Katie-the-Angel-Witch

Okay, for those of you who think "Hey I read a story titled like this from the same author, what the hell" Well the answer is simple. I ended up being unsatisfied with the original run of Starting Superhero School, and decided to do a complete rewrite. Including deleting the original off of this site so I'd free up the name for this. Anyways, same story, same setting, same premise, just with an extra year and a half of writing experience since trying to write the original. Enjoy.

The sunlight shining into my room woke me up before the alarm clock did. With a yawn and a stretch, I gave it a cursory glance. While I knew it had not changed since before I went to bed, it still felt different. Its walls covered in posters of superheroes, bands and protests had not changed. Well, A superhero. My desk with my computer and my bass guitar next to it still sat there. But this room was no longer the room of a Middle Schooler. This was the room of a High School Student, enrolled in one of the best institutions for my field of study around. The acceptance letter from it hung framed above my desk. Of course, they had sent it in my deadname, one that I was still legally obligated to use in specific circumstances. Nothing a bit of white out doesn’t fix. 

The uniform of my new school hung on my closet door, displayed proudly for all to see. Its plaid pleated skirt, its blouse and blazer and ribbon, the school crest proudly displayed on the chest pocket of the blazer. With an enthusiastic hop, I got out of bed and made my way over to my desk, to take my morning dose of estrogen, which I followed up by a trip to the bathroom to freshen up. 

I did want to make a good first impression. Putting on the uniform after my shower took longer than anticipated. The fitting of it made for my specific oddity wasn’t done as neatly as one would hope. Having put it on, I took a look at myself in the mirror. My naturally purple hair (from Mom’s side of the family) was cut in the style of my favorite superhero. The uniform flattered me, and the euphoria I felt at finally getting to wear something that blatantly feminine in public was almost overwhelming. 

First day of high school, first day in girl mode, if everything went right the first day of nobody knowing I had ever been anyone but myself. None of my classmates had decided to follow the same path I was following, giving me a clean slate, a clean break. Mom knocked on my door at that moment. I knew it was Mom, because we were the only ones living in the apartment together. Dad was working overseas, and my older sister had moved out two years prior. “Come in!” I called out to Mom, who opened the door to look me over. 

“Oh, I’m so proud of you, sweetheart, look at you. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I rolled my eyes at her question. 

“Of course I’m going to be okay. We told the school of my situation a month ago. Even if the government is shit about my papers, the school should be okay. And if anyone gives me trouble anyways, well.” I gestured to myself, and Mom sighed. 

“Alright then, breakfast time, young lady.” With a nod, I accompanied her to the kitchen and sat down. 

I double checked that my backpack had everything I needed in it, waved Mom goodbye, and jumped off of the sixth floor landing. No, my high school isn’t in the afterlife.

My name is Andrea Ptakochka; I’m fourteen years old and turning fifteen in November. My blood type is B-, and I have the power to transform back and forth between a human and a human-gryphon hybrid, gaining speed, strength, jump and leap power, durability, and most crucially for my current situation, a pair of wings I could use to safely glide down to the ground. The second my strong feline-like legs touched the ground, I leapt up, propelled further with a flap of my wings, in the direction of my new high school. 

Foundation High, one of the top superhero schools in the world. And I’d gotten in as one of only thirty students this year. None of which, I hoped, had seen me during the exam. Although, even if they had seen me, I was looking different enough from back then. With only a few more leaps, I stood in front of the gates. Past them stood the building I would spend the next four years learning the superhero trade in. Signs spread around the courtyard pointed new students towards the gym/auditorium for the entrance ceremony. While the emotional center of my brain wanted to get nervous about this being the real test, the logical center was painfully aware everyone would be bored of the principal’s speech, and then bored by the highest-scoring first year's speech, leaving no attention for me. Which I appreciated greatly.  

And, truth be told, I was amongst the students zoning out during the speech. Taking on a big responsibility, training for a lifelong job, dangerous and full of risks, being diligent in our studies. Did every principal have to write their entrance ceremony speeches so boringly? This was a superhero school, for crying out loud! He could have made it more exciting! Nevermind that he wasn’t a human with an oddity, but an animal with an oddity, a strange cute looking bird whose natural noise was ‘kweh’. 

I only caught the end of his speech. “Today is a day for you all to start getting to know each other. Freshmen are free to explore the school grounds and get acquainted with them. Tomorrow will be your first proper day, with a plan. I wish you all good luck in your studies, and once again welcome you to Foundation High.” The Principal stepped off the podium with the backing noise of polite clapping from the student body. Everyone sat around for another minute or two, and then began dispersing. 

I personally made my way over to classroom 1-A, finding it empty. No, wait, somebody was there. No, no, hold on, definitely empty. Or was it? I heard somewhat of a laugh. “I would apologise for that, but I’ve been waiting for an hour here for anyone to make their way over.” I turned to the source of the sound. An individual with a pixie cut wearing the boy’s uniform sat where I could have sworn there had been no one only two seconds ago. 

“Is your oddity invisibility or something? I could swear this room was empty. And wait, an hour? You skipped out on the entrance ceremony?” I approached them and took the desk behind them. 

“Not quite invisibility. I can turn on a mental effect that makes your brain ignore me. Just completely block me out, no matter what I do, I could be standing right in front of you and your brain would not register me being there.” They smiled again. “And yeah, I did. I figured nobody would miss me there, considering the school knows my oddity.” They extended their hand towards me. “James Smith.” They gave me a quick once over, their expression thoughtful. “Any pronouns.” 

Shit, and here I hoped to stealth. Well, at least the person to clock me wasn’t cis. I shook their hand. “Andrea Ptakochka. She/Her. Just, for the record, I’m hoping to stealth. None of my former classmates are here, so I figured I would get a clean break.” James nodded at my reply. 

“I getcha. To be fair, I’m agender, that’s how I noticed. I’m guessing you didn’t quite catch your voice in time, because that plus the sideshave were really the only tells for me. But the cis are oblivious.”   

“Yeah, they are. And yeah, I only got on HRT at the start of summer. At least it won’t get worse than this, and if someone asks, I can just claim hormonal issues,” I said, shrugging. 

“It’s not lying when you’re honest with a specific wording.” I tapped my nose in response to James’ response, but as I did so my ears flicked in the direction of noise. 

“Someone’s coming. As I said, stealth.” Earned me a thumbs up from James. 

The source of the noise turned out to be a speedster girl, or so I figured from the rapid pace of her footsteps, who opened the door and beamed at the two of us. “Oh, good! I’m not the only one claiming a spot!” She sat down next to me. “Love your hair, did you dye it?” 

“No, don’t need to, Mom’s side has purple hair as a cosmetic oddity, on top of everything else. I’m Andrea, Andrea Ptakochka.” The girl snorted.

“Miss Birdcat, who is literally a sphinx.” She was laughing now. 

“Gryphon-human hybrid, thank you very much, it’s in the bird talons. How do you know my last name means Birdcat in Czech?” I deployed them to show off. 

“Because mine means Coffee in Czech, and we visit my grandparents every Christmas. Jessica Káva.” She at last extended her hand for me to shake. “And what’s short, cute and unreadable’s name?” Jessica turned to James, who smirked. 

“James Smith. Friends do call me Jamie though, and I do hope both of you will number in those.” After I shook Jessica’s hand, they shook it as well. “I do suspect most people have left the school grounds already. With that in mind, may I request you two accompany me to a café I frequent? I figure its atmosphere will be much better for getting to know each other than an empty classroom.”

‘“Yeah, sure, why not, sounds fun.” I shrugged as I said that, and got up, following Jamie out of the room with Jessica right behind me. 

“I want to bat at your tail. You’re the half cat here, but I wanna bat at your tail., Jessica said, clearly engrossed by it, so I moved it from side to side and watched her gaze follow it. 

“You’re really hyper, you know that?” I smiled, and she shrugged. 

“My speedster powers are literally getting the zoomies from being high on caffeine. Being energetic kind of comes with the territory.” 

The café was named “Clearly Oddly Charming Café”, and it was obvious why the second we entered. Jessica gasped. “Dibs on the spot under the pan flag!!!” She dashed over there right after saying it, and I shot Jamie a look. 

“No straight girl has a haircut like that.” 

“Okay, fine, I’m questioning my sexuality, I think I’m ace but…” I whispered the next part “...I’m not sure how much of it is dysphoria and how much is me actually being ace.” Jamie nodded at my response, and walked over to the table Jessica claimed. 

“Are all their food options queer puns? ‘Pan-tastic Pancake Plate’? Alliteration and a pun! I know what I’m getting.” Jessica handed the menu to me, and I sighed when I saw it. 

“LGBT Sandwich. Really. Good thing I’m lactose tolerant, the cheesyness would kill me otherwise.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose, smiling.

“But you’re part cat, cats are lactose intolerant,” Jessica shot back. 

“Well then, I guess our dear Andrea is the most powerful half-cat in existence. I’m going to have their ‘Brick of the Day’. It’s a slice of cake they switch up daily. Have not had a bad experience with one yet.” Jamie called over the waitress to order. 

“You’re terrible, Jamie. I have a joke but I don’t know whether I can say it,” I said, and they shrugged. 

“I feel safe to come out as agender in present company, if your joke depends on that.” 

“Your lack of gender left free space for mischief, didn’t it.”

“Yes, yes it did. Does Miss Birdcat have an issue with it?” Jamie tented their hand, rested their chin on them and gave me a few eyelash flutters. I just covered their face up with my hand in front of it and sighed, shaking my head. 

I could only hope the rest of my school life would go as well as today had gone.

Katie-the-Angel-Witch

Thank you so so much for reading the first chapter of this rewrite, the upload schedule will be Sundays at 10 am Central European Time, but if you want to read the chapters as they are finished, you could join my Patreon for as little as $1 a month and not have to wait for the weekly uploads. https://www.patreon.com/SynTheGuardian

Alternatively if you'd like to talk with me, there is a discord decidated to readers and fans of among others my work https://discord.gg/VDVMVrc