Hero 101

Remember me?

There was no way this was real. Pehnina couldn't believe it. After all this time, she was there, standing in front of UA, the most prestigious school on her side of the country. All she could feel in that moment was gratitude. The only reason why she could even attend UA, the only reason why her and all the other children of American refugees could, was because of the recent American Integration Act.

20 years ago, before her or any of her friends had been born, a villain with an insanely powerful quirk decimated the entirety of North America, and most of Europe. This villain's name was Adam Bomb, and his quirk allowed him to produce incredibly devastating nuclear bombs at will. Following the incident, the UN came together and allocated refugees of these attacks to the surviving countries of the world. Americans, being few and far between, were sent to the island nation of Japan.

Now, because of the AIA, Pehnina had been allowed to apply to UA. After a grueling entrance exam, she had made it. Well. It was a but more complicated than that. Due to the nature of her quirk, her performance on the practical exam required for entering the hero course was questioned. Luckily, after an agonizing period of proving herself to the examiners, she was in. Today was the day classes began, and the day her life would change forever.

Whether that was for better or for worse was yet to be seen.

Just as Pehnina took her first steps through the gate, straightened her tie, and straightened her posture, she felt a burning sensation on her right shoulder. It took a moment to register, but as soon as it began to burn her uniform, she jolted forward. After a quick glance to the shoulder of her now ruined jacket, she saw the cause of her charred garments. Amerie.

"Remember me?" The girl ahead of her asked, an edge resting in her voice like a bear in hibernation. If Pehnina were to poke at it she'd be dead for sure. If you couldn't guess, Pehnina remembered her. Very well.

Amerie. First Year. Quirk: Explosion. She secretes an explosive substance out of her skin like sweat, which she can combust at will.

Pehnina swallowed, "yeah maybe." Before she could swiftly turn back around and sprint to class, Amerie closed the distance between them. The first person to talk to her at her new school, and they were already way to close. If she had moved just an inch, their noses would be touching, which meant Amerie was leaning down.

"You don't deserve your spot and you know it," she said, straight into Pehnina's ear, "and for the record, I'm coming for it."

First day, class hasn't even started, and she already has an enemy. Pehnina figures that's what she gets for having a quirk like her's. If only she were just born different.

By the time Pehnina made it to class, most of the kids there had already gravitated towards each other to form groups. She was hoping things wouldn't get clique-y at UA, but its sort of inevitable. To be honest, none of the students really stood out to her yet, so she wasn't sure who to talk to. Except, of course, the top three.

It was unusual for multiple students from the same middle school to make it into UA, especially with the ammount of special American Integration schools that had popped up, but it was even more rare for three to get in. And, oh yeah, get the three highest scores on the entrance exam.

The top three students on the entrance exam now stood before her, laughing together in a tightly closed circle. On the left, sitting on the window sill, was a timid looking boy with wild curly hair and insane eyebags, Ezra.

Ezra. First year student in the hero course. Quirk: Pause. Ezra is able to stop time for everything but himself. However, the more he uses it, the less sleep he gets. It often gets mistaken for teleportation, as he uses it to sneak up on his opponents. He scored third in the practical exam.

All Pehnina could focus in when looking at him was how tired her looked. Poor guy. Beside him in the middle, sitting criss-cross on a desk, was a blonde kid with green skin, and arms so big they looked like they were going to burst out of their sleeves, which were already rolled up past their forearms. There was no doubt in Pehnina's mind that this was Moss.

Moss. First year student in the hero course. Quirk: Photosynthesis. The chlorophyl in Moss's skin absorbs light from the atmosphere, and turns it into energy for photosynthesis, allowing them to produce their own oxygen. This means they not only do not have to eat, but the oxygen created in their body immediately solves any oxygen debt occurring lactic fermentation. Meaning; their muscles recover super fast, so they are super strong and have crazy stamina. However, just like how breathing in too much carbon dioxide is lethal to a regular person, breathing in pure oxygen is lethal to them. They scored second in the practical exam.

That kid sure is loud, Pehnina thought. She could hear exactly what they were saying from across the room. Something about leg day? Destroying their glutes? What a weirdo. In fact, she actually felt bad for the girl sitting to the left of them. With straight blonde hair, and the biggest, sweetest smile she had ever seen, was Lauren.

Lauren. First year in the hero course. Quirk: Hemokinesis. Lauren is able to manipulate any blood as long as it is in her line of sight. This includes her own blood, as well as the blood of others. Her hemokinesis includes the manipulation of the blood in its liquid state, as well as the hardening of blood, both inside and outside of the body. However, if she cannot see a person, then her quirk is ineffective against their blood. She scored first in the practical exam.

Despite scoring so well on her practical and written exams, Lauren's enrollment in the hero course was probably as controversial as Pehnina's -- if not more. While she didn't use anyone else's blood on the exam, seeing her use her own was freaky. Pehnina saw it herself, how she took down a horde of robots all on her own, using hardened blood that shot straight out of her hands. It was insane. How she didn't pass out immediately from blood loss was insane.

Before she knew it, Pehnina was staring. How could she not? It was like the three of them had a visible aura surrounding them. Though, she couldn't get away with staring forever. The one in the middle, Moss, looked at her then whispered something to Lauren. Lauren looked over, smiled wide, and waved her over. No way, Pehnina thought, she's talking to me?