The Adjudicator's Institute for Heroics

"Oh! The fire dude, right? Yeah," Astrid said, awkwardly. "They were cool. I did a group project with them once and that teacher regretted it instantly. He moved our desks as far away as possible," she chuckled, "He just couldn't handle our epicness combined. It overwhelmed his lameness. I'l miss Sam."

Then, Astrid's eyebrow raised as they adjusted themselves on Evan's back. "How's it your fault? You can't control people's action and reactions and dumb crap like that. It was just... a series of unfortunate events. I don't even get why people always cry about something being their fault. Like, okay? What's done is done, no point mopping like a loser now."

She let a few seconds pass. "Sorry, that was rude. I don't have much of a filter, if you haven't caught onto that already."

"I mean, I started the chain of events, so doesn't that make this my fault?" Evan paused. What was his reasoning behind this? Astrid was right, he couldn't have controlled Izzy's reaction, or Sam jumping in, or Darcy stabbing them with a needle and dragging them off. "And...I should've known something was wrong when Sam disappeared. I should've gone looking for them...instead of getting caught up in my own stupid feelings."
His mind flicked back to Avery, spitting nasty, uncharacteristic words at him like an irritated cobra.
"I ran off instead," he muttered angrily. "I didn't question anything, I just went sprinting down the hallway like a sad puppy. I should've known she'd never say those things. I should've known something was wrong from the very beginning!"

"Okaaayy, Mr. Sad Pants," Astrid pat his head sympathetically, rubbing his hair. "So, uh, you've got a lot on your mind, huh? At least I was right about you being upset. I mean, I'm always right, but still a good feeling," she bragged.

Astrid laid their head on Evan's shoulder, trying his best to be understanding. The situation did seem otherwordly to her, and she clearly wasn't getting the full story, so she could only try to say the right thing. "So all that sucks. Now what are you gonna do to fix it? Crying 'oh wah it's all my fault' isn't gonna do nothing. So, who do we gotta kill and where do we have to snoop so you stop being so loser-ish?" Astrid said, poking the side of his head. "It's harsh but it's the truth. I'm tryna save your social life here."

"You tell me," Evan grunted. "What am I supposed to do?"
He thought back to the strange occurrences in the school. Maybe if he could find some way to help Avery and her friends solve this thing, he wouldn't feel so useless. But...what? And should he tell Astrid, or not? He didn't know if he could trust her...and if he could, they weren't very good at lying. She'd said so herself.

Astrid sighed. Of course all these questions had to be put on the only genius in the room. "I dunno. Depends on how big the problem is. Does it have something to do with the admin? Cuz if it is, I'd tots help you out. They're fricking weird. Like, moral compass? What kinda power is that? I don't care if she was super popular back in the 80's or 90's or whatever." Astrid complained. Then, they let out a deep sigh. "Sorry, oversharing again."

"But, like, if it really is something about the adults, then..." Astrid's performative voice wobbled for a moment. She swallowed, before speaking in her normal tone. Soft, high-pitched, and a bit less childish. "I really dunno, then. We're all..." she wrapped her arms around Evan's neck tighter as they laid their head against his neck. "... all sorta powerless. Adults suck like that. You can never win and you're always in trouble and in the wrong and-" Astrid groaned loudly. "Oversharing again. Man."

It took a moment for her cheerful and laidback persona to come back on. "Alright dude, if I'm always oversharing, then it's time you share. What's going on? You sound like you need some help and- look! The most awesomest spectular person is ready to do just that! So c'mon! Spill the hot, angsty tea on me."

"...Well..." Evan hesitated for a moment. Should I tell them? I mean, I've only known her for a few minutes...but she's been nothing but brutally honest the entire time. I don't think they're hiding anything, if they even could. "...Yes, it does have to do with the admin. You see, my sister found this weird stuff in her food. It took over her mind and made her say some pretty nasty things to me. When they looked into it, they found that...well, it seems like all of our food has been spiked with this strange substance."
They had reached the top of the stairs. Evan lowered Astrid carefully to the floor, making sure their feet were on the ground before letting go.
"And then I found out what they did to Sam," he pushed open the door, letting the breeze inside. The night was cool and dark, but not unpleasantly so. The waning sliver of the moon glinted down from the starry sky, watching the two students make their way onto the rooftop. "They stripped them of their powers. I went to say goodbye before they were forced out and it was like...talking to a corpse. Sam was usually so energetic and cheerful, almost annoyingly so. But then...they barely said two words to me. And then they just...walked away."
He sat down, leaning against the cold metal railing. It had collected dew in the early morning hours, glittering droplets catching the moonlight as they slid down the poles, soaking into the back of his sweatshirt.
"I don't know what those people did to them," Evan muttered, staring at the sky. "But there's definitely something sinister going on here."

Astrid's jaw was already on the floor, long before Evan put them down. Sure, Astrid was always suspicious of people older than them, especially from entirely different generations, but now she had a reason?! "Holy shit!" Astrid shouted. She quickly covered her mouth. "Sheet. I meant sheet," she murmured.

It just kept getting worse from there. Astrid cursed and yelled at every twist and turn. "Dude, that's insane! Illegal! That can't be legal, dude!" Astrid's hands went into their hair, messing around with it and scrubbing it violently. "Oh my God, dude! I've been eating here like, since I got here!"

After feeling to cool breeze of the night, Astrid took in a deep breath. It was strangely calming out here, despite knowing she had no clue where in the world anything was. Thankfully, a few clicks of the tounge let them get a sense for the stuff that might block their way. Then, suddenly, that got a little tingle. Astrid grinned. "Water! Sick." It only took a few seconds for Astrid to be able to see some of the world again, though it was a bit hard due to the angle and sheer number of droplets. "Huh... so this is the roof. It's like a garden. Weird."

With newfound sight, Astrid made their way to the bench and sat on it, effectively losing any sight they gained. That was alright. She was more than used to it. "Yeah, no duh. I know people say schools are like prison, but this is a bit overboard, huh?" she joked. Probably not the best time, but when would there be another? "That... explains the mopping. I don't blame you."

"What I don't understand," Evan huffed, poking a tulip with his foot. "Is what the mind-control is supposed to be used for. The logical conclusion is that it's to keep us in line, right? But if my sister's actions are anything to go by, they seem to be more focused on creating conflict. What's the advantage to that?"
Suddenly, a thought struck him. An extremely worrying thought. "...What if...they're using the mind-control for an excuse to strip us of our powers? If a student misbehaves, they can be deemed too dangerous to keep their abilities...what if this place isn't a school, but a facility for the extinction of superpowers?"

Astrid's foot began tapping rapidly as Evan kept talking. "Ah, dude! You're scaring me!" she squealed, hitting his shoulder lightly and curling up into a ball. "But you're right, that's really weird. Why would another Prodigy want to get rid of Prodigies? They'd became a supervillian. Besides, if it's done to the entire school, wouldn't people notice?"
They began to stare up into the night sky as well, thinking deeply. Why cause trouble and take away their powers? And why create an entire school for it? Astrid caught her breath.
"A test! What if it's a test? Like, this is an academy. They're testing our problem solving skills... or something! And those who fail lose their powers, kinda like a bad grade. Except... Ya know, it's stealing someone's individuality and all..."

"That could be it, too," Evan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Honestly, it could be anything, really. We don't know enough about all this to have an idea of what's going on."
He fell silent, staring distractedly at the crooked tulip. How would we figure out the truth? Is there a way we could trace the mind-control back to the source?
"You said you use water to see, right?" he asked, turning to Astrid. "Does it have to be nearby, or can you look into, like, other rooms and stuff?"

"Yep. We don't. God, I hate adults. I hate that I'll be one some day, too," they whispered.
Her head tilted when she heard Evan talk about her powers. "Uh..." She thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "It depends. If it's too far, it can get a little blurry and I really have to concentrate on it, but it can be done. I could probably look a floor or two down just fine, but maybe not as well on the ground-floor. Why? Who do you want me to spy on?" they said, grinning mischievously as they turned to face Evan directly.

"Well..." A small smile slid onto Evan's face. "I have an idea."


About fifteen minutes later, the pair were on the ground floor, standing in front of a vaguely door-shaped outline. It was the strange trapdoor that Evan had noticed when he'd gone looking for Sam. He hadn't gotten the chance to investigate then, but there was no Dr. Emily here now to stop him.
"So," he began, holding up the glass of water they'd gotten from a nearby water fountain. "I'm going to spill this under the door, and hopefully you'll be able to see into the room beyond it. Does that work?"

"Oho, let's do it!"

So, there they were. Astrid was surprised to see Evan's face through her look into the cup of water. "Wow. Uglier than I thought," she had said, before laughing, "Just kidding! I just didn't expect you to actually be colorless."
They sat crisscross on the floor, rubbing their hands together. "It better. Now pour it! I wanna see the dirty secrets this place is hiding!" She was anxiously rocking back and forth, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Thanks a lot," Evan grumbled. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about already."
Leaning down, he poured the water onto the floor. It seeped below the trapdoor, pooling into the room beyond. Evan sat down beside Astrid, waiting.

With that, Astrid took a deep breath. She clicked with the water instantly, but moving liquids always make her a bit motion sick. They dug their fingers onto the floor to ground themselves. Then, suddenly, it stopped and she could look around. When her vision suddenly cleared, they felt an odd chill up their spine.
"It's..." she started, tilting her head, "Lots of metal walls, pretty dark... and I'm starting to see science equipment, but there's this really long hallway and-" Astrid caught her breath. "I think I see someone. I think that's... the Adjudicator and Ms. Lane. And a couple of kids?" Astrid leaned in a bit, before shaking her head. "Damn it, they're too far. I can't see them. It's this girl and some really short kid, though."