’t stand.

“Then it seems like this shall be your first.” I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and waving my hand in the air in a large arc. “And it shall be, a super party!” The two of us had a good laugh at that, Alexandra seeming less nervous before splitting up to get ready.

***

The study room had all the tables and chairs pushed to the side to make room for a sound system, a refreshment table (which was fairly well decked out in snacks and drinks), and space to mingle.

I dressed up in a tight black shirt and jeans. Casual enough that it wouldn’t raise any eyebrows from teachers passing by on the way to the party but stylish enough to look good. Alex was wearing black slacks with a dressy white blouse with plenty of room in the back for her wings to move about.

“Nice outfit,” I said, and Alex blushed for a moment.

“Thanks. Uh, you too.”

By the time we arrived, most of the other students were already there. They were mostly just standing around talking, but that stopped for a moment when they entered, all eyes turning on them before resuming. Odd. Alex was fidgeting, so I pushed her forward. “Go on, mingle.” The push caused Alex to spread her wings out involuntarily, which knocked a drink out of one girl’s hands. That probably had the opposite effect of what I intended. Oh well.

I strode forward, grabbing one of the drinks that didn’t smell alcoholic, and going up to a group of classmates.

“Cool party.” It wasn’t, really, but considering they should have had no real equipment or supplies and just school kids, it was alright.

“Thanks, man, I thought we could use a little chance to de-stress,” Dryden Vor said. “It’s only the first week, and it’s been killer, so me and Max,” he gestured to the muscular boy sitting at a table and challenging others to arm wrestling, “and a few others thought to set it up.”

“Hey, who are you? I don’t recognize you from any of our classes, another boy asked. He had dark hair and an average build, and I knew him, but not well enough to remember his name. Greg? Geralt? It began with a G, and he had a weak power based around color manipulation, and I couldn’t be bothered to remember more about him.

“Right, I’m Cam.” The boys seemed a bit surprised and put off by that revelation, save Dryden, who seemed too ‘chill’ to react too much about anything. I seriously wondered if his lethargy power affected his own disposition in some way, even though every study had said there was no noticeable correlation between powers and personalities.

A loud ‘bang’ attracted everyone’s attention for a moment as Maximus slammed someone’s hand to the table and let out a loud “Bam! Who else wants to face the champ?” So childish. I didn’t say anything, though, and just turned back to the others, making a bit of small talk and feeling them out.

Most of them were weaklings, unconcerned with our rankings and ill-suited to heroism in power and mind. Some of them, like Yuki, who could make stone walls appear anywhere, or Panveer, who could turn invisible, actually had potential but squandered it by focusing on things like gossip and complaining about classes. Not that I truly mind; it means less competition for me. I will have to watch out for that invisibility power, though. I don’t want anyone spying on me at inopportune times.

Some of them were truly feeling like the classes really were too hard and that this get-together was a well-earned break. Which boggles; don’t they know how much harder their courses will be getting? This is the easy stuff. Most of the students were just happy to leap on a chance to party. I enhanced my hearing a bit, though it was painful with the loud-ish music playing, which only added to my headache from the restless nights, but it did let me catch some of the gossip my classmates were spreading about me.

Turns out, they weren’t talking about me much, actually. Some people thought I was stuck up or a bastard, but not many were willing to speak about my new appearance, though an unspoken sentiment of distaste accompanied any mentions of me. Part of it might have been my powers freaking people out or jealousy over my skill, but the biggest ‘black mark’ seemed to be my association with Alex, oddly enough.

Looking around at the party, it seemed that despite Alex’s best attempts and winning smile, everyone quickly shunned her or dispersed when she got near. Kadir was the only one that didn’t seem to have any problems with her, chatting casually and keeping a few other students around as he wove some crazy story of his past, like how he one time used his powers to date two girls at literally the same time through judicious teleportation tricks. Once Kadir left to mingle with other students, though, I saw that the winged girl was again given a wide berth until suddenly someone called out to her, about an hour into the party.

“Hey, bird-girl!” Maximus called out to Alex, his voice cutting across the room, slightly slurred. “Why don’t we see who’s the strongest?” There were more than a few empty cups scattered nearby his table, implying he’d been drinking a bit.

“Wh- me?” Alex asked, pointing at herself.

“Wow, bird-brained too?” Maximus muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for everyone to hear. There were a few titters of laughter that peeled out from the crowd slowly gathering around. Alexandra’s head whipped back and forth between them, looking hurt before getting angry. “You think you’re so tough? Let’s settle it, man to... well, I’ll try not to crush you too hard.” He placed his arm on the table in a challenging motion.

I hadn’t reacted before this because I was too stunned at how utterly moronic Maximus was, thinking it had to be a joke at first. As Alex sat down opposite the boy, I slid forward through the crowd for a better look. 

“Alright, we clasp hands and go on the count of three. Just don’t cry if you get hurt too much.” He had an ugly smirk on his face as Alex silently grabbed his hand. Classmates were cheering, most of them for Maximus, for some reason that I couldn’t decipher. Even if they liked him more, there is no way he’s winning this. No point in cheering for a horse you know is going to lose.

“One... two...three.” On ‘two,’ Maximus’ muscles ballooned out rapidly, growing with a speed that I briefly envied. He also started leveraging as much force as he could upon Alex’s arm.

Her arm actually did bend backwards, coming perilously close to the table with Alex caught off-guard by his sudden push. Then it stopped there, Maximus pushing harder and harder, and Alex not moving an inch. “Are we starting? I wasn’t sure because you said on the count of three, I thought there might be a ‘go’ afterwards...” Maximus gritted his teeth, doubling the size of his arm to larger than a world champion swimmer’s leg. It didn’t push Alex’s hand a millimeter closer to the table, and when she pushed back, it was like the over muscled boy couldn’t resist at all. His hand slammed against the other side of the table with a resounding ‘bang!’ that left a crack in the table.

Alex cheered for a moment in her victory as she got up before recognizing that Maximus was moaning in pain, his arm bent funny. I noticed that there were some fractures running throughout his hand too; Alex must have squeezed a bit too hard when pushing his arm. Everyone else had stopped cheering, some even booing Alex.

Idiot got what he deserved. Challenging someone you don’t like when you know you can’t beat them isn’t brave, just dumb.

“Wha- what are you? You freak. Maximus spat out as he clutched his hand. Alex was trying to stammer out an apology when I stepped in between them and laughed derisively.

“Like you have any right to complain when you’re the one who challenged her.”

“Shut up! Don’t think cause you’re pretending to be a boy right now that makes you any stronger. Though I guess you are the perfect freaky fit for her. Did you not have enough-” I slammed my arm down on the table, shutting him up.

“Before you run your mouth off in a more bigoted manner like I suspect, why don’t I answer your first challenge and put you in your place? Tell you what, I’ll even use my left hand to give your right the chance to heal up,” I offered. Maximus actually growled at me, letting go of his right wrist and placing his left hand on the table.

“Fine, but this time I’m not holding back,” and with a grunt, his muscles swelled up rapidly, growing even larger than before, grotesque bulges of flesh expanding out, bumping his arm up so much that it was difficult for him to even reach down and clasp my hand.

“Alright, let’s go!!” He yelled, forgoing any countdown this time to just start pushing against my hand right away, as hard as he could... to no avail. I yawned, a smirk on my face as Maximus failed to move me. All an affectation, of course; I actually was putting my all into resisting the muscular boy’s attempts. 

I might have looked merely like someone decently fit, but I'd changed the structure of my arm greatly before the contest. It was as dense as it could get, harder than steel, and incredibly strong for its size. Even with all that, the fact that I couldn’t move the angry boy either was a sign of the prodigious amount of muscle he had created. But as the match went on, I felt Maximus’ position slipping, his grip twisting downward. And then I heard it over the din of cheering and partying around them, a small crack. 

Likely not even a full fracture or hearable by anyone without enhanced senses, but to me it rang out, a tune of my victory. Moments later a larger crack followed as my hand drove through its circular motion, ramming the hand down and then through the table, breaking apart the poor, abused piece of carpentry. Also, probably breaking Maximus’ other hand, I realized with an afterthought.

Maximus let out a cry as the pain got to him, and I calmly stepped away; the partygoer’s cheers screeched to a halt. “H-How? I’m supposed to be the strongest,” he muttered. I noticed the others acting agitated and decided to answer his question, voicing my opinion out loud.

“Because some people are just stronger than others. They have better powers and skills, and no matter how much you try, you’ll never catch up. This is the gulf between us.” To Alex I said, “C’mon, let’s go.” Alex stumbled away, the students breaking out into hushed murmurs and parting to let us pass. Even the ones that were upset, like Hayden shifting the metal in the floor, let us by without incident. I almost wish they did have the balls to try and fight us; we’re tougher than the lot of them put together. We’d still get in trouble with the teachers, though, so this is for the best. Kadir, however, took it upon himself to join us.

“Man, this party was a hoot! I’m glad I helped set this shindig up.” He said, hands behind his head, seeming to be without a care in the world.

“You- of course you did,” I said, putting together how they had managed to get such supplies. The kitchen would be unlikely to just give out such large amounts of pop and snacks if a student asked, let alone the sound system (and that raised a larger question of if he had obtained the gear from somewhere in the school or could go past the island).

“If you like it so much, why aren’t you staying back there?”

“After your dramatic declaration? No way, just going to be gloom for anyone sticking around. Best to end things on that note.” He fell silent for a second before adding, “Plus, the teachers are gonna bust it up in like three seconds, so best to skedaddle.” Indeed, the distant music seemed to stop suddenly just after his declaration.

“Oh no,” Alex said, her head snapping up. “Is everyone going to be in trouble?”

“Not at all,” Kadir said breezily. “We were ‘never’ there, so the three of us at least aren’t going to be in trouble. Oh, and Mighty Student No. 9-”

“Seven.”

“Whatever, that mechanical dude won’t get in trouble because they actually didn’t go. Dude is friendly enough in class, but tight-lipped and barely hangs around after it. I wonder where they go off to…” He trailed off, meaningfully.

“That sounds like Seven’s business, not yours,” I snapped. It was curious, and I had wondered about it myself a few times, but- Ok, there’s no good reason for why I’m irritated with him right now; I’m just tired and grumpy.

“Just wondering. Anyway, thanks for making that party a bit more interesting.”

“Wait, aren’t you worried someone will ask about how they set up the party?” Alex asked. “Or about... us being there,” she added in a smaller voice.

“Oh sure, but they aren’t going to get anything. Even if Maximus hates you, no one wants to get labeled a snitch.” Kadir gave the winged girl a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Plus, Max just lost a bunch of face losing to you two; he won’t be up for rocking the social boat so soon.”

“I agree, but I’m guessing there’s a story behind your thoughts,” I said boldly, stopping in the middle of the hallway to stare the teleporter in the eye. Kadir coolly met the gaze, his crimson eyes meeting my (currently) emerald ones for a moment.

“I reckon there are lots of stories. You were speaking the truth at the party, but something that deep from the heart, I’m betting there’s a story behind it too.” I refused to flinch but didn’t respond either, and Kadir laughed. “That’s what I thought. Maybe we’ll get the chance to trade stories later, ciao,” he called out before disappearing before our eyes.

“Like an enigma, shrouded by a koan, wrapped in an annoying riddle,” I muttered. Shaking my head and moving on, I marched down the hallway. I got a few steps before I realized Alex wasn’t following. “What’s up, Alex? We should get out of here before the teachers come snooping around. I mean, it’s a fairly empty hallway and far enough away that we can just make up some excuse, but...”

Her blonde bangs lifted up, revealing an intense gaze from her baby blue eyes. “Why did you say that to him?” She’s not talking about my chat with the teleporter. I felt uncomfortable, in a way that even the mystery of Kadir couldn’t manage, averting my gaze from the girl. 

“I just... said the truth. And besides, he was being a jerk, especially to you, and after everyone tried to warn him too. What does it matter?” True, but not the whole truth. The whole truth was that my classmates were looking down on Alex, and if I let that go on, it would hurt my reputation too. 

Also, despite the fact that my power was more versatile, Maximus had a very similar power to mine. In some (very limited) ways, it could even be construed as slightly stronger; Maximus would have won that arm wrestling competition if he had realized the weaknesses of his leverage position and less dominant hand and adjusted accordingly. I can’t have any competition, especially not from a boorish boy like that, so the best thing to do was cripple his confidence. Tear him down so that no one could even think of comparing us. But I could hardly tell Alex that.

“I- I think anyone can become strong if they try hard.” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. It was an easy response from a foolishly naive girl. One who had obviously never had to try to be strong. Try and fail. I may have my own issues, but that doesn’t make Alexandra qualified to speak here in any way. “I’ve heard a whole bunch of the tips and tricks you’ve had with your powers, so I’m sure he could be strong-”

“If he applied himself? Maybe, but Maximus is just a thug, and I’m not going to waste my time with someone like that. Besides, even if we both applied ourselves, that gap between us would still be there.” Yawning suddenly, I surprised even myself with how tired I was. “Ah, it’s getting late. I’m heading to bed; talk to you later, Alex.” The girl distantly returned the farewell, seeming lost in her own thoughts.