Lesson 1 AKA Sometimes we have to start from an end

[Ridai]

At this point, Mala is starting to regret having interacted with anyone so far. Some of it could not be helped, due to CDC demands about informing others risking contact with her about the potential dangers of doing so. But net result? Driving others away, potentially looking like the bad guy. If this is how things are going to go at Star Academy from here on out, it won't be long until she'll be living in CDC containment.

Mala quickly introduces herself before Shin is gone, then turns ahead, silently waiting in line, except for a sigh escaping her, the pale girl looking tired and a little down. While she is good at maintaining the facade, being reminded of this possibility at the moment of joining the one place where there might be hope for her just ruins her mood. The other feeling of pressure at this place just adds to it all. At this point, she would not be surprised if the academy springs an impromptu test on them, with the guards being some kind of bot. Or if some random villain tried to ruin it all and the guards are lackeys. Or if someone just pushes her into a bunch of people.

[Esprit15]

Remaining on edge, but also noticing the other girl’s change in demeanor, Mira nudges the other girl’s bag via her own. ”Hey, Mala. If you don’t mind me asking, you mentioned your quirk causing you to be dangerous to touch? What quirk would that be?” She didn’t give off any large amounts of heat, her UV spectrum was quite normal, the polarity or light around her was unremarkable. Visually, she was as harmless as any other student here.

[Comissar]

Holly rubs behind her neck as she continues to watch the awkward conversation play out. Mala looks like she's the worst effected by the course it's taken, looking like she's become withdrawn. The colourful girl seems to be looking to talk to her, though, so Holly lets her eyes wander over the rest of the gathered students. She smirks a bit when she sees the rich kid coming back red-faced, but then her attention is caught by the guards. She nudges Julie, not taking her eyes off them.

"... Hey... Do the guards look off to you..?"

[Ridai]

Remaining on edge, but also noticing the other girl’s change in demeanor, Mira nudges the other girl’s bag via her own. ”Hey, Mala. If you don’t mind me asking, you mentioned your quirk causing you to be dangerous to touch? What quirk would that be?” She didn’t give off any large amounts of heat, her UV spectrum was quite normal, the polarity or light around her was unremarkable. Visually, she was as harmless as any other student here.

And things might get even worse now, so once again, Mala braces for impact, failing to completely keep that aspect out of her demeanor.

"I have a Virus Quirk. My body constantly produces high-powered pathogens that can transmit via touch or aerosol. And while I am doing my best to control it, someone accidentally bumping into me or, worse, crowds are a constant danger. Hence the full-body suit and filter mask at all times, as required by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventation." Mira can tell this is far from the first time she has to explain her Quirk and its dangers to someone, but that doesn't make it any less pleasant, especially at this point in time. "So... I'm legally and morally required to avoid contact with others where possible and ask those risking contact with me to not do so to avoid infections. Or outbreaks. The chances of that actually happening are low... but not in the medical definition of tiny fractions of a percent." There is no sugar-coating it. Hell, the CDC can and will cause her trouble if they found out she did that, as she already is treading on thin ice with them.

And since she is standing in line, more have overheard it all. If experience holds true, the rumors will start soon. Also people backing away from her. Maybe someone looking into who she is and stumbling on news articles, since American media always mentions full names. That will be a fun day.

Mala glances at Mira, then at the guards. "I hope that if a test or trouble starts here through those guards, people won't panic." Might as well change the topic to something that may or may not be more relevant right now.

[Esprit15]

Mira thinks for a good while it likely seems. That was certainly a unique quirk. She had never heard of something that was that potentially destructive. ”That must be so lonely for you! Never being able to hug people, having to avoid physical contact! Oh! And you’ve probably never even had your first kiss yet!” Mira twitches as though about to hug the girl before remembering the whole reason that she wasn’t to be touched.

“First thing we’re doing when we get your stuff to your room is wrapping you in a blanket so I can give you a big damn hug!” the girl says joyfully as she begins to continue onward.

“If, uh, that’s okay with you, or course.”

[Ridai]

And that was something Mala had not expected at all. At best, people usually smiled, went some variation of "aw, poor you" and drifted away from her at the speed of polite withdrawal. But she rarely receives sympathy. Only rare people like Yuki or Faith (before the incident) did that. And, apparently, Mira.

Mala can only nod in response, confirming Mira's given examples of what is out of the question for Mala, and giving the impression that that's just the tip of the iceberg (and also twitching away from Mira's quickly aborted hug attempt). Even with the filter mask hiding Mala's lips, Mira can see the tall girl looking surprised at her suggestion. And grateful, as she nods once again, doing her best not to let her eyes water too much, which would force her to use the pouch meant for storing tissues drenched with poison tears and other hazardous fluids.

"I would love that. Thank you, Mira." And a big beautiful smile shows through Mala's eyes. Mira also hears a little muffled sniffle. Maybe things won't be all bad.

"Haha, sorry, we've been only talking about me this whole time," she says as she tries to collect herself, but sounding more chipper than before. "I'm loving your colors and eyes, if I may say so. What is your Quirk?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Hm? The guards?" Julie looks to the front of the line to get a look at the desk where they're checking in the new students. We're pretty close to the front by now. "Could you be a little more specific?"

Meanwhile, she overhears Mala and Mira behind her and briefly wonders how the heck the taller girl decided to apply here rather than studying epidemiology or something. "Hey! Coming here was a good idea, actually! The villain syndicate would probably kill to get their hands on you but this way you'll be prepared. ...my name's Julie, by the way. Hi!"

[Esprit15]

Mira grins happily at the girl's receptiveness. "You got it!" She made a friend, and she was all of five minutes into things. This was going to be awesome.

"My quirk is one of the animal quirks. For me, it's Mantis Shrimp. I can see at a much wider angle than most humans, and am sensitive to a lot more wavelengths of light. I can see from infrared to ultraviolet, supposedly I am sensitive to more specific wavelengths which allows me to identify chemicals and such visually, I notice polarization... My eyes are freaky, basically. That, and I'm a little bit tougher physically, and can punch really hard." She pulls her hands into a sort of boxer stance. Her knuckles have a visible layer of carapace on them as well. "Course, that chemical identification doesn't help if I don't know what the chemicals are, so to me some of these things just are visibly different when other people think they look the same. It does make most types of camouflage useless, though.

I do love the colors, though. They're actually totally natural, not dye or makeup! Oh, and I swim, obviously. That almost goes without saying."

[Comissar]

Holly nods again, "... Yeah... They're not moving right. See their joints? It's like they've been put together all wrong..."

Having tuned out Mala and Mira's conversation, she gives a blink of surprise as Julie mentions the Villain syndicate, glancing over at the other girl and asking "Wait, what..?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"You know! Biological weapons and stuff?" Since Holly wasn't listening to that part, Julie drops that subject to focus on one thing at a time. "Um, right, guards. I don't know? It could be they have weird quirks like Shin or me. Or they might be robots but I'm only thinking of that because my cab driver was one."

By this point, the group should be to the front of the line. Julie picks up her bags and proceeds to the desk to check in.

[Steve-a-Saur]

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks Springs."

A boy with metal forearms grabbed the bun from Shin's hand and continued on through the crowd. If Shin was so eager to rid himself of his cinnabuns, then surely it was his duty to relieve him of his burden.

Now, where was that reception area?

Spoiler: OOC

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Not going to bother rolling. Taking ten instead for an 18 to perception.

[Ridai]

Mala barely has time to get her first name out in response to Julie ambushing her about how the league of villains will try to get her, before said Julie turns back to... Holly, was it? The girl does her best to avoid a confused frown forming on her face. Julie did nothing wrong. Being bubbly, direct, and honest don't qualify as wrong, not by a long shot.

Look on the bright side. Learning to defend yourself better is also on the list for why you are here. With things slowly starting to go sideways ever since Iron Shield died, all of those considerations certainly rose higher on her list of priorities.

Mala herself turns her attention back to Mira as she explains her Quirk, who can see the tall girl's eyebrows rise at a point or two, nodding a few times. "You have a great Quirk! You'll be perfect for search and rescue operations, especially if there's hazardous chemicals, gas leaks, and the like. The swimming part sounds lovely as well."

Having noticed the stance, Mala asks "If I may ask, did you have combat training? You seem quite prepared to take action," her voice shaping the latter as a compliment, like it is meant to be. They will train to become heroes, after all. Being ready to defend oneself and others even before that is a great asset.

[Elricaltovilla]

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks springs."

A boy with metal forearms grabbed the bun from Shin's hand and continued on through the crowd. If Shin was so eager to rid himself of his cinnabuns, then surely it was his duty to relieve him of his burden.

Now, where was that reception area?

Spoiler: OOC

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Not going to bother rolling. Taking ten instead for an 18 to perception.

Shin's hand springs forth, snatching the bun from the metal armed boy.

"They are not for you." He scolds the other boy. "You should learn to be less rude if you wish to receive treats.
A good person would introduce themselves and ask nicely before taking something that does not belong to them. "

Shin thought he was prepared for anything coming to Star Academy. He never expected so many people to be so rude, however.

[Comissar]

Holly gives a non-committal "Hmm..." at Julie's suggested explanation. It didn't quite seem right to her, but then, she wasn't sure what else could be the cause.

[Esprit15]

”Not really. Just what I’ve seen. This is just the easiest stance to punch from. The rest was just playing round with the quirk.” She makes a quick motion with one of her arms in a motion that was half punch, half back-hand, and far faster than any non-quirked human punch. “Only way that doesn’t hurt my joints. Apparently I’m actually a bit slower than my quirk’s namesake, and that’s without scaling.”

[Darkstorm]

He hopped over to the nearest guard. Bowing, Shin introduces himself and holds out the box of Cinnabuns.

"Hello sir. I am Shin, a new student here. Would you like a Cinnabun?" He watches the guard closely for a reaction.

The guard smiles and winks at Shin while saying in a overly formal voice “You can’t buy me kid. Back to your spot on the line.”
Then he smiles as if it was a big joke to him.

"Eh? What's the matter?" she taunts, "Couldn't bribe your way in?"

He just lifts his head and looks down on you, muttering something about “peasants”.
The boy keeps in line though, with a chagrined look on his face.

Dozens of people start to go in line and after what appears to be seconds, or days (depending on who you were talking to) your turn with the guards arrives.

To each they give an e-watch with just one button.

The left man says to you “Push the button to meet DIA, your VR schedule and personal assistance. Lost in school she’ll help. Don’t know how you’re going she’ll help. Want to see your development stats, she’ll help. She’s wonderful. I never leave mine behind.”

The man at the right looks at him and interrupts with a loud cough “As my colleague was saying, while in the academy always wear it. The data might help you know how to improve.”.

Then they let you in to a central courtyard, inside the school, with a big stage and where all that were entering gathered.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil startled as an arm sprung out from behind him and snatched the bun away. He turned about in time for Springs to start scolding him about politeness or whatever over the bun that he seemingly didn't want. Phil just shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way. He didn't care enough to make the treat an issue.

He got in line where two of the guards were handing out watches. Phil stared at his watch as the guards were telling him about the functions of the watch, remembering the time when he forgot to take his watch off during quirk practice. The thing couldn't withstand the centrifugal force of his arm and was completely shredded, bits and pieces flying every which way. He learned from then on to remove jewelry from his arms and to always wear face plating during practice.

"So how durable is this thing?" He asked.

[Ridai]

Mala's eyebrows rise as she sees Mira's quick demonstration. "It's far more than what I can claim to be able to do, which amounts to tactical shoving and regular punches."

Once reaching the guards, Mala greets both with a "Hello, sir", patiently listening to the explanation, and accepting her armband with a "Thank you very much, sir. Have a nice day."

In the central courtyard, the tall girl immediately starts drifting towards the side, away from the center of the large crowd, also known as the very worst possible position she could be in at this point in time. She'll happily stick to the much more thinly populated edge, thank you very much.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin puts the E-watch around his wrist, though it isn't easy. He hops along with the rest of the crowd to the courtyard, still suspicious about what will happen next. In Japan, he knew that young heroes were subjected to crazy tests before they could attend hero courses. Shin could only assume Star Academy was the same.

Once in the courtyard he touches the only button on the E-watch to see what would happen.

[Comissar]

Holly accepts the watch off the guard with a smile and nod, listening to its functions with interest. Fastening it to her wrist, she ambles out to the edge of the crowd, finding herself near Mala once she had. She offered the other girl a smile, hoping to set her more at ease than she'd seemed to be in line, "... Hey. I don't think I introduced myself properly earlier. I'm Holly, it's nice to meet you."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Hm? Just one button?" The relatively sparse voice lines of the Taxi AI were already enough to fool Julie. A voice-controlled watch-guide would certainly be something to see.

"I think I see what you mean about them being a little off," Julie whispers to Holly as they get to their seats in the bleachers. That the whole group ends up sitting pretty close together should come as no surprise, considering that they got through check-in all in a row. "Hmm... I can imagine someone getting a plant to hand out mind-control devices..."

Julie's tone doesn't convey the paranoia that that speculation might imply. If anything, she seems to find the idea to be an amusing joke, though not amusing enough to activate the watch before seeing what Shin's watch does.

[Ridai]

Mala has just stashed her E-Watch in a pocket, as wearing one over her suit just isn't very comfortable and gets in the way of her gloves, when she notices Holly approach. Seeing her smile does put her at ease, returning the gesture by smiling with her eyes, and pretends Holly had not introduced herself earlier after Mala did, to not make things awkward for her.

"Nice to meet you, too. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier." Whether she means the argument or describing her Quirk or both, she leaves up to Holly. "Still can't really believe I'm here."

[Esprit15]

"Thank you, sir," Mira says politely as she takes the watch. One button? So like a sort of smart phone? Something to play with later.

As Mala drifts away from the crowd, Mira follows suit, looking around at the variety of students. Some wore their quirks quite visibly, while others looked like entirely normal humans. It would be interesting to see the variety of quirks that were around.

"Nice to meet you, Holly. I'm Mira,' the girl says, offering a hand to the other girl.

[Comissar]

Holly gives Julie a briefly worried look, followed by a grin as she catches her tone. "Heh, I guess time will tell!"

She nods at Mala's comment, "Yeah, I know. It's pretty crazy to think that there's all these people they could choose from, and they chose us! Kinda humbling, really."

At Mira's introduction, she gives a smile and goes to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you properly!"

[Ridai]

Mala nods emphatically. "Heartening to see them be willing to work with someone like me. I hope I can turn my Quirk into something that's useful to others with their help," she says, briefly doing a motion somewhere between folding and wringing her own hands, hope and being a little frightened in a weird good way coming together. She hasn't driven away Holly and Julie. That's good. That's very good. Mala does her periodic checks to see if she is too close to someone or if it looks like a larger group is approaching where she is at, also glancing at the stage as she does so.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are your Quirks like?"

[Darkstorm]

After a few minutes the rest of the students arrive. The 100.
Most of you wide eyed, proud, happy.

The guards close the doors and enter the square.

The spotlights on the stage turn on and a group of five figures step up into it. In the middle, the older figure you all knew it would be there - Horizon - Thomas Hollander, the headmaster.

Next to him the sassy figure you all saw on TV - Comet girl (the rumors were true) – and a thin well dressed man in full suit. Everything about him showed power and money.

On the other side a man and a woman that you didn’t recognize (or maybe you did), but could be teachers of the school.

The guards go up to the stage and remain there.

Hollander starts “Welcome to Star Academy.

To the ones that don’t know me, I am Thomas Hollander, Horizon. I am the headmaster and had a hand in the choosing of each and every one of you. So that means that I personally know you and believe in your skills and growth potential.

Bu that also means you are in debt with me. And you should repay that with hard work and skill.

As you all know this is a very competitive program, and not all of you will end this semester in school. But that doesn’t mean that the values of cooperation and collaboration should be forgotten.
Teamwork is as essential to being a hero as self-determination.

1st year students will be taught by Comet girl, Silkworm and Glaro.” Pointing at Comet girl and the two unknown figures.

“But the resident teachers will be Yellow Star and Komodo, both you saw on the way in.”

The guards rip their masks and clothes, that were mostly a cocoon like silk and climb to the stage.

Spoiler: OoC

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I'll give some time to react to these stuff and continue with the speach later today.


Here you can see your graph on the DIA (you can only see yours of course)

Spoiler: knowledge Current events 15

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The man in the suit is Rohan Fell, one of the most proficuous inventor of Star lake city, and millionair. He has made a new discovery that people are talking about - a wormhole train capable of very quick traveling

Spoiler: Knowledge Pop/hero 15

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The two heroes next to the warden are Silkworm - Quirk: Cocoon - able to make cocoons for masks, prisons, clothes, parachutes etc. and Glaro - Quirk: Glare - he can "freeze" people and animals he looks at.

[Esprit15]

Mira begins to fiddle with DIA as the speech goes on, rolling her eyes as the concept of being indebted comes up. Really poor way to present education to a bunch of Gen Z kids. Now high school was a debt sentence too? As he goes on, Mira figures out how to navigate to her own rankings. Huh. What did they mean by these things? Was strength her physical strength, or overall predicted power of her quirk? How did they rank things like social or adaptability? The small device draws her focus more than her soon to be teachers.

[Ridai]

Checking her chart before the event begins (not being bothered if the others can see it), Mala has to pause for a moment. "That's rather... lopsided." It feels like she either has nothing or close to the maximum, with nothing in between. How high her durability score is surprises her. She knows she has pretty good stamina and can recover from most wounds relatively quickly, but it feels like nothing when compared to people with Quirks giving them hardened bodies or heightened regeneration or bodies unaffected by physical attacks. And even those pale next to the unstoppable force that is Faith with her Honey Badger Quirk, who probably has maximum ratings in Strength, Quickness, Durability, and Close (at least in Mala's mind). The Close rating likely is an evaluation of her pathogens, with a smidgen likely deducted because of their limitations and the inherent dangers.

The low strength, quickness, and distance scores do not surprise her, not having training or a Quirk suited for those. She can sprint for extended periods of time, but she still is limited to normal human mobility. However, the low social score does make her wince. She worked hard to be better at dealing with people, but her Quirk and what comes with it likely don't do her any favors. Thus, she feels this is the area she needs to work on the most, along with her ability to adapt. "DIA, please explain what the Social and Adaptability categories represent."

Mala also tries to see if Yuki and Faith have been accepted to Star Academy, trying to spot them in the crowd.

------

During the event, Mala once again feels the pressure as Horizon mentions being indebted and needing to work hard to make it to the end. The girl knows this is doubly true for herself, likely facing an uphill battle. Others around her may hear the material of her gloves being squeezed by her balled fists, and see iron determination on her face. This is the only chance she will ever get.

[Comissar]

Holly looks a little blank at Mala's comment, having not really been paying attention the first time her quirk was mentioned, "... Someone like you..?" She gives a shrug and a smile, "The head must've seen something special, or you wouldn't be here. Just try your hardest and it'll turn out alright, right?" As Mala asks what her quirk is like she tilts her head, her eyes unfocusing as she tries to think of the best way to describe it, "So... My quirk is a bit of an odd one. I can walk through glass and... Kinda use them as portals linked to each other..? I can see and hear from the other side of them, too. There's a whole, well," She grins and shrugs, "I always called it the 'Mirror Gallery'. It's really cool, just endless panes of glass showing the world outside. I'll show you how it works later if you want?"

She turns her attention back to the stage as the speech begins. She feels her heart go on a bit of a journey as the talk goes on. Rising with pride at being selected, sinking at the description of being in 'debt', then leaping again with excitement at the hope of being taught by Comet Girl. Finally, she glances down at her DIA, a feeling of worry stealing over her as she did.

"... Man... Looks like I've got my work cut out for me..." To nobody in particular, she adds, "Look how low most of those are!"

[Steve-a-Saur]

Spoiler: OOC

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There aren't actually any "Knowledge" skills in M&M 3ed. The closest is "Expertise," but it requires training to use. I'll just use Intelligence for these rolls.

Current Events: (1d20)[19]
Hero/Pop Culture: (1d20)[16]

Phil didn't get an answer to his durability question, and didn't get a chance to look at his scores. The watch in question sat in his pocket, worried that he might break the thing. Would he get in trouble if it broke? Maybe he'll test it's durability for himself later, with proper face protection.

The part about debt worried him, as did the possibility of not finishing his semester (What was this? A school or a reality TV show where you get voted off the campus?), but mostly, aside from the Comet Girl reveal, he just sat there bored.

Come on! Get to the part where we fight giant robots or something.