Pocket dimension

Daphne Snow School of Arcane Art

10:05 PM

In a white medical tent, Elissa was helping a bald young woman regrow her hair with one of her alchemical concoctions, it was a pale pink and luxurious. She was one of the captured heroines that disappeared six months ago while battling this new wave of supervillains that the media was crowing about lately. The young pink haired woman looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes grew misty and she turned to Elissa and gave her a hug.

“Thank you, thank you!” The young woman said in Elissa’s ear.

Patting the woman on the back Elissa asked herself how she got roped into this rescue operation so late in the night? *Ah yeah doctor Jordan asked for my help and I couldn’t say no to her tired eyes.* Elissa told herself.

Doctor Jordan was inside the next tent healing the seriously wounded and critical cases while she gave the lower priority cases to Elissa. Armed with her alchemy field-kit, the redhead had been treating young women who wanted to feel more feminine again. Through her limited knowledge of healing magic and what medical knowledge she gleaned from the internet, Elissa was trying her best to help these girls.

Her first reaction when seeing this many wounded and badly burned people was horror, that wasn’t the worst, so many of them were malnourished or looked to be on their last legs. After asking a round of questions of how everything happened, Elissa was informed that when her mother opened the portal from the facility the prisoners were held to the pocket realm, a tongue of fire burned some of them. Now she was taking care of those who didn’t need that much help and so unburdening Doctor Jordan.

The redhead pushed the girl out of her solid embrace and said, “You’re welcome, now let me see those scars.”

“You can do something about them?” There was a note of hope in the young woman’s voice.

She looked emaciated even after the nutrient potion Elissa had given her and it was sad to see. Elissa gave her a radiant smile, flipped her hair behind her back and told the young woman with a boast, “Of course, lemme show you they won’t be bothering you anymore.”

The redhead put her hands on the pink haired heroine, she reached deep inside her and let her healing energy fill this young woman’s body, through this exchange Elissa could see everything that was wrong with her biologically; this heroine was malnourished and her immune system was strained and there was something wrong with her regeneration. Elissa did her best to give it a bit of a boost with her own healing mana, corrected the bug in her regeneration factor and then she focused on the visible scars on this girl’s body and proceeded to erase them; it was like she was working with Pictureshop erasing little imperfections here and there.

Sighing, the pink haired young woman relaxed her body, unconsciously letting go of the discomfort she was feeling as her body fought to rid itself of what ailed her. Elissa let go of the young woman’s shoulders and said while smiling, “That’s all I can do for you, the best thing you can do to get back to normal is eating as much as you can without making yourself sick.”

The young woman felt better already and stood up from the chair. “Thank you so much, this is the first time I saw a healer’s power.”

Healing was a superpower that was rare and most of the superhumans having it tried to not advertise it as most of them tended to disappear or worse were forced to work till they dropped by people who exploited them.

“Don’t mention it, send the next patient to me.” Elissa tried to keep the niceties to a minimum.

The young woman nodded and winked at Elissa.

“I hope we see each other again, bye.”

Elissa waved at the pink haired heroine as she left, a bald haired man entered the healing tent and he was missing an eye. He was muscular, but like the pink haired heroine a bit malnourished and he had a limp. There were bad burns on his body that Elissa couldn’t explain how they were done, but she thought that this was nothing that she couldn’t heal.

“I am the last one.” He said with a tone that told Elissa he didn’t expect anything from her.

“Sit, please.” The young redhead took that as a challenge, she scowled at him when he sat without looking at her, but was all sweetness again when he did.

With his remaining eye, the young man looked at her and thought she was too young to be doing work like she was doing, so he told her bluntly, “I don’t think you can help me, miss?”

Elissa fought a battle with herself to not roll her eyes at this unpleasant man.

“Von Braun and I can give you back your eye but it will take a lot out of me. I will call my uncle to come to help me first.” Elissa took out her phone and proceeded to call Achilles.

The man expected the young woman to try to reassure him or tell him nice platitudes to make him feel good about himself. “Ah.” Was the only thing he could say as she didn’t care one bit about his feelings it seemed.

Elissa took a nutrient potion and hair growth potion out of her Alchemical Kit, it was a little chest with a spatial enchantment woven inside of it full of different compartments for her tools, materials, and substances. As she was able to transmute anything with her advanced alteration and transmutation magic she didn’t need a philosopher’s stone. Magic and mana manipulation were the most useful tools for an alchemist.

Placing the two potions on the table to the side of where the man sat Elissa began to speak. “I hope you get your life back after this, drink the nutrient potion first it will satiate you for three days, there are enough protein and materials that your body needs in it for you to build up muscles and look healthy again.”

The man drank the potion and was stunned by the taste. “It tastes like roasted beef!”

Elissa gave a smug smile. “I hate foul-tasting potions, flavoring them is one of my specialties. Now drink up the second one, it should give you a head full of hair, I can’t do anything to style it for you, I’m no men’s hairdresser.” She pointed at the second potion.

The man was more reluctant, but as he felt that he wasn’t hungry anymore -a bit bloated- he chose to trust her. It was different from his stay in the lab being poked and prodded by machines to see how he and his power ticked. “Hum ok.”

It was miraculous to see that his golden hair grew back as if it was grass under the sun, to Elissa the man was suddenly more attractive and less unpleasant. She nodded to herself, that was a good job she did there. The young woman began to speak with her patient and asked him what he would be doing while erasing the scars on his body and smoothing out the burns on his wrists and shoulders.

“I am not going to be a superhero anymore, I see that this is a school; a magic one, maybe I can learn things here.” The man said, with a disgusted tone.

Elissa could understand what the man felt, joining a group and fighting for people not really caring what sacrifice you had to make sounded unappealing, but it wasn’t for the thanks and the fame that she was making the same career choice, it was to be of help to her dad. On a whim, the redhead looked at the man’s body with her mage sight and shockingly enough discovered that he had potential as a mage.

“It might be possible, you’ll have to discuss enrollment with my mother. She’s the owner of the school. I’ll put a word for you, if that’s okay with you unless you were just mouthing off.” Elissa said while erasing the last of his burns.

“Ah, hum thanks.” This was all he could say to the generosity the young woman heaped upon him.

He was about to ask for her number when Achilles, the black armored speedster that helped save him entered the tent and waved at the young woman who gave him a radiant smile. The man understood that his chances were shot right at this moment.

“Hey there.” Achilles sped, hugged Elissa and looked at the young man sitting before her.

“Uncle, I’m going to be really tired after regenerating his eye and eliminating the limp he has, if you could get me and my kit back to my tower after that, it would be rad,” Elissa explained.

A slight grin on his face Achilles answered, “No problem, I always wanted to know how your healing worked.”

“Then please watch.”

Elissa took the man’s foot in her hand and did a delicate operation, by liquefying the broken bones and remodeled them as they should be and solidified them with sheer will. To her patient, his foot was itching like crazy but Achilles put a hand on his shoulder to signal him to stay still. When the itching stopped was when Elissa stood up and looked at him or more precisely his empty right eye socket; the redhead put her hands on the man’s face.

Feeling the beautiful girl’s hands on him the man closed his eyes, when he felt like she held him tightly, he couldn’t believe she was this strong he couldn’t move his face an inch. The itching in his right eye socket was uncomfortable at first and then it became irritable; the man tried to step back from her but he couldn’t move, Achilles kept him seated while Elissa was doing her magic. The itching becomes full-blown pain and made the man tear up, as for Elissa she focused on fully regenerating the man’s eye by using her own magic to supplement the energy needed.

To her, it was like conferring temporary hyper regeneration to his body and letting it repair the damage or regenerate the missing organs. Elissa was almost empty when the eye was finally reconstructed. However the color was different from the left eye, the man had mismatched eyes now, and she hoped he would like it. Elissa fell unconscious almost instantly, Achilles caught her and placed on the chair placed before her patient.

Quickly, the speedster put Elissa’s potions and tools back in the alchemical chest and closed it, the chest shrank and became a bracelet that Achilles put around his niece’s wrist. The man couldn’t believe what he felt, he could see with two eyes now, he could see depth and to his full field of view.

“Bye bye odd eyes.” Achilles zipped out of the tent with Elissa in his arm.

“Odd eyes?” The man looked in the mirror and laughed.

 

---

 

South Carolina, Charleston

Valeria’s Penthouse

10:35 PM

Valeria Harvey’s penthouse was at the top of the old Hilton hotel that was in disuse after being used as a villain hangout while they were resisting the alien occupation in 1987, it hadn’t been used before the owner of Val-Tech bought it to turn it into a base of operations. The penthouse was a luxurious residence, it’s lavish ambiance and impeccable craftsmanship were exquisite. You could see the gorgeous Turkish ivory stone walls and futuristic furniture combining the look of handmade and everyday appliances.

However, the classy and sophisticated atmosphere was ruined by a Chinese vase being thrown at great speed into the ivory wall.

CRASH.

“Repeat what you said,” Valeria said coldly.

She was in her nightgown and had just thrown a precious vase at her assistant’s head who dodged at the last moment, he was used to this kind of temper from her. She couldn’t believe it, she couldn’t believe this; billions of dollars in building secure underground labs just gone in one night.

“We lost the underground R&D complex in North Charleston, it would seem heroes are the cause of it.” The assistant stood tall in his boss’s bedroom, not at all uncomfortable with her being half naked before him, his eyes stayed firmly focused on her face.

“HEROES?!” Valeria shouted, her lacy red transparent nightgown fluttered as she got in her assistant’s face.

Looking at the woman’s hands, the assistant saw that they were dangerously forming fists. He wasn’t Valeria Harvey’s first assistant, in fact, he was the seventh since she had sent the previous ones to the hospital as she had beaten them up ruthlessly in fits of anger. Sweat rolled down Valeria’s assistant as he pretended to stay stoic under her fury.

The woman proceeded to break some of the furniture for five minutes or so, the assistant took mental notes about contacting the usual cleaning services and the firm making Valeria’s custom furniture. After she was done, the assistant just continued speaking, knowing that even in her rage the woman won’t lose sight of the conversation.

“Yes ma’am, the last records on the security cloud show that a group with at least two omega ranked attacked the facility and freed the prisoners. Director Morgan activated the self-destruction to not leak anything.”

Panting after exerting herself this much, Valeria sat on her bed; a thin sheen of sweat made her even more painfully beautiful, however, the scene she caused was a major turn off. The assistant looked all around the room, there were pieces of tables or broken mirrors, though she spared her laptops and computers.

Valeria furrowed her brows. “So they all died?”

Shaking his head the assistant said, “No, I mean I am not sure. A surge of quantum energy was detected before the facility blew up.”

It was one of the technologies that Val-Tech was trying to crack and that was already in widespread use by Tesla, Valeria knew the theory behind the tech, she also knew it was possible to teleport energy by exploiting quantum energy fluctuations of an entangled vacuum state of a quantum field. Failed attempts on animal test subjects showed her that she was still far from ever succeeding, nevertheless, the female tinker knew how to detect teleportation. It always left a quantum stamp where it has been used.

“Teleportation?” Valeria asked sure of the answer.

The assistant shook his head again. “Bigger, I think it was a portal.”

Valeria’s head whipped to the stoic face of her assistant in shock; to Valeria it was preposterous! A portal? She has never heard of a superhuman capable to sustain one, it asked considerable energy to be able to create a micro portal! “Since when does the League have someone who can create those?!”

Crossing his hands behind him, the assistant continued to speak, “I don’t think it was them, this seems to be a rogue or self-funded team.”

“Myers, I want a full report on what went down today and why. This doesn’t compute, there must be circumstances to everything that happened.”

“As you wish.” Myers nodded respectfully and left, the man decided to relieve himself of the sexual tension caused by his boss by calling his wife, saying that she won’t sleep tonight.

Valeria laid on her bed, putting her hand on her naked flat belly, diverse scenarios going through her head as they got direr by the seconds. She had a really bad feeling about this event as if something had taken her by the throat and was strangling her.

 

---

 

Pocket dimension

Daphne Snow School of Arcane Art

10:45 PM

Malicia and Nikola observed the medical tents and temporary shelters in the school plaza from the roof garden at the top of the school building. They sat side by side on a throne and a chair made of plants while discussing what should be done about the situation that precipitated the rescue of all those young people.

“And it all began because of this blue-skinned woman?” The sorceress could scarcely believe that a simple recon operation turned into a rescue, but yet again this kind of thing happened quite often when superhumans were concerned.

*No plan survives contact with reality.* Malicia quoted in her heart.

A slight smile blossomed on the Dae’s face, Nikola put on a full grin as he was happy that this operation showed who was their enemy. No one could say he was biased anymore, he couldn’t wait to look at the computers and interrogate the prisoners to get a full picture of what they were arrayed against.

The Serbian scientist nodded. “Yes, it’s funny how life is.”

Typing commands for the after op into his wrist computer, Nikola wondered where everything would lead? Will he confront Valeria Harvey? It didn’t sound like a wise move right now.

“I do not believe in happenstance, Nikola,” Malicia said as she was sure that it was a sign of how to proceed next.

Everything was getting to be more complex and for once Malicia didn’t think she would get off scot-free from the events gradually unfolding around her; she needed more guarantees, more power than she ever needed before on this planet to not get swallowed by the tide she predicted would raise against them.

“That’s really strange, I thought that magic users would be more inclined to believe in it.” Nikola stood up from the wooden seat he was on to look more closely at the rescued heroes. His helmet was under his arm, Malicia couldn’t imagine what he was thinking right now.

The light of the fairies and mana crystals gave a surreal atmosphere to the landscape, it looked so peaceful here that the scientist lost himself in his thoughts. Malicia, however, chose to remind the scientist that she was present, “I know of deities able to play with odds, my Patron Goddess is one of those.”

Nikola grunted, sign that he listened still; closing her eyes, Malicia prayed to Hekate for enlightenment. If she were still in the Faery Dells, she would just have to raise a finger and her army would rise for her and destroy her enemies, she was really proud of her mages and sol-

Malicia stood in shock, stupefied that she didn’t think about doing this earlier. The chair and throne dissolved into powder dusting the lawn and flower beds. Putting herself at the scientist’s side, the sorceress looked at him from the corner of her eye.

“Nikola,” Malicia said softly.

Turning toward her, the scientist said, “Yes?”

Malicia stood straight, her hair fluttered in the cool night breeze, the climate manipulation spells did their job perfectly. The sorceress let go of her glamour, her horns and claws becoming more prominent, it fascinated Nikola how much she was so human-like but he didn’t fool himself into believing that they had the same moral values.

“We need to step up our game.” Malicia’s voice became cold, devoid of softness and humanity.

Nikola has recently guessed that she pretended, but seeing it and feeling it was another experience.

Tentatively he said, “What do you mean?”

Her eyes were aglow in greenish-yellow light and her crown of horns glimmered in the dark of the night. All signs that she was excited by the decision she had come to, the smirk on her face intensified and it scared Nikola out of his wits. “This deadly game we found ourselves in, I intend to win it and crush any enemy coming at us.”

The sorceress opened her hand, a ball of light appearing in her palm it was beautiful but was crushed as the Dae closed her fist; her eyes stopped glowing for just an instant, however, the glee that other parties want to defy her made her boring life suddenly more interesting.

Nikola let his helmet fall on the grass and raising his hands as if to placate the sorceress he said, “Calm down, Malicia.”

She scared him, at least this facette of her personality; he had seen villains do the same but they were less balanced and sane than she was. Malicia was a natural schemer and it hurt Nikola to say it but also a manipulator; he was aware that she still hid things from him that he was loath to discover as he knew that some things should be laid to rest.

*Still waters run deep.* Nikola thought.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, you are fighting someone who was once your friend and now you are against people who don’t shy at using people.” Malicia’s eyes glowed in renewed intensity as she looked at him with her unnerving feline-like eyes.

Pointing her hand at the temporary camps full of ex-prisoners, Malicia scowled at Nikola angry at his passive behavior.

“Look at them, look. This is what your hesitation has cost you.” She said her tone full of accusation. The scientist looked hurt by what she was saying and he felt that she wasn’t wrong, it was his fault in a sense.

Malicia continued, this time her tone became softer, “I understand that your heart is in the right place Nikola, but sometimes we have to numb ourselves to do what is necessary.”

Laughing nervously, Nikola couldn’t deny any of her repartee as he debated with himself about the same subject most of the time; was he doing enough? Did he make a good decision? The scientist remembered that time when he could have taken control of the League from Howard after the Vadwaur retreated, but he had kept him in power. How he regretted now, just to spare his friend heartache and preserve the image of the hero he met in the second world war.

Nikola eyes found Malicia’s glowing eyes and tried to say something. “I know where you are coming from, but-”

When Malicia’s face showed her disappointment, Nikola felt as if he had failed a test. The sorceress breathed in and looked at the tents in the plaza and released a sigh.

“The next time I see Howard Blake I will kill him, that Harvey woman will also be dealt with,” Malicia said coldly.

Like thunder, this announcement rang in the night and Nikola knew he had done goofed. “Malicia, you cannot do that. Other means to accomplish our goals exist…”

*Things were so much simpler to Malicia,* Tesla thought. *Kill, bribe, make an offer he or she can’t refuse.* The Sorceress was Machiavellian in her thought process.

Grinning radiantly the sorceress said, “Don’t worry, I will not do it today nor in the near future; first we are going to raise an army.”

Malicia stepped into the air as if held by a invisible support, Tesla looked bemused by this simple act of magic. However, he was taken aback by her nonchalant declaration, an army? How? “An Army? Malicia I don’t think this is going to be this easy.”

Malicia turned to her ally, her smile was calculating and evil.

“My dear Nikola, it is so easy to do that, you won’t even believe why you didn’t think about it earlier. It is simple to raise an army from the downtrodden and the poor, it is an age-old custom on every world no matter how advanced a society is.” The Sorceress explained to him and showed the weight of her wisdom to her scientist ally.

History gave credence to what she just told him, after all, he saw it happen in the war with the resistance in France. People created a militia, attacked enemy soldiers, sabotaged supplies and support units when their livelihood and lives where threatened; or do as Hitler did, give those who had nothing the means to survive and thrive and they would follow you till the end.

Looking at her dejectedly, Nikola said, “I cannot even deny this.”

A weak smile appeared on Malicia’s beautiful face. The landscape around them changed as the sorceress projected an illusion of a town around Daphne Snow with smiling and working children.

“So, Lord Tesla I hope that you’ll be able to create a program that favors young people, orphans, street urchins, runaways, even those poor sods in the despicable machine that you call Child Protective Services and bring them here. They will be well cared for, fed, clothed, have a roof over their head and become magic users for the cause.” The illusion changed as children were flying in the sky, dueling or playing games with magic.

Enthralled by the scene, Nikola didn’t register her speech at first but he understood the gist; her army would be the mages that she will train here from the kids she wanted him to save, from the street, the CPS. He had thought of doing something similar when the aliens had left but were dissuaded by Howard, something else that the scientist had to hold against the chairman. “The cause?”

Malicia’s smile almost split her face, she was happy that the manipulation of her gullible ally seemed to go well. She would turn those children into another Phantasian mage council, so powerful that they would threaten the Corvinus council. She had other plans to obtain children with more illegitimate means all over the USA. Of course, she didn’t plan to break up families, but those mistreated kids and street urchins that no one seemed to care for? She will give them a home, and they shall give back the grace she had showered upon them.

“The safety of this planet,” Malicia answered Nikola.

It was all smoke and mirrors of course, but Nikola was working towards the same goal as her but she was willing to dirty her hands to succeed. If you don’t cheat, you’re not trying hard enough they said.

Nikola smiled thinking that he curbed his friend’s evil intentions. “Yes, I can agree with that.”

---

 

March 28th, 2018

Daphne Snow School of Arcane Art

05:15 AM

I was nearing the end of my life, I Xara Snow could feel it but what a great life it was; I mastered Inshek and even developed my own martial art style, married and founded the new military branch of the family. Looking down at my hand I focused my aura to form a blade condensing around my hand and I marveled at it.

Making a cutting motion with my hand, the trunk of the tree seemed unaffected; blowing on it, the trunk fell like timber on the right in the garden.

“Granny!” A childish voice could be heard from behind her.

I turned toward the voice and found my granddaughter Sara looking at me with accusing eyes, she looked exactly like I did at her age, seven years old with her pale blonde hair and green eyes; it was the family traits that no one in the kingdom could miss.

*Oops*

Retracting my aura I looked at the little tattletale, I loved my granddaughter but she was too eager to sell me out to my daughter the new Duchess Snow.

“You cut mom’s favorite tree!” The little girl shouted for everyone to hear.

“Well, I will make myself scarce.” I looked to my right and then to my left and tried to jump to the interior walls protecting the palace.

“Where do you think you are going, mother?” I heard and it caused me to stop mid-stride.

Another pale blonde beauty with emerald-like eyes entered the scene, she was my daughter and the new Duchess after that I passed on the title onto her. Eyla was ninety years old now and practiced the arcane arts that were still held in strong regard by the family. She wore a tight fitting blue dress with white pants and boots.

Smiling innocently I said, “Oh, it’s you Eyla, my darling daughter.”

Eyla’s gaze became cold, a trait that she didn’t inherit from me but from her grandmother; my daughter was such a serious woman never taking a break from work or letting me have my fun. Nowadays I was passing the time educating my grandchildren and teaching them how to fight; however my daughter always found other types of politically related tasks for me, I was too old for this, two hundred and ninety years was an rather advanced age.

Eyla rolled her eyes and walked predatorily toward me, staring me down. “Mother, stop trying to butter me up, you cut down my tree! It’s a rare one from off planet even.”

I knew what she was talking about, those black skinned and long-eared people who had made the mistake of trying to annex our planet thinking us weak. I was even happier to have cut it down right now. Those elves are quick to mediate when they are against the wall.

Shrugging my shoulders, I grinned at Eyla who looked even more furious at my unrepentant behavior.

“I was just testing my new technique, it is more precious than this tree. I will never understand why you love gardening so much.”

My daughter’s fury exploded as her mana leaked out and surrounded her in a blue and white aura. She looked into my eyes and said, “Every time, every time you do something like this. I’ve had enough, fight me.”

Despite myself, a predatory smile appeared on my face, it has been a long while since my daughter and I fought seriously. It became harder to get ahold of her nowadays, I have been forced to resort to this kind of stunt to get her attention. Our roles gradually reversed over the years, in her younger days she was the one trying to attract my attention by doing shenanigans.

I stared in Eyla’s eyes, a taunting grin blossoming on my face, “Fight you? You’ll lose.”

The Duchess snickered, looking derisively at me. “Big words from an old woman.”

My aura burst out and surrounded me, my granddaughter stepped back from the two of us. “You dare?!” I shouted at her.

I couldn’t believe that she would insult me so, I knew I was old, the mirror showed me how the ravages of time couldn’t be staved off even with magic. However she didn’t need to rub it in, it seems that I really angered Eyla today.

“Come, fight me mother, I will make you stop coming to my garden.” The duchess lunged at me and I blocked her punch.

Elissa woke up with a start, she was back in her body and in her present time. The familiarity of her school dorm room was there, and she was not on Phantasia doing something silly like cutting down trees to attract the attention of her daugh- *No, I have no daughter, I am not Xara. Breath Elissa breath, dissociate yourself from the memories. Well at least I know how strong my ancestors got.* The redhead realized.

However she found it strange that everyone in this family had blonde hair and that now she was a redhead, she reasoned that it must be because Xara’s family traits must have evolved through the ages. Elissa felt hands on her body and found herself sandwiched between Feni and Rei in their demon forms, their tails were entwined with her legs.

“Girls, wake up I must go run.” Elissa shook them.

The redhead tried to get out of bed, but she was firmly stuck between the two demonesses. Fenirael nested her head on Elissa’s breast. “Five more minutes,”

The redhead chuckled in defeat at Feni’s stereotypical answer. “That should be my line.” She whispered.

“I love you, mistress. Yes, I do.” Rei said while dreaming and tightening her hold on Elissa who laughed nervously as she hoped Dawn didn’t wake up and find her in this compromising situation.

Someone knocked on the door and the redhead began to sweat profusely as she hoped it wasn’t her girlfriend. But as the door opened slowly she caught a glimpse of red skin and the sports uniform of the school. Sarah Jordan entered Elissa’s room and her eyes became as big as saucers not expecting this decadent vision.

“Please help me, Sarah!” Elissa pleaded with her friend.

Sarah shook her head, not really surprised by Elissa’s familiar’s behavior. “Hum, am I disturbing?”

She knew that Elissa liked girls after all and that the redhead might be interested like that in horned girls, after all, Sarah was on the receiving end of a petting session in the living room two days ago. The red-skinned demoness was ill at ease letting someone touch her this way, however, it never grew too intimate, just friendly.

Elissa’s eyes grew wide and she shook her head and struggled in the embrace of the two demonesses. “No, no they got me trapped!”

Raising an eyebrow Sarah said, “Right. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt…”

“Thank you!” Elissa said, with relief written on her face.

After Sarah helped to disentangle the redhead from the two beautiful demonesses, she went to prepare a light breakfast. Elissa came to the living room where Dawn and Sarah were eating at the dinner table waiting for her.

“Nē, sekushī (Hey, sexy).” The redhead said to Dawn after placing a lingering kiss on her cheek, the asian girl turned her head and pressed her lips against Elissa’s.

“Ogenkidesuka? (How are you doing?)”

After swallowing her cereals Sarah scolded them. “Girls, English please.” The demoness hated when those two lovebirds began to speak in Japanese, she felt left out.

““Gomen'nasai (Sorry).”” The couple cheekily answered in unison. Dawn and Elissa looked at each other and laughed.

“I hate you two.” Sarah scowled at the two girls and returned to munching her honey flavored cereals.

Dawn laughed at that, she knew that Sarah was sweet on them. A total tsundere. “Nah you love us.”

“What are we having today?” Elissa said while consulting her CLO.

Her schedule showed that she had an Elvish language class, Alchemy 302 and Magical History today. Six hours of classes that she hoped will distract her from the nervousness she felt about reforging Gram, her beloved new sword.

“We have different classes today,” Dawn said, she had synchronized her schedule with Elissa’s. As for Sarah, she was having special tutoring classes with Malicia in how to control her powers.

BANG, BANG, BANG. The trio heard someone knock strongly on the door to their floor. “Girls, it’s running time!” An aged by powerful voice shouted.

“Shit, Lenobi is here!” The red-skinned demoness quickly switched to her human form. Dawn sighed heavily, their mystic combat coach was worse than a drill sergeant from hell. Elissa didn’t feel concerned at all as she considered that the teacher’s training regiment was like a vacation to her; her mother’s practical training was on another level, the “guess what is the right path while being blindfolded and attacked by magic missiles along the way” training or “run while being pursued by a manticore” one were really taxing.

“We are ready Master Lenobi!” Elissa answered back.

They opened the door and the muscled old man stared at them with a grin, more precisely at Elissa that he viewed as a challenge; he wanted to be able to push her to her limits but he had no idea how to get there yet. Scratching his full white beard, the old warrior smiled devilishly, now that he had a solution.

“Von Braun, here wear this.” He took out a belt from his spatial ring that looked like a championship belt that a boxer would wear.

Elissa didn’t like the glint of mischief she could see in the eyes of the old man. “Huh, what is it?”

“A gravity Belt.” The smugness oozed off the man.

Elissa touched the silver belt and could literally see the enchantment laid on it. “Oh.” She said and really didn’t like where this was going.

“I’ve been looking for a way to make you give your best, the normal training is like you jogging for fun at this point so in my infinite wisdom and generosity I asked the master enchanter to create this.”

When Elissa put the gravity belt around her waist, she felt heavier, five times more so. But she could still manage and looked at Lenobi, not at all impressed; the old man passed a hand in his slicked back and white short hair and scowled while clicking his tongue.

“I expected to see you struggle, a normal girl would be crushed by this weight.”

“Did you forget that I am superhuman, sir?” The redhead raised an eyebrow looking defiantly at her coach.

With all those elves and different species in this school, the old man had forgotten that there were enhanced humans here.

“Hell, then I will ask for adjustment later, meanwhile continue to wear this each morning. Now girls, git.” The old man threw his thumb over his shoulder.

The girls began to run without reinforcing their bodies with mana and hurtled down the stairs at high speed. Lenobi followed them and once they were out of the tower the girls joined the group of students that waited for them. Tsarra waved at the trio and they joined her, coach Lenobi ordered everyone to form groups and to do the usual circuit from the dorms to the new cobbled road crossing the woods.

It was thirty minutes later when Elissa began to feel that the added weight was making her have a workout. She felt intoxicated by the sensation of giving her all while running, looking at Dawn, Tsarra, and Sarah she grinned at them and then said, “Sorry girls, I’m going to go ahead.”

“Wait-” Dawn tried to stop her but Elissa sped too fast and was already far in the horizon.

“Ugh, I hate when she does that.”

Elissa wasn’t a speedster but she certainly could run faster than ordinary people, her uncle Achilles had helped her see how fast she could go and she could barely break the speed of sound. The redhead passed through the woods at high speed, avoiding obstacles and jumping to climb the newly grown gigantic trees that were the homes of the fairies and pixies that migrated into the pocket dimension two weeks ago.

Passing gnomes greeted Elissa, knowing she was the only one amongst the students who could move that fast. The young woman arrived at the goal, panting, the added weight had really worked wonders; maybe now she will be able to not feel guilty when Dawn or Sarah was soaked in sweat now. A thin sheet of perspiration covered her and it made the redhead happy and alive.

Not stopping here, Elissa began to do some squats and sit-ups, she was already doing her fiftieth series when Dawn and Tsarra arrived at the goal. The two collapsed on the ground at the side of the redhead, panting.

“You didn’t have to follow me, you two.” Elissa smugly said while doing squats with her arms behind her head.

Dawn gazed at her girlfriend, seeing for the first time that the redhead was giving her all but still going strong. “Shut up, you cheater.”

Elissa smirked at them until Sarah in her demon form arrived and tackled her in the grass, they began to roll and fight while grappling with each other. The redhead won by straddling and immobilize her friend who was angry with her.

“This is a team building exercise!” Sarah shouted she wished to claw Elissa’s face.

“But you still made it, right?” Elissa singsonged.

Sarah stopped struggling and try to claw her friend’s face and shut her eyes in annoyance, she felt icky and all sweaty.

“Sometimes I wish someone would come and kick your ass.” the Demoness whispered.

Elissa knew she wasn't invincible. “Maybe it will happen, but I will train more and kick their ass back.”

The other groups of runners arrived and coach Lenobi rolled his eyes when he saw that Elissa’s group was first yet again this morning. For one hour they did exercise geared toward building strength and flexibility, coach Lenobi even permitted everyone to use mana to learn how to circulate it better in their body; he didn’t teach anything to Elissa’s group as they were clearly too advanced. The redhead had taught Dawn and the two others Inshek mana manipulation.

Lenobi was thinking that one day he will get this Von Braun girl and erase this smug smile she was giving him as if his teaching wasn’t good enough.

At 07:00 AM the first year exercise group class broke up to go in their dorms to refresh themselves and wait for the more mundane classes to begin. With three young women in the Princess Tower, the occupants were lucky that the bathroom was… palatial and big enough for the three of them to proceed with their ablution at the same time. Sarah was busy cockblocking Dawn and Elissa who was getting slower because of their more than intimate petting; she had noticed that dosing the redhead with cold water did nothing to stop her, however, the warm setting did work wonders.

08:00 AM everyone was in their uniform and attending their classes, Elissa was with Tsarra in Elvish class and they spent the better part of the morning correcting her broken Elvish and watching a play between the students who were reading their lines from the books in their hands. The two redheads bonded over literature and their language classes; Elissa was going to treasure this new budding friendship.

10:00 AM was the time for Elissa’s favorite class with Master Histreldia Bridgeburn, the redhead felt when her mother unlocked the seal on her magic and permitted her to be able to perform spellcasting. Elissa placed herself at the front of the class at her usual workstation, there were only nine students in this class as it was the most advanced one in the school.

“Today we are going to learn how to infuse a substance into an item.” The goblina said from behind her desk with an old school blackboard with a stool near it.

“Know that what I am about to teach is part of the school of Transmutation and that by being in this class with me you are judged to have already been able to use high-level spells from this school,” Histreldia said with her big amber eyes staring at each of her students; none of them flinched and she supposed that they could all do what she intended to teach.

“You’ll see that I provided a dagger in your workstation drawer and three flasks of Morpheus potion, your task today will be to imbue the potion into the blade. Thanks to this technique I’ve noted on the sheet of paper that you can see neatly resting there under your flasks.”

Elissa and the other students looked at how the teaching material was dispensed before them, appreciating the prescience of their teacher.

“I guess that you all need a demonstration?” The goblina tilted her head cutely.

The other students with Elissa nodded, this was high-level alchemy without resorting to tools and used material manipulation to be able to practice it. Elissa was seeing another level of power here, a practice that could give her more ways to skin a cat. So, she looked without blinking at her teacher’s technique.

Master Bridgeburn uncorked the flask and set it before her on the desk, “First you take the item in your hand.” The goblina took the dagger in her clawed hand. “Do I have your attention?” She looked at everyone, their eager faces told her that they were not missing one second of her lesson.

The teacher looked at the flask and focused on the content, the liquid began to fly out of the bottle and form a bubble of the whitish liquid as if it was in zero-g; the imbuing started in earnest when the goblina’s purple mana surrounded her and most of it focused into the blade of the dagger. Elissa had her mage sight on already and she saw how her teacher was preparing the blade’s molecules to bond with the solution. The bubble disappeared into the blade that stopped shining with mana.

Once done, Master Bridgeburn made a sign to the students to approach; they all obeyed and looked at the result of the transmutation. The blade had gained a white color and shined with an inner glow.

“This is also a form of enchanting, the dagger is now able to put to sleep someone who is cut with it. It is temporary however, at my current level I am able to make it be used at least one hundred times, so it has one hundred cuts before it becomes a simple dagger again.”

“Teacher, is there a way to make it permanent?” A male elf asked while raising his hand, he didn’t look satisfied by the number of uses business.

“Certainly there's a way.” The goblina nodded, she turned to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk. “First you need, mana conductive metals or materials superior to grade D, who here is in the blacksmithing class?”

Elissa raised her hand. The beautiful goblina smiled at her, her purple hair swaying as she nodded at the redhead. “I am not surprised that you are, Elissa. Can you tell us what are the most mana conductive metals?”

“Yes, teacher,” Elissa said, she coughed lightly and began to speak. “Grade D materials are Iron, gold or silver based or trees and precious stones like Onyx and Garnet.” Elissa stopped to see if everyone listened to her.

Nodding, the goblina said, “That’s a good start continue.”

“Grade C metals are alloys of Mithril and of steel; for the materials: mana imbued wood and gems like diamonds or mana crystals. The more time an material has soaked in a mana node or ley line network, the more conductive they are. For grade B and A, we have Orichalcum and Hiirogane that are found more often in the depths of the oceans and mined by the Mermaid Kingdoms and most notably by the Amazonian Queendom.”

“What about Grade S?” A green haired female mage asked.

“Grade S material have perfect conduction and mana storing capacity; Those that I know are Etherium and Ebolyte. They are rarer and difficult to obtain though.” The redhead remembered, even in the sanctum, Malicia had only two pallets of the stuff and didn’t plan to use it all.

“Astounding, Elissa as always, now you can go try to imbue your own daggers. I’ll be looking at how everyone is doing.”

“Yes, teacher.” Everyone said in unison.

It took three tries for Elissa to be able to successfully imbue her dagger and she felt a real accomplishment to be able to do so. The trick was to keep the metal molecules malleable to bond them with the molecules of the solution. However trying to force them to stay this way asked for a material more durable and conductive like Master Histreldia said, after all the molecules themselves want to return to normal and shed the intruding solution. Elissa felt that with something like Oricalchum she could bond them permanently. She was eager to test this at home in her basement alchemical lab.

The redhead could already see herself use exotic poisons to kill or disable her foes. She didn’t wonder why combat applications was the first thing she thought about. Elissa was the first to be done with her imbuing and after that, the teacher looked the dagger over she told the redhead to help the other students in their endeavor. The others considered the young woman like the teacher’s pet but never told her this, she was always the one the teachers in either of their classes congratulated for her perfect answers or academic prowess.

However they didn’t spit on the help she was graciously offering, one elf student didn’t distribute his mana evenly into the blade and caused for the dagger to break as he weakened it. Another student caused the solution to explode in her face as she caused a reaction by inadvertently introducing elemental energy in the process. To Elissa, she was seeing military applications in this accident. Her head was already churning with schematics for her ice trap constructs.

The class was finally finished for today at 12:30 AM, and it was time for the lunch break, Elissa met her usual group of friends, Tsarra, Sarah, Dawn, Wayne, Tabitha, and Volf. The redhead overloaded two trays of food with steak, eggs, curry, and meat pies; Elissa was going for the full protein and carb diet as she planned to meditate and absorb cosmic energy tonight, with a full belly she will be able to stay in trance longer.

Most of the female elves and humans looked at her devouring the food primly, jealous that this girl could stay fit with her food consumption. Tabitha proceeded to try to steal some of Elissa's dessert but was stopped by Dawn who told her that if she didn’t want to turn into a popsicle she will not do that.

02:00 PM was the magical history class with professor Mira, an ex-Valkyrie from New Asgard who supposedly wanted to distance herself from the fighting in Jotunheim to free Freya who was kept in thrall by the Frost Giants. Malicia had told Elissa to be cautious of this teacher who was here to scout for talented personnel for the war.

“We've heard stories of someone called Garg of the Mel, who waged war on a blue-skinned gnomish subspecies that had encroached on his home. He was successful in turning them all to gold but was later killed by some unknown thief who killed him and stole all of his belongings. There were rumors for a while that it was a shapeshifter that had hidden as a cat.” Professor Mira said while looking straight at her students.

Her pale blonde hair, blue eyes, and voluptuous body captivated all the male students who listened to her rapturously. Elissa and the other young women in her class were more interested in the story, they were often silly and illogical but they most likely sounded this way because they were also cautionary tales against the misuse of magical abilities.

Once history class was finished at 3:30 PM Elissa was summoned to the Dean’s office and she was trying to remember if she did anything wrong today that had put her in trouble. There was nothing, it may be something different concerning her new sword that she conveniently kept in her bedroom. It broke her heart to leave it there, Gram was expecting her to bring it everywhere and see the world; and there was the reforging tomorrow to consider, the redhead didn’t have class this Thursday as she was needed to assist the master Dwarves.

*Well… it was more like ‘if’ they wanted to help.* Elissa told herself.

The young woman didn’t want to have to fight her aunt for the sword, she felt like she would lose at her current level. *Scratch that, it’s certain.*

Elissa arrived at the Dean’s office which was decorated in a classic Victorian style with golden and black tapestries and there were brochures on the low table of the waiting room advertising the school’s facilities and education. The redhead noticed that a Fae couple was waiting, reading books while they were seated on a comfortable sofa.

“Mistress Elissa, your mother is waiting for you.” A flying fairy informed the young woman in her twinkling voice.

The Mahogany double doors opened themselves as Elissa entered her mother’s office and what wasn’t her surprised to find Tsarra and Tabitha there looking woodenly at Malicia. It didn’t predict anything good going on.

“Ah, Eli I am happy that you came to my office that quickly.” Malicia sat at her desk leaning forward while interlacing her fingers, she had glasses on her face that gave her a scholarly atmosphere. The sorceress wore one of her professional black pantsuit outfits.

The window behind Malicia gave a view on the inner garden of the school. However, Elissa didn’t appreciate the view and was more worried about her friends in her mother’s office. “Mom, why are my friends here?”

Elissa placed herself between the elf and the catgirl. As for Malicia she looked saddened by something while looking at her daughter. “Dear, I am sorry to saddle you with this but I need to transfer those two in your dorms.”

The redhead stared at Malicia, knowing there was a catch. “Not that I am against it, but why?”

Having her friends closer to her wasn’t a bad thing after all.

Malicia leaned in her desk chair. “It’s not easy to speak about but I will try.” The sorceress stared at Tsarra who nodded at her. “You see, your friend Tsarra is a Sun Elf, the only one in this school and the other subraces of elves here are shunning her, and it almost got past the point to bullying in her dorm.”

Tsarra knew how Elissa would react to that, she was fiercely protective of her friends, she stepped away from her though.

“What?!” The temperature around Elissa lowered instantly, snowflakes already visible. “Who dare-”

The redhead was interrupted by her mother, “Calm yourself, darling.” Malicia said placatingly.

Elissa took control of her anger but it still burned like an active volcano, the temperature gradually became normal. “Good. Elissa, I want you to take care of your friend, I think she will explain herself what happened in more detail. Now concerning our kleptomaniac cat…” The sorceress stared at the catgirl who instantly made sad eyes as if she was a maltreated kitten, it was useless though, it didn’t work on Malicia.

“She has been stealing the effects of her roommates and they don’t want her in the room anymore, as she is your friend and you know how to discipline bad girls and we have no more available rooms I chose to let you take care of Tabitha,” Malicia said while taking a shiny bracelet from her drawer and throwing it to her daughter who caught it.

“Is that what I think it is?” Elissa asked, her face looking ashen as she inspected the enchantment on the accessory.

Malicia was proud of her daughter, a congratulatory smile appeared on her face. “You are getting good, Elissa; just looking at a enchantment and know its function.”

Elissa became misty-eyed, and said, “But this is too harsh.”

The redhead stared at the catgirl she has begun to like, she was a really sweet girl to know but her bad habits of stealing made it so that others couldn’t see that. Malicia looked softly at her daughter, like her she valued friendship but sometimes to save people from themselves, friends had to do what was necessary.

“Elissa, this is Tabitha’s second chance at trying to have a normal life and to be able to control her power; she needs to be able to curb her feline instincts. I don’t want her to end up on the street like a common thief, if I have to be cruel to enable her to be better I will do it, you know me.”

“Yes, mother.” The redhead was aware of Malicia’s tough love better than anyone else, it was present in the harsh training given to her, where she got almost killed if it wasn’t for the young woman’s toughness. Like that time when Malicia left her in a volcano to work on her heat resistance, it was hellish and it had almost done her in. The heat was her weakness.

Elissa looked pitifully at her catgirl friend. “I am sorry, Tabitha. This is temporary, believe me.”

The redhead walked to Tabitha who tried to run but Malicia kept her stuck in place with a spell, she couldn’t move from her spot. Tsarra looked at the scene with a detached expression, similar things happened in the Elven court with recalcitrant young elves; she had an excellent idea of what was going to happen. “Wait, what is she talking about? What is it that you are going to do?” Tabitha struggled, making a yowling sound.

Elissa caught Tabitha’s hand and put the golden bracelet on her wrist and it tightened around it. The redhead put a finger in her mouth and cut herself and smeared blood on the golden accessory; she charged a bit of mana in the golden bracelet and snowflake tattoo appeared on the back of the catgirl’s hand. The Bracelet began to dissolve and sink into Tabitha’s skin leaving a golden circle around her wrist.

“What was that?” Tabitha panicked.

Her wrist felt sore, it wasn’t a pleasant sensation at all.

“A forced familiar bond geared toward sapient humanoids. Arsurinya (Goddess), aren’t those outlawed?” The sun elf said.

“I am the law,” Malicia said mildly, smiling with a hand on her cheek.

Tsarra didn’t like that at all but kept silent, she didn’t want to alienate the powerful sorceress in her own realm; and Malicia was right, in her own pocket realm she was the law and no one could stop her. Tsarra hoped that the Corvinus council never came to rummage in Hekate’s priestess’ business.

This is how Tsarra and Tabitha joined the princess tower special dorm.