Young Writers Society

Bri Stark | Bri's Workshop

"Bri!"

Bri turned, adjusting the chest plate - and power source - of her latest super suit around her torso, to see Addy standing in the doorway of her workshop. She smiled and waved the girl in, eying her carefully as she picked her way around piles of delicate machinery.

"Bri, you can wait a day to start working," Addy scolded as she propped herself up on a stool beside Bri's main worktable. "It's the first day back, don't you want to see your friends?"

Bri circled Addy, looking her over as she did. "There," she said. "I've seen 'em."

Addy gave her a look. "Oh come on, Bri. I'm not your only friend. What about Will, have you seen Will?" Her voice shook lightly when she said the name 'Will', and Bri couldn't help but chuckle. "And Dove? Dimitri?"

"Already saw Will," Bri said. She pulled a rough looking metal glove onto one of her hands and wiggled her fingers around. "D and Dove are more a co-dependency than a friendship."

"You already saw Will?" Addy asked, a little too excitedly. "Er, where? We've only been here a few hours."

Bri cast her a teasing look. It wasn't hard to figure out Addy's strange crush on McCoy. "Saw 'im this morning," she said as she hooked some wires hanging from the metal glove into her chest plate. "Dad's in charge of assembling Task Forces for the Juniors and Seniors, you know field training stuff, and Will and I are Team Leaders. Dad had us both down in Headquarters this morning, choosing teammates."

She turned to Addy, a smirk on her lips. "And guess who got picked for McCoy's team."

Addy blanched. "M-Me?" Her eyes were wide and her gaze fell to her lap.

Bri laughed. "Oh come on, Addy. You can handle being teammates, can't you?" She rested her non-gloved hand on her friends shoulder. "Relax, come on. I'll make you some hot chocolate and rye toast?"

Addy looked up, cocking an eyebrow. "Rye toast?"

"The toast of champions, Addy. Champions." Bri winked and laughed. She finished hooking the wires into her chest plate and flexed her gloved hand as the round plate in the center of the palm started to glow.

"How'd I end up on Will's team, anyway?" Addy asked, eying Bri's hand nervously. "I haven't even really spoken to him since Freshman year."

Bri shrugged, her focus remaining on her glowing metal glove. "I tried to get you on my team, Add. I guess Will's a better darts player than I am."

Addy gave her a scandalized look. "You threw darts to pick your teams?"

"Is that not the best way to do it?" Bri shrugged again. "I got screwed over, anyway. I lucked out getting D, and then with getting Dove to keep him sane. But then I landed myself with Dougie, Sorm, and Ata." She shook her head. "Idiots, all of them."

A small ball of energy began to form over the round plate in the palm of Bri's metal glove. It wasn't stabilizing as it should have, though. She frowned, adjusting some wires as Addy slid off the stool and inched away from the fire zone.

"Come on, stabilize," Bri muttered as she wiggled the wires in her chest plate. It would only be a small adjustment, she knew. A small trick of a wire, and she'd be golden. Just one--

"Bri what are you--"

Bri threw her arm out toward an empty corner of the workshop, her face turned to see Dove standing in the doorway of the workshop, and grimaced as her ball of energy collided with the reinforced steel wall of the workshop.

She turned, relieved to only see a dent the size of a truck in the wall and not the inside of the room next door. She pulled the glove from her hand, yanking the wires from her chest plate, and threw it down on the worktable. She grabbed a screwdriver and began tinkering.

Addy stood, frozen to her spot on the other side of the table despite having played witness to similar incidents hundreds of times over the years. Behind her, Bri could practically hear Dove shaking her head. "Welcome back to the Academy."

Douglas Meredith | Under a Cafeteria Table

I had no idea why folks didn't spend more time under tables because it was really quite fabulous. There was a slight stench of dog's ass in the air, not that I'd ever gone up to a dog and intruded it's privacy in that way. Nonetheless, even with that stench lurking, I'd recommend spending time under a table to anyone. My eyes swung back and forth along with the legs I was watching as a grin spread across my face. I didn't think the owner of those legs had noticed me yet.

Once I was done admiring the view from under the table, I thought it was time I better leave and find out what I was supposed to be doing, and I doubted lying under a cafeteria table was up there on my official 'to do' list. As quickly as I'd jumped under the table earlier, I squeezed through the gap between the table and chairs and stood up. My smile broadened when I saw a wide-eyed William West sitting opposite me.

"What the he--"

"Hey West!" I jumped over a chair and skipped towards the cafeteria doors.

"Is there actually something wrong with y-- " was all I heard before the doors closed behind me.

He so wanted me as his boyfriend. Nice ass too.

Once I was out of the cafeteria, I continued to skip along the hallway until I reached the door that led me outside. I actually needed to use the potty to take care of some bladder business but I broke the last toilet I used after trying to put a rubber duck in it's tank, so I thought it best to hold out for a little bit on that. My mate was pissed at me for breaking it, no pun intended, which obviously proved that the guy had attachment issues with his toilet.

The fresh air hit me like a truck driving at eighty miles per hour down an empty road... Well, not really. I'd imagine getting hit by a truck driving at eighty miles per hour down an empty road would hurt a little more than stepping outside a door. To my disappointment though, there wasn't a soul around. Not even a bird. I sighed and turned around in hope of being struck with a brilliant idea of where to go next. When my eyes caught sight of the building that housed all of the girls, I clapped my hands together in glee. I technically wasn't allowed in there, but quite frankly, I fit in there better than most girls did.

Within seconds, I was back indoors. Geez, I was bouncing around like a puppy on acid today. As I strolled along the girl's dorm's hallway, I received some bizarre stares and even a few suggestive winks from those who weren't aware that I was about as straight as a multicoloured disco stick. I decided to walk my 'butch walk' and wink back at them, just because I could really. I even spat on the floor when this one girl passed because spitting on floors was what real men did.

When I spotted Rachel Wayne at the end of the rather bare hallway though, I threw the butch thing out of the window and once again began skipping. Finally, someone I could actually talk to... or at, whatever mood she was in. Probably a bad one.

"Hey gurl!" I said in the campest voice I could possibly create.

"Don't touch me."

"Holy mackerel, someone's a little agitated." I held my hands up defensively. She growled in return. "Speaking of fish, what's your opinion on prawns? See, I have this theory that they're not actually fish, just sea bugs 'cause since when did fish have legs?" I began laughing. "Oh my days, right, the other day I tried cooking prawns with my toaster 'cause I'd lost my oven and my saucepan--long story--and my toaster, Simon, had this mad mental breakdown. Simon's a little tempermental as it is but the other day...? Sweet baby Jesus, he started spitting burnt prawn at me so much that I had to evacuate the kitchen."

"This is the girl's dorm," was all I got in response.

"Don't worry, I'm trying my best to fight the temptation to rip every female's clothes off, drag them into one room and release my intense testosterone-fueled passion onto them. It's difficult, but I'm a strong-minded bloke." I spat on the floor again for added effect.

Rachel “Wayne” | Girls Dorms

"Hey gurl!" The voice behind her made Wayne’s skin crawl. It was that voice. Oh God, please no. Why couldn’t they have found a way to get rid of him last year?

"Don't touch me." Her muscles tensed under her hoody- a rather dull, black thing- and she forced her lungs to expand. He wouldn’t dare. Oh, but he would, wouldn’t he?

"Holy mackerel, someone's a little agitated." His hands went up, and Wayne’s automatic response was to make a warning noise in the back of her throat. She probably sounded like a dying rhinoceros. "Speaking of fish,-” Please just shut up. “-what's your opinion on prawns? See, I have this theory that they're not actually fish, just sea bugs-” ...What? “-'cause since when did fish have legs?" The laugh that came out of the thing’s mouth grated on Wayne’s nerves. "Oh my days, right, the other day I tried cooking prawns with my toaster 'cause I'd lost my oven and my saucepan--long story--and my toaster, Simon,-” He names his kitchen appliances? “-had this mad mental breakdown. Simon's a little temperamental as it is but the other day...? Sweet baby Jesus, he started spitting burnt prawn at me so much that I had to evacuate the kitchen." That’s one way to get rid of you...

She slowly through her nose, exhaling just as carefully. Losing it on her first day would hardly be good for her reputation. Then again, since when had she cared? "This is the girl's dorm,” she said, tone flat.

"Don't worry, I'm trying my best to fight the temptation to rip every female's clothes off, drag them into one room and release my intense testosterone-fueled passion onto them. It's difficult, but I'm a strong-minded bloke." Oh dear God. The spit that flew out of his mouth was almost enough to make Wayne whip around and smack him upside the head.

Her step faltered, gaze turning warily to Dougie. The thing was gay. Either he was trying to make some sort of a joke, or he was trying to convince people who’d taken classes with him for years that he’d had a magical transformation of some sort.

Either way, it’d be sort of nice to drop-kick him out a window or something... “Don’t you have men to spy on through a hole in the wall or something? Hidden cameras to set up in West’s dorm?” Just please leave me alone- oh thank God, that’s my dorm. Just keep walking. Keep walking.

“Nah, I was thinki-”

“Please stop talking.”

Of course, he didn’t stop talking. In fact, it would seem that his voice had gained volume. Wayne took another slow, deep breath, eyes drifting to the ceiling, eyebrows raised expectantly. If you’re up there, you’re not doing a hell of a lot to help. Thanks. Not like she hadn’t asked God three times to make him disappear already. And another seven times before even arriving that she’d return to find out that he’d been sucked into a wormhole. So far, nothing had been answered.

And hallelujah, glory be it, all hail John Lennon and the great Bach, she was within arms reach of her door. Thank you, divine forces.

Her hand shot out to the door handle, twisting half-way. “Oh look, is that Ata? I think that’s Ata.” Honestly, she hadn’t even checked to see, but an opening was an opening, and Dougie’s head was turned.

He got a door slammed in his face- something that Wayne just couldn’t bother feeling guilty about. Not in the slightest. She inhaled deeply, trying her hardest to ignore the fact that her presence could be required very shortly. Her head hurt, and quite frankly, dealing with people just didn’t seem all that appealing. Not that it ever did, mind. She sighed, rubbing her forehead with one hand, frowning when she felt metal against her skin.

… Was that a key? Her fingers coiled around the object that had somehow found its way into her hand, one eyebrow raising a hair higher than the other. Usually, she at least noticed when something’d found its way to her hand. Or, she was at least aware of its existence before impulsively nabbing it. She shrugged to herself.

Part of her wondered if it was Dougie’s, and the other part didn’t care. She flicked her wrist, sending it skittering over the floor to the foot of her dresser. It’d be fine there, for now.

A sharp, younger-human squeal startled her. “What the hell are you doing in the girls’ dorms!?” Definitely one of the freshies.

Dougie’s voice was enough to let her know that she wouldn’t be getting much peace here, either. She smacked the back of her head against the door, sliding out of the room and back down the hall again as quickly as possible. Her hand slid into her pocket, fingering a miniature screwdriver with interchangeable bits. A screwdriver she’d named Bea. All it did was create the desire to tinker with something. Maybe build something. But the migraine that was beginning to develop around her temples told her that it would only end in disaster.

Maybe they had some Aspirin in the kitchen. And maybe there would be other people in the kitchen.

She decided to risk it.

Dimitri Rasputin | Dorm Room

"Thank you, Connie."

Ignoring Connie's brief moment of disappointment, Dimitri took the new pack of 6-32 screws from the mechanical feline with one hand, his other holding the casing in place. He stuck two big fingers and his thumb into the tiny bag and took about thirty seconds of fighting the plastic pouch before finally digging one out, inspecting it, and inserting the screw into its rightful place.

Connie the Robot Cat sat down to the side, watching and waiting. She was designed to be merely a companion, but over time, Dimitri's improved her model in numberous ways. Still, he preferred to keep Connie (a nickname his mom dubbed her, short for Silicon) as her original function.

"Alright, Connie, let's see how this will affect your battery storage."

The feline chirped and jumped off the table as Dimitri picked up her [hopefully] newly-improved "Feline Funhouse" as his mother called it. It was really just a place for her to sleep -- and by that he means charge -- but there were a couple building extensions he added to it by request. Namely, the pen of dummy robotic mice. Dimitri had been considering installing a dome or bubble around it so that he didn't find himself waking up to squeaking mice crawling up his leg at night.

"I know your battery has been lasting only five days, so hopefully this will stretch back to a week again," Dimitri mused as he straightened the kitty home again. "If worst comes to worst, I'll have to get you a new battery, but I'm hoping not." With one last grunt, he stood up and observed his work. Connie did the favor of going inside and curling up in it as some sort of helpful demonstration.

The yellow light on the front turned on, indicating her charging was currently in progress.

"I suppose I can always count on you to let me know of a malfunction or simple mistake, so I'm going to leave it at that."

Dimitri went back to his desk to pick up the pieces. He threw in the screws into their rightful pouches, trying to keep it neat, orderly, and not lose anything. He had a bad habit of losing pieces.

"Alright, I suppose I had better find some food," he finally said and turned toward Connie's house when he noticed the yellow light was now green. He frowned. "Did you charge last night already?"

In answer, Connie pranced out of her house and sat herself right in front of him, looking up with her lit-up blue eyes. Her tail batted the floor.

"Well, then." He looked at his watch nonchalantly. "You had better be fully functional on this one charge until this time next week. No cheating, either. I know how fickle you can be."

Connie blinked.

Dimitri left the room. Students were still wandering the halls, and though he wasn't as big as his dad, he was still tall. Freshmen gave him glances as he passed by, but he didn't pay attention. In fact, he didn't notice Connie taking her own detour and leaving him alone again until he had reached the cafeteria.

He made a turn into the cafeteria just as someone was walking out. He phased instinctively to prevent a collision, the girl passing through him with ease. However, when he turned back, she seemed shocked and confused at what had just occurred.

But Dimitri recognized her immediately. He smiled and fully turned to walk up to her until he slipped on some spilled water and fell down against the wall. He winced, turning a bright shade of pink.

"Oh, sorry!" she held out her hand, and Dimitri took it, allowing her to help him up. He slipped again but put a hand on the doorframe to catch his fall this time.

He smiled with a mixture of relief from falling and happiness at seeing her. "Nice to see you again, Laila."

Rachel “Dove” L’Roth | Academy Dorms

Bri just muttered things about needing to get that dent fixed before being able to continue. In case it happened again. And, knowing Bri, it would. Within the next two days. Or sooner, if she managed to get that dent fixed in a hurry... and even then.

Dove just rolled her eyes and made a note to find out what tinkering schedule Bri was planning on this year. Just so she could be around in case of something worse than what had just happened.

That check in done and the two girls about to dive into small talk Dove didn’t have the patience to sit through— from the feel of it, they planned on talking boys (for which her patience was even lower)— she flew down the hall and out the nearest open window and hovered there, scanning the terrain. Not being satisfied with the view, she levitated a bit higher and went away from the dorm so she was nearer the middle of the courtyard. She pulled the hood of her cloak up to shield her eyes from the sun.

Students were mingling everywhere, and a few familiar faces stood out in what she could see. Considering these familiar faces had a tendency to drag her out if she didn’t say hi to them at the beginning of the year, she got closer so they could wave and see she was alive. A few people made her stop and talk for a few minutes, but they kept it short before going back to their friends.

Dove let her feet touch the ground near the cafeteria, finding the air got a bit busy inside the buildings. Ceilings tended to do that.

Walking into the crowded space, she quickly spotted Demitri talking to... Laila. Dove did an automatic check for good luck charms and found she had forgotten them in her room. Summer had broken her of the habit, seeing as at home she didn’t have to worry about the black cat’s daughter.

Not wanting to hit anything, she carefully made her way over on foot. At one point in time she changed routes and found her boot almost landing on a small pool of soup somebody spilled. Levitating a few inches off the ground became the preferred method of travel.

“Hey Dove!” somebody called from behind her. Dove turned as little as she could to meet her eye and wave before turning back to Dimitri and Laila, finding that the call had gotten him to turn around. He smiled.

“Glad to see you again, Dove.”

She smiled back and pushed her hood down. “Glad to see you, too.” Looking around him, she waved to Laila but avoided eye contact. “Hi Laila.”

A quiet “Hi...” was her reply.

Dove stopped making her feel uncomfortable by turning her attention back to Demitri. “How was break?”

“Good,” he said in his usual light Russian accent. “I worked on Connie more, and my mother kept me busy. Yourself?”

Dove wasn’t quite able to manage an honest smile. Nor could she keep looking up at him. “Just spent some time with Dad. He had some missions, wanted to drag me on them. Read a lot when I wasn’t with him.”

He nodded, the way he had last year when she’d told him the same story for what happened over summer break. She fingered her hood around her shoulders. “Guess... I’ll see you in training?”

He smiled at her. “See you in training, then.”

Dove looked up, managed a genuine smile before slipping into the crowd and trying to avoid any direct route between Dimitri and the door. Laila’s powers could have a lingering effect.

Pretty much everybody else on her list had been seen... minus two people, and one of them was more likely to be terrified of seeing her than any measure of relief. Which only left Atalanta... and finding her could be a challenge at best.

But, at this time of day, the best place was likely kitchens.

Dove walked over inside the building, pulling her hood back up and hoping no freshman asked her why she was wearing it up inside with the windows not letting in too much light. At least most people knew to leave her alone with the hood up. Her mom had told her that trick awhile ago.

As she entered the girls’ dorms kitchen, she smiled and let the hood fall back again. Both people she had any inclination to check on were there, and one of them was very happy to be ignored. She cast a quick glance at Wayne taking an Asprin out of the first aid kit before turning her attention to the green troll sitting at the table.

“Hey Ata.”

Ata turned at the sound of her voice and threw a dragon plushie in Dove’s face. Dove found herself laughing as she let it hit her, catching it before it could hit the ground. “And nice to see you, too.”

Laila Hardy | Cafeteria

Laila cringed. She couldn’t help but watch from the corner of her eyes as the freshman took turns balancing from one foot to another as he tried to make his way into the cafeteria.

“My books!” he yelled. He lost his balance, tossing his books into the air and falling onto the floor. The books spilled around him, one landing over his head. With a groan he looked up and met Laila’s eyes. An angry scowl formed on his face.

She gave him a brief apologetic shrug and mouthed, ‘sorry’. Turning around, she found a secluded table and sat down with her milk in hand, facing away from the crowd and towards the window. From the corner, she was getting a few stares but it wasn’t anything new. There were those in the student body who thought she was purposely giving out bad luck and others who said she lacked the ability to control it. Out the two, she wasn’t sure which one she’d rather have circling around. They both built two very different personalities…

Laila quietly finished her milk. She needed to get used to the crowd and work harder to suppress her power. The summer had made her weaker in that aspect. She groaned inwardly. How the hell does mom do it?

She needed to make sure she could avoid to cause accidents while on the field, too. The last thing she wanted was to get a scolding from the team leader – a dog at that. Her inner cat pride hurt at the very thought of taking orders from the wolf but she knew better than to let small things damage the big picture. It was something her mother taught her.

Getting up and tossing her carton into the trash, Laila walked out of the cafeteria with her eyes cast to the floor in thought. She was about to collide into someone but before she could manage to evade, she passed through him. She blinked, confused. Turning around she found Dimitri slipping on some spilt water, his face bright pink as he tried to get up.

“Oh, sorry!” She held out her hand, helping him up. He nearly slipped again but held the doorframe and finally straightened himself. “Nice to see you again, Laila.”

She smiled, feeling better just by seeing a friend. While the students were too busy fearing this walking hazard, there were a selected few who braved the gamble. “I’m sorry about that.”

Dimitri shook his head. “I don’t think it was you, I’m quite sure it was all on the puddle this time.” He looked down at his shoes, examining them.

It was nice of him to blame the wet floor. She scratched the back of her head. “I think I’m just trying to get used to the crowds again. Happens every year. I have no idea why I thought going into the cafeteria was even a good idea.”

He chuckled. “Everyone has to eat.”

“Hey Dove!”

They turned their heads and Dimitri smiled as they noticed Dove. Laila arched a brow as Dove looked around for something and when she couldn’t find it, she approached with caution.

“Glad to see you again, Dove.”

She smiled, pushing down her hood. “Glad to see you, too.” She waved at Laila, avoiding eye contact. Laila did the same, looking at the girl’s shoulder.

“Hi,” Laila greeted quietly. She listened as they talked about their summers. She contemplated leaving, and then thought about saying bye but by the time she made up her mind, Dove had already said her farewell and made route towards the door.

“How was your summer?” Dimitri asked, turned around.

Laila fumbled with a smile. “It was okay. Helped mom with a few missions and such.” It was true, her summer hadn’t been that bad, mostly because helping mom meant only being with mom and going out at night.

“That’s good,” he replied with a smile.

She shrugged. “Yeah.” She flashed her eyes towards the cafeteria. “I’m sure you want to have your lunch, don’t you? I’ll see you later then, yeah?”

He looked over his shoulder as if he had forgotten about eating and smiled. “Okay, that sounds good.”

“Bye then.” They parted ways and Laila made her way towards the dorms. Every feline needed its afternoon nap.

Atalanta Tsavorie

Sometimes life gave you lemons (apparently? and according to human literature and media??). Other times, it gave you a scowling Wayne rifling through the cache of painkillers in the kitchen. Either way, it sucked because 1. what the hell lemons are useless and 2. migraine-ridden Wayne was no fun to needle into a fight, at all.

Cheerfully humming under her breath, Atalanta proceeded to ignore Wayne’s grumbly stalking off from the cabinet with her Aspirin-shaped prize in favour of making a preliminary inventory of the fridge’s contents. A momentary moment of surprise at the presence of food that could almost pass as healthy promptly faded as she remembered that this was, in fact, the beginning of the year and that the (delicious!) junk food therefore must not have had the time to reclaim its rightful place.

Nevertheless, a growing troll’s appetite could not be foiled! Well, not permanently, at least. The jar of blueberry jam was granted temporary amnesty while AT turned to identify the kitchen’s new occupant.

“Hey Ata.”

Well, that cut down the pool of possible culprits! By which of course she meant that it narrowed it down to one. Grinning, she tossed Inspector Berrysnout at Dove’s head. A stray freshman froze in the doorway, seemed to consider one instant her interest in staying in proximity of blue plush missiles and potentially volatile older students, and promptly turned on her heel.

“Dove!” Girl was laughing. That was good! AT had a chart for that. Laughing and not frowning or skulking off to parts unknown after things had been thrown meant that state was good, so far as data showed. Atalanta made a careful study of Dove’s moods. It was perfectly normal behaviour! Really, it was a wonder so few of the others did. By now at least one of their resident tech ‘experts’ (hehehe) should have found a way to shield or prevent short-outs, you’d think. But that was okay, AT could do it anyway.

“Had fun during the break?” That was more for conversation than anything, as illustrated by the fact that she had half her arm blindly digging into the fridge behind her and nabbing the first things that came under her claws while still politely keeping her face to Dove.

She nodded agreeably at the noncommittal “yes” that came as a reply, piled the repossessed… cheese slices and strawberry jam?? sure, why not, on top of a bagel and eyed the result. Her eyes slid back to Dove and at the stuffed dragon still in her arms.

“Good! Inspector Berrysnout missed you. What brings you to this sacred sanctum of chocolate and painkillers? Surely it can’t have been simply the—admittedly irresistible—call of our humble presence!”

She casually lobbed a sugar cube in Wayne’s direction to underline the ‘our’, and quirked her brow at the half-grumble, half-snarl. “Cheer up over there, grumpyface! No one’s dead yet! And don’t think I can’t hear you muttering over there, no, it’s not just because you haven’t gotten to me yet!”

A pleasant, toothy smile. “You owe me a workout, by the way, don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

“—what.”

“Tomorrow afternoon! I’ll be waiting for you. Usual place!” Yes. That was how you dealt with Wayne. You just didn’t let her protest and carried on! And maybe got dragonmom to nudge her along. Dragonmom was the greatest.

The bagel wobbled when she poked at it. She considered adding a layer. Maybe bacon? But what were manners, she'd left Dove hovering again. "Want anything? I am the snack master. It is me."

Adelaide Ellis | Girls' Dorm

Addy breathed in the air of the Academy, arms wide open. It was good to be home for her final year.

Okay, so perhaps it was bad that she thought of the Academy as 'Home'. But it was. The smell of the training room, the cafeteria food, the soft mattress with barely no back-suppport. And all her friends. All her fellow heroes.

Yes, it was good to be home.

She turned the handle of the door to her room and sighed. It was good to see Bri again. Addy had missed her so much. She couldn't wait to see Dougie and plant a trademark slobbery kiss on his cheek and possibly foxtrot a bit around the Academy.

Addy looked at all her bags, packed with her mum's help, stacked on her bed. She opened one, the "stuff" bag, full of trinket boxes and photo-frames, her posters and nail-polishes and perfume bottles. Mum had put little lavender sachets in every bag to keep everything fresh, and for Addy to hang in her room afterwards. She set a few things out and came to her Post-It block and wrote a message for West on it: 'Hiiiiiii TEAM MATE! I propose Welcome Back Smoothies sometime soon! I have MANGOES! x'

She peeled the Post-It off the block and left her room. Sneaking into the Boys' Dorm wasn't exactly hard. Addy did it all the time and smiled her way out of it whenever somebody questioned her. Besides, she was just going to send a note.

But as she left her room she saw a familiar face. "Adelaide!"

"DOUGLAS!"

She hugged him in a spider-monkey sort of fashion, coming flying at him and, as promised, salivating profusely all over the side of his face.

"Ew, look, now I'm going to have salivary amylase all over my face and if anybody happens to kindly toss me a piece of wheat bread and it accidentally hits my face it'll be partly digested before I even get it into my mouth and just how distressing would that be?"

"Rye bread. Not wheat bread. Rye bread is the bread of champions."

"Although I'm sure the definition of champions can be disputed and whether all champions eat rye bread is highly debatable- where are you going now by the way?"

"Leaving a note for West."

"You never leave me notes."

"That's because if you tried to leave a note back you'd write a novel."

"That's true. Do you know I read the most excellent novel over the summer..."

Addy tuned out, thinking about what Bri said. Picked for McCoy's team.

Okay, so she had never spoken to the guy. Addy could speak to just about anyone, regardless of previous embarrassments, right? He was a nice enough guy. I mean, there were few people Addy didn't get on with. Although apparently Rachel Wayne was on her team too. Oh, joy. But Addy could just smile and hope for the best. She didn't see why Wayne hated her so much, but as Bri pointed out, Wayne hated everyone. Especially Bri herself. So Addy wasn't complaining- too much at any rate. If she could handle being on a team with Rachel Wayne, she could handle being on one with Will McCoy, surely? And West was there. The banter would be wonderful. Addy just had to suck it up.

"--and I think I lost you about five minutes back," said Dougie.

"Sorry," Addy said with a frown. "Just thinking. I'm very sad we're not on the same team."

"Me too. I don't think Brianna likes me very much."

"Oh, you'll manage." They approached West's room and Addy neatly stuck the Post-It to his door. "Cafeteria?" she asked Dougie. "I, for one, am really craving some Champion Toast."

Sorm | Outside Girls' Dorm

Just outside the kitchen window of the girls' dorm, perfectly positioned to admire Atalanta's hearty appetite, sat a suspiciously suspicious non-bush, made more suspiciously non-bushily so by the "Not A Bush" sign stuck into its head.

Now, let us suppose that this non-bush has a name, and let us suppose that name is Sorm. Let us also suppose that Sorm is very interested in the female half of the human sex, which, we suppose, is the reason for his current position outside the kitchen window of the girls' dorm. We can then suppose that Sorm is busy being rather sneaky at the moment as spying on members of the female half of the (mostly) human sex rarely turns out well for the spy. And now let us suppose that, despite their great skill at counter-Sorm-sneaking and counter-Sorm-espionage, none of the girls in the dorm (save some unfortunate freshmen) have noticed Sorm since he settled down in his position outside the kitchen window early that morning.

Sorm is, understandably by this point, feeling rather clever and sneaky as he watches through the window the antics of the amazingly appreciable Atalanta and her awesome appetite.

Sorm had been happily watching Atalanta's adventures in refrigerator land (admiring Wayne's dangerously irritated figure all the while) when a lovely little bird drifted in on the breeze, pulling his attention from Wayne momentarily. By the time Sorm thought to glance back at the medicine cabinet, Wayne was almost out the kitchen door.

Sorm glanced at Dove and Atalanta, found them not irritated, and decided to follow Wayne in the hopes of some bloodshed. He had just so sneakily am-not-a-bushed his way inside the hall outside the kitchen and was making his sneaky way towards Wayne when someone screamed.

And it was glorious.

Will McCoy | Task Force HQ

Will yawned, crinkling the precious gameplan newspaper between his fingers as his muscles flexed. Out of nature, his vocal folds curled under, producing a low growl in the back of his throat. The new leader leaned back in his seat and kicked his feet up on the conference table, taking to reading the paper once again. It was the seventh time, and he still hadn’t seen any point in time when there was a chance to prevent the aliens from causing at least minimal damage. Some first mission, he thought, give the enemy a foothold before we even strike.

So Will decided it was going to be impossible to impress Stark. After all, from all he knew about Tony, he was literally Brianna with a beard. And it was damn near impossible to impress Brianna.

Will sighed and closed his eyes, laying the paper over his face. It was like having an identity crisis for six people all at once. And he couldn’t even handle his own identity. Maybe he wasn’t the kind of leader to plot everything out. Maybe it would be good enough just to wing things, and see how the team worked toge--

Bingo. Will sat up and stared at the pictures of his chosen teammates, thinking of their personalities. No one would operate well under strict command...and probably even less from him.

Yeah, there was only one person he could really turn to...and it was going to involve some puppy dog eyes on his part. Lots of puppy dog eyes.

That’s why, in ten minutes, he found himself standing outside Brianna’s workshop, packet under his arm and a bundle of mismatched flowers from the courtyard--roots and dirt still attached--in-hand. He pressed his ear to the door, listening for her talking or moving, and heard the roar of a blowtorch. Great, he thought, she has a murder weapon. With a quick roll of his shoulders, he put the flowers and packet down on the floor, crouching down as his body began to change, from head to toe, gaining slender, agile muscle, blue fur, and claws that extended as he raised his hand to the door’s lock.

A nail slid into the keyhole, and he meticulously turned the tumblers, unlocking the door. And when he stood up, his body was human once more, save a few blue hairs falling from his arms. He picked up his things and entered the room, closing the door behind him. And then, he knocked.

The girl holding the blowtorch dropped it, extinguishing the flame, and turned, holding up a laser gun. A pause. And then she lifted the hood of her welding mask. “Dammit, Will, I almost roasted you.” She dropped the gun and picked up her tools, clearing off a place on her workbench for her to sit. “Come to beg to be a lackey on my team already, yeah?” She popped the lid off of a soda bottle and took a gulp. “I knew it wouldn’t be long. Hell, I figured you’d grovel after my dad showed you The Hammer.” She smirked and put the bottle down, turning her head to see him, still against the door, flowers in-hand.

And then her eyebrows furrowed, watching his expression. “Oh, McCoy. Please don’t tell me you’re gonna toss your pride in the toilet just like that!” Bri grabbed a blue towel from her desk and wiped her forehead. “Even I’ve gotta admit you’re better than--” she paused, staring off into nothing while thinking, and then she corrected herself. “Nah, I’m totally lying. You’re a dog. Of course you don’t know how t’lead people.” And she smiled half-warmly and puckered her voice as if speaking to a baby, “And that’s why you need Brianna’s help, ittinit?”

And she stopped talking, and Will watched her, and she watched him, and his flowers began to droop. Will sighed, tossing the flowers into the garbage bin beside her workbench, and pulled out a stool to sit on across from her, balancing his chin in his palm. “Y’know, you’re totally right about not knowing how to lead anyone--I mean, fuck, I have trouble picking out socks in the mornin’. I dunno how I’m supposed to come up with elaborate mission strategies. In fact, if it weren’t for the word strategies being used in the fuckin’ paper I had to read today, I wouldn’t know how to spell it.” He tossed the packet of papers onto the workbench and looked up at Bri’s eyes, lifting his brows. “How’d ya do it, Bri? How’d you make such a successful leader your Junior year?”

“Wellll,” she began, taking the hair band out of her pony tail, “do you want me to give you crap, or do you want to keep a secret?”

“My lips are presumably sealed.” He leaned in slightly, a bit more eager than he should’ve been.

“My first few missions, I totally winged.” She tossed her band to the side, easing out her hair. “And in the paperwork, I basically told the story of the mission’s successful points, and called it my strategy.” She watched his face, seeing the disbelief. And she nodded to affirm. “True story. And it worked every time.” Bri shrugged, “It’s the strangest thing, Will, but once you realize that you’re working with the most badass heroes-to-be in the entire universe--and I don’t just mean this one--you relax. And you’re at the top of your game.”

Will nodded, standing up. “Good to know what an awful leader you are. Nothing fixes a man’s confidence faster.” And he walked to the door, picking up his flowers from the trash.

But as he opened the door, Bri caught his ear, “And then you fail a mission, and your entire world goes to hell.” She winked at him and took a sip of her drink. “Toodles.”

After that, Will went for a walk. He went by his room and dropped off the papers; he went by West’s room and left the dead flowers in front of his door with a note signed as Daisy Mayonnaise, and then he walked outside of the Academy’s circular halls and into the front lawn, gazing out at the planets in the orange sky. None of them had clouds, and he could see the landscapes so clearly, it was like they were zoomed in by his own eyes.

And just as he was beginning to admire their beauty, he heard one of the most familiar sounds around the Academy.

”Did you just touch me?”

Wayne | The Halls 

She held a hand to the side of her head, eyes closed to block out the light. If she heard one more squeal from one more of these damned students, she was going to snap. And everyone knew how absolutely delicious things got when she snapped. There would be blood on the walls, and probably some intestines on the- 

The train of thought was cut off when something brushed her back, resulting in an automatic tensing of every muscle in her body. And then there were arms- oh good God, there were arms around her, and something that felt like a very under-punched cheek pressing into the back of her neck. Oh God- oh GodohGodohGod- 

The shriek was out before she could stop it, elbow flying backwards to make extremely forceful contact with the bastard's gut. The grunt she got in return as the poor boy stumbled back just didn't quite satisfy her. The panic was crawling all over her insides, cooling to a post-traumatic moment rage. She whipped around, glare deadly as it ever had been. "Did you just touch me?!" It was half demanding shriek, half snarl. 

The freshman's mouth opened, and Wayne took the gesture as an invitation to give him a square punch in the face. "Don't. You. Dare-" Her foot found stomach before the brunette could fall too far backwards- "Touch. Me!" 

The unfortunate boy ended up sprawled on the floor, the victim-turned-attacker going in for the kill. Not that she'd actually kill him- Easy, chickee. The last thing you need is to get expelled- she'd just pound on him until he'd be stuck in the infirmary for a good week. 

A loud shatter and a spray of glass ended the brawl. Well, actually, a wolf ended the brawl. A wolf who was very quick to drag a very bruised freshman out of harm's way and down the hall. 

Wayne let out another enraged noise that couldn't be labelled, clenching a fist at her side, other hand cupping around her mouth. "I wasn't done with him, McCoy!" Too late. "Oh for the love of- Fuck you!" 

She exhaled, whipping around on her heel to face some very stunned onlookers. A glare and a sneer sent them scattering, and Wayne started to trudge for her room, hair standing on end. Was that- Don't even look at him. Don't. Make. Eye. Contact. Just keep walking. She didn't have the patience to deal with Sorm right now, assuming that had been him. She didn't bother with a second glance to be sure. 

No, she was going to her dorm, and she wasn't coming out until the wall was either caving in on itself or falling over sideways. If they want me, then they can sure as hell hunt me down and- A sophomore brushed past her, leaving a grand millimeter of space between herself and the enraged senior. The kick hit the wall behind her, as opposed to what would have been the girl's ribcage. 

Shit.

Wayne forced herself to breathe, running her hands back through her hair, fingers gripping her bangs. Dorm. Just get to the dorm and break something and calm the hell down. 

Her step faltered. 

Will had seen that. Oh for the- no. Don't think about it. Don't even think about it. It was the freshie's fault, anyway. They should just put a billboard up with my face on it, warning everyone not to touch me. This wouldn't happen so often, then. 

Either way, a mixture of embarrassment and post-adrenaline nerves were kicking in, and her eyes were getting misty. The back of her neck crawled where the kid's cheek had been, the skin around her waist itching. She rubbed her gut with her arm, her neck with the other hand. 

Dorm. Focus. Get there and do not start freaking out in the middle of the hall.

Then again, she'd just done exactly that. 

William West| Cafeteria

“You know Doug, you bring up an excellent point, I too have wondered why they don’t call bacteria ‘body fish.’” West picked dully at his plate as Doug blabbed on and on.

“I know!” Doug explained, West was unsure whether he was ignoring the sarcasm or didn’t care. Either way he kept going. "I don't understand why anybody would get a pet fish when they have so many body fish floating around in there but I SUPPOSE they're probably more... visible."

“Yes tha-” Addy kicked West from under the table, cutting him off.

“Dougie, I’m don’t think West is interested in this topic,” Addy said, pulling Doug out of his ramble.

West mouthed a thanks while Doug was fixed on Addy.

“Well...what do you want to talk about, Mr. West?” Doug leaned across the table, his face a meager inch away from West’s.

West pushed Doug back into his chair before he thought. “I’d love to talk about the teams, but sadly you aren’t on mine.”

“That’s okay, my mouth is like a lockbox, nothing leaves it unless I want it too,” Doug pretended to place a key between his lips, and then muffled something along the lines of “see” through them.

“That’s all well and good, but I think Addy need a personal debriefing about Commander McCoy, right?”

“Um,” Addy hesitated for a moment, conflicted. “Sorry Doug, I should get to know my team leader.”

“Fine,” Doug got up quickly, latching himself onto a nearby freshman. “Have you ever wondered why--”

“Well West, what is Will like?”

West laughed.“Oh, I didn’t mean that, I just wanted to get rid of Doug for a bit, my brain was going numb.”

“Come on, I need to know these things,” Addy pleaded.

“What, stalking him from afar freshman year didn’t give you enough?” West laughed as Addy’s checks showed a small bit of pink before she turned away.

“That was freshman year, I’m over it.”

“Yeah I know,” there was silence for a few moments while West thought. “Will don’t bite your head off, if that’s what you’re wondering. He’s pretty relaxed, it takes something big to set him off in my experience, like replacing his shampoo with the parts to a stink bomb.” Addy laughed. “never do that to your roommate, you will pay big time.”

“Anything relevant to me?”

“Um, you’ll probably fall in love with him, like every other girl on the campus has, and probably Doug.”

Addy smiled “Do I detect the tone of jealousy, West?”

“In the way you mean it? No,” West tought some more. “Really, just don’t worry about it. I’d be more worried about Wayne.” West pulled up his sleeve, revealing a large scar. “I patted her on the back once. Never again.”

Just then Mr. Heavy Jr himself walked in, a mile high pile sausage in hand.

“Ah, my rival has arrived. Good luck with everything, Addy. I have weiners to cram down my throat.”

Douglas Meredith | The Halls

"And personally, I don't understand why rabbits do that. Don't get me wrong, I'd understand sexual frustration more than anyone 'cause of the whole me being a butt pirate thing." I took a breath and laughed. "Seriously, you don't even want to know how many tissues can end up in my bin at the end of a night, but still. Rabbits are at it like, well... rabbits. What's the deal with that?" I paused. "I wonder if man rabbits can be into other man rabbits. That would be cool, though I'm not sure how bible bashers would feel abou--"

I turned my head and it was then I realised I was speaking to the air beside me. Well, this was awkward. Where the hell had that freshman gone? I glanced around. There was no sign of the kid anywhere. Pfft, whatever, the guy's hair made him look like he had a growth coming from the side of his face. I looked around for the second time and realised that for the first time since I'd been here, I had no idea where to go or what to do next. I had even less of an idea of who to find.

See, for a guy who tried his best to make friends with people, I didn't really have many friends. I knew that Addy liked me quite a lot, Laila and I were good friends, and I was pretty sure Will was cool with me... but that was about it really. Worse still, none of them were on my team, so whenever I was out on a mission I would've had to thrive in the company of some bushes, or any other inanimate object I could find. Some rose bushes would've been good. They were always nice to me.

West, Dimitri and Atlanta could've probably tolerated me for a few minutes, but that was about it. As for Bri, Wayne, Dove, and probably a pile of others, it didn't take a genius to figure out they wanted my limbs ripped off, each of them individually burnt to a crisp, and then my head to be put on a pole for display. I doubted I was exaggerating either.

I sighed and tried to shake the thoughts out of my head. I bet I'd have had more friends if I were a rabbit. Rabbits didn't judge people. They were too busy making sweet, passionate love to each other to do that. It was a time like this when Celine Dion was undoubtedly necessary, and I didn't even like the bitch. The singing began as more of a mumbling.

"All by myself. Don't wanna be, all by myself... anymore." The stares I received caused me to sing louder. "All by myself. Don't wanna live, all by myself... anymore!" For reasons unkonwn to me, I then burst into The Beatles', Hey Jude. "Then you'll begin to make it better, better, better, better, better, better, oh! Na... na na, na na na na... na na na na... Hey J--" Just as I was getting into the swing of things, I nudged into someone. "Oh crap, sorry."

What I got in return was a familiar growl and a punch to the face.

"Sweet holy mother of mackerel!" I began rubbing my eye and soon, my vision was clear enough to recognise the figure standing in front of me. "I've missed you too, Bri."

"And this is why I should avoid leaving my workshop." She wasn't going to apologise for whacking me in the face then. "I pop out for five minutes and who do I bump into--or rather, who bumps into me?"

"Okay, okay, calm down. I get it. You're hopelessly attracted to me, you want my babies, you dream about me every night, you wish we could be together but we can't because of the whole me being a butt pirate thing... Don't worry, you don't have to be nervous about it. I understand. Hell, if I weren't me, I'd want to get it on with myself."

The sour expression on her face told me that Bri didn't quite appreciate sarcasm as much as I'd hoped. Not my sarcasm anyway... or my anything really. She was going to be one hell of a fun team leader. Alcohol-fuled parties dedicated to me every night, no doubt.

Bri Stark | The Halls

Bri sighed. She had probably over-reacted in knocking Dougie upside the head. But really, everyone could stand a good sucker-punch every once and a while. "Surprisingly, Dougie, I was actually looking for you for once," she said, tuning back into the boy's rambling.

He perked up, his eyes wide. "Looking for little old me?" He pressed one hand over his heart and fanned himself with the other.

"Cool it," she said, fighting to keep her tone above a growl. It had been a long day. She'd been one of the first students to arrive, accompanying her father, and had promptly locked herself in her workshop for the rest of the morning to get started on her latest suit which was being anything but cooperative. Of the minimal tolerance she usually had for Dougie, she had none. "We're having a team meeting in Training Room B in twenty, be there or I will find you and drag you there myself."

Without waiting for an answer, Bri stode off toward the cafeteria. If she was going to sort through the skill sets of her teammates, she was going to need a sandwich or something. Something on rye.

Luckily she had been able to inform Dove of the team meeting that morning in her workshop, and convinced her it was in her best interest to pass the information onto Atalanta so Bri didn't have to do it. She'd also been lucky enough to bump into D in the hall, and now Dougie.

That left Sorm.

Bri suppressed a groan as she scanned the cafeteria, sandwich in hand, searching for the alien brute. She had to admit, despite never being able to understand a damn thing the guy said, he was pretty powerful. She wasn't disappointed to have him.

"There you are," she said to herself as she caught sight of Sorm sitting in a corner, doing wall sits with a "I Am A Chair" sign stuck to his chest. Bri sighed, took another bite of her sandwich, and sauntered across the cafeteria to the Sorm-Chair.

She came within a few steps of him, and stopped. "I know you're having a wonderful time with what I can only assume is a self-identity crisis here," she said, though he didn't look at her or respond to acknowledge he'd actually heard her. "But we've got a team meeting in Training Room B, twenty minutes. I expect to see non-Chair-Sorm there."

Sorm nodded subtly. "Hy vill be dere, beeutiful terrifyink gurl," he whispered, rather dramatically.

Bri tore herself away from the situation as quickly as she could, painfully aware of the tightness of the black t-shirt she wore in the company of the human-female-lust of Sorm.

#

Twenty minutes later, on the dot, Bri strolled into Training Room B to find every single one of her teammates standing around, chatting. Bri couldn't help but smirk. Whatever you could say about her, she knew how to get people to do what she wanted.

"Each of you will take one of these," Bri said, her voice breaking through the conversations of her teammates. As they turned to her, she tossed small black earpieces at each person. "They are required attire on all missions. I want to be able to reach any of you in any second I choose." She held her own up and slid it into her ear, adjusting the black piece along the side of her head, and pulling it out again to pocket it. "And in case you're wondering, no they will not spontaneously explode. I was required to fix that bug after that incident last year."

She reached into a gym bag she had let drop to the floor after bringing it in with her, and pulled out the chest plate and two metal gloves that would form the hands of her new suit. "Now," she said as she pulled on the pieces of her suit. "Let's see what you kids can do."

Dove L’Roth | Girls Dorms

Dove left Ata’s room and a fort that had only left five square inches of unoccupied floor space and involving every single one of the troll’s dragon plushies and about ten pillows Dove wasn’t about to ask the original locations of. Despite having to show up in training room B in about forty five minutes, she had one more stop to make.

She flew to her room and rummaged through half unpacked bags to find the charm she’d been working on over the summer. It was about time she actually put mom’s old books to use and do something helpful. In the process she put on her old good luck charm and headed over to Laila’s room.

Dove had to knock twice before there was any sound behind the door. A very bewildered Laila opened it, doubly bewildered when she saw Dove.

“Hi, Dove.”

Dove smiled back and held out the charm she’d been working on. “Thought you’d like this, with teams and all.”

She stared at the present, blinking. “What is it?”

“Hopefully it’ll control your powers,” Dove said, basically putting the thing in Laila’s hand. “I’m... not sure how. The book I got it from said it suppresses any luck spells. So you’ll have...”

Dove stopped when Laila’s arms squeezed around her rib cage so tight she couldn’t breathe. “Thank you!”

“No... problem,” she managed to choke out. “Now let go.”

Laila jumped back, realizing the vice grip she’d put Dove under. “S-sorry.”

Dove just managed a small smile. “Let me know how it works.”

“I will.”

“And if your team needs good luck charms. You’ll probably need to take it off, for missions.”

Laila grimaced. “Yeah...”

“The book had good luck charms, too.” Pretty sure that’s where Mom got the spell for my charm... Dove thought with a touch of remembered grief.

Laila managed a more real smile, this time. “Thanks. Again.”

Dove just smiled in reply. “No problem.” She began levitating, feet going a few inches off the floor. “And I need to head out before Bri kills me for being late.”

Laila just raised an eyebrow.

“Team leader. Have fun with Will!”

And with that, she pulled up her hood and left.

Training rooms were across the school from dorms, just in case a session got out of hand. Which they often did. At least the buildings had gotten stronger after the east wing blew up, so the training rooms didn’t take quite as much damage. That still didn’t stop them from getting rebuilt every month.

Dove was curious to see how long this one would last.

She phased through a wall and ended up in the hallway outside of training room J and headed through the cave-like halls while still flying, trying to stay above the doors whenever she could. She dropped down in front of training room B and used the door like a normal person. Damn things were magic resistant anyway.

Everybody else was already there, so Dove just made her way over to stand beside Dimitri. Eyeing the rest of the team, she decided to keep her hood up. Even though Dougie had barely talked to her since Freshman year and she could handle short bursts of him. Barely. Dimitri had just cast her an appreciative glance that she didn’t feel like returning. She found herself stepping a bit behind him when Sorm looked at her, which required a deep breath to calm down from.

In a few short moments, Bri showed up and tossed them all a black earpiece and demonstrated how to put it on, explaining it was required for all missions. Her last line didn’t inspire much confidence in the group from the sudden uneasy looks.

“Now,” Bri said, beginning to assemble her own suit. “Let’s see what you kids can do.”

Dove stood to the side as Ata and Sorm took full advantage of getting a chance to attack each other. Bri almost had her suit on completely and Dimitri was somewhere between his human form and Steel. Dove had gotten used to the pain he was in as he transformed and used the time to eye the final teammate. Who was likely to be the only one not to have a partner.

It just had to be Dougie.

She backed away to give Steel and Bri some space as Dougie bounded away from the group towards her. “So I guess we have to train together, huh? Funny how we’ve never really had to train before this and—”

Dove sent a blast of magic to his chest, knocking him back a step. “Shut up and fight.”

“Oh you know I can’t do that. I mean, we’ve been going to school together for how long now? Two years? I know you haven’t talked to me much and all but...”

Dove took a deep breath and tuned him out. He had already come in for a couple of attacks that had only required a few barriers. Dove sent a block to his stomach which he dodged far too easily.

Control, Dove. Getting mad won't do you any good.

And as the sounds of the fight intensified, she realized she had to listen in case Steel got out of hand. Right now, hearing and a trace of empathy would be the only clues she had.

“Am I talking to myself? I think I’m talking to myself. You’re ignoring me, aren’t you? Well I guess that means I can just keep talking...”

She growled. This was going to be a long session.