Director Green took her spot at the podium. She looked out into the crowd of students. She couldn’t help but smile.

The true opening of the Academy had been delayed for a while, the institution mostly acting as a barracks and training facility for young super-teams. After all, many of its teachers and students had been pressed into action given the emergency situation. And then with Londyn’s own little incident and Linda’s unexpected arrest and escape, no one had been left paying attention to the little school.

But now she was finally back. And with her new staff at the ILS, she had time to give some personal attention to the Academy.

The Academy was finally in full swing. They were welcoming an entirely new class, including some non-powered individuals. She could finally begin building her vision for the Academy.

And…they could finally get Aurora Legion back into real classes. She…would have to apologize to their parents about that, honestly. It wouldn’t do for her star team to become high school dropouts…

Londyn took a deep breath, and began her speech.

 

“Greetings to you, students, parents, faculty. I’m Londyn Green, and I’d like to bid you a fond welcome to the International Academy for Gifted Youth…”

 

---

 

Antonio was walking down the hallway, heading to his first class, when something caught his eye. Two guys standing in the hallway, cornering a girl against the wall. Newcomers from the looks of things.

The girl was looking down and trembling slightly, while the two guys were sneering at her.

 

“Don’t be shy, go on, show us your power.”

 

“Yeah, come on now.”

 

“I-I…don’t…have one…”

 

The two guys chuckled.

 

“Don’t have one, she says?”

 

“Then what are you doing at the super Academy, you little normie?”

 

“I-I…”

 

One of the boys snapped his fingers, a flame appearing above his hand. The girl shrieked as he waved the flame in front of her face.

 

“Don’t you know? This is a place for supers. A normie like you should just stick to normie school. If you hang around the Academy…well…you’ll just get burned.”

 

“Eek!”

 

“Hey! Cut that out!”

 

The three looked up as Antonio walked towards them.

 

“What’s it to you? We’re just showing this normie her place.”

 

“Her place is right here, the Academy is open to everyone. And if you want to pick on someone, start with me. I’m a normie too, you know?”

 

“Are you now?”

 

The two boys turned away from the girl and approached Antonio.

 

“Look at this, some normie thinks he’s going to be a hero. Let’s teach him his place!”

 

The boy with the flames grew a ball of fire in his hand and lobbed it at Antonio.

Antonio just sighed as he leaned slightly to the left, the fire going wide.

And then stepped forward and slammed a fist into the boy’s stomach with one go.

He shook his head as the boy dropped, clutching his stomach. Classic newbies. Just because they have powers doesn’t mean they can neglect basic self-defense. Normally they’d learn that in class…but these guys would have to learn the hard way.

 

“Crap!”

 

The other boy raised his fists, his skin taking on a metallic gray sheen. Antonio just shrugged.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…”

 

Suddenly purple barriers surrounded the two boys as grav-drones flew into the area.

 

“You’re generally allowed to use your powers on Academy grounds…but that doesn’t mean you can fling fireballs down the halls. Enjoy your talk with the dean.”

 

And then the grav-drones carried the boys away. Antonio sighed and turned to the girl. She was still trembling slightly, looking up at him with wide eyes.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“F-Fine….t-thank you…”

 

Antonio frowned.

 

“It’s no problem. I’m training to be a hero after all…and heroes are supposed to stop bullies.”

 

“Ah, I-I see…um…”

 

“Ah, I’m Antonio, I’ve been here a bit.”

 

“I’m H-Hirose Emao…I’m…new…Nice to meet you…”

 

Just then the bell rang.

 

“Do you know how to get to your next class?”

 

“Ah…yes…”

 

“Got it, I better be off then. Well, you can always come to me if you need anything.”

 

“Thank you…”

 

Antonio waved as he walked off. Emao stared at him as he left.

 

“Antonio…senpai huh. He’s…kind of cool.”

 

---

 

A bit later in the day…

 

Two boys were waiting in a staircase.

 

“All right, that jerk should be coming this way. Let’s teach him what happens when a normie messes with supers.”

 

Neither of them noticed someone peeking from the top of the staircase above them. Emao frowned. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a coin.

 

“Ah, here he comes.”

 

The two boys started walking down the steps…

Emao flicked the coin.

The coin bounced off the wall in front of her…

Then bounced off the handrail of the staircase…

Then bounced off the far wall…

Then bounced off the boys’ shoes.

Just enough to move their feet slightly right when they were about to step.

Causing their feet to land on the stairs in a way they didn’t expect.

Which caused them to lose their balance.

And the two boys, who had surprisingly little physical training, responded to this by flailing about.

Since they were next to each other, they, of course, flailed into the other, causing them both to lose their balance entirely and tumble down the stairs.

Next thing they knew, Antonio was taking them to the infirmary.

Emao smiled slightly and slipped away.

 

---

 

Evening time, and Emao was alone in her room. She glanced outside the hallway, and then checked around her room for any hidden devices.

 

Coast was clear.

 

She pulled out her laptop and booted it up. She activated a secure messaging app.

 

Day 1 Mission Report: I’m in. No signs that my infiltration was noticed.

 

The response came in.

 

Good work, proceed as planned.

 

She nodded, frowning as she clenched her fists.

 

She would not fail again.