THE GIGER COUNTER (IC)

[K. El-Amrani]

--
The ticking of a clock. Such a sweet sound.

For Ian Polla, at least.

But right now, the clock's sound was not so sweet. In fact, the more Ian stared at with
a glassy look in his eyes, the more it felt as if he was staring at the Doomsday Clock
itself.

Bored out of his mind, he tapped his feet intensely as the clock's ticking continued to
permeate throughout the room like some twisted ambiance of dread.

Ian Polla, a sixteen-year old high school student in Giger City's O'Mailley High School,
was currently in detention.

Never in a million years would Ian have ever thought himself to end up in a place as
terrible as detention. As far as this nerd was concerned, he was way too smart to be
relegated to a place reserved only for jocks and slackers.

Yet somehow, against all feasible odds, he was here. In fact, Ms. Zenda has made it a
point to catch Ian while he was in the library, where he had been trying to study for an
upcoming exam in her eigth period science class. But while he tried to explain his
academic pursuits to her, she didn't listen to a word he said. Instead, she proceeded to
drag him and the Asian girl playing video games next to him down to detention.

Which led him to his present predicament. Not the best one, if he had to have an
opinion on it.

Ian fixed his black-rimmed glasses, sighing to himself as he wondered how long this
could possibly go on.

What had he done wrong exactly? Staving off any outward signs of paranoia, lest he
look suspicious, Ian thought back on that fateful afternoon with Ms. Zenda. The
afternoon where he inadvertantly revealed himself to be a newgen, one of the many
people in Giger City possessing superhuman powers.

And if it hadn't been for him and his duplicating powers that fateful afternoon, then Ms.
Zenda wouldn't have come unscathed when that Elitez gang member had tried to hold
her up.

Of course, Ian didn't exactly want his science teacher to know he was a newgen. But
it the end, it was hard to hide the fact that she had been saved by none other than four
Ians, instead of just the one.

Now he could only hope that he wasn't detention because he had gone and saved her
with his powers. After all, it's not like he asked to be turned into a human example of
cell division.

Looking to his right as he leaned on the small and uncomfortable desk, Ian spotted the
Asian girl from before just a few seats away. Her hair was long, black, and covered part of
her face.

But even that couldn't hide the disinterested expression on her face. She wasn't too
happy when Ms. Zenda had to literally unplug her from the computer she had been
playing SNES games on.

And so, Ian spent the next few minutes wondering whether talking to her was an
intelligent way to fill the boredom. She seemed relatively non-threatening, he thought,
and in the event she was a crazy or the like, he could always call upon himself for
back-up. As an absolute last resort, of course.

Eventually, after minutes passing without Ms. Zenda arriving to oversee them, Ian's
boredom caused him to relent.

"So I guess playing Legend of Zelda on the library computers is a pretty serious
offense now, isn't it?" Ian asked, his tone as light-hearted as he could muster in a
situation as hopeless as this one.

--

 

[EternalMusic]

Kate sighed as she sat in her seat looking at the plain white wall on the right side of her. She didn't want to be here, but there was nothing she could do against Ms. Zenda. Not that she would be able to deal with most teachers but there was something about Ms. Zenda. She wasn't like the other teachers who had given up on trying to get her to contact others and make actual human interaction. Sighing she looked to the other side of the room and gazed out the window. Running her fingers through her hair she allowed her hair to fall naturally and cover half of her face. She didn't need to talk to anyone let alone to talk to them and that mean't she wanted to avoid contact with the other male in the room with all possibility.

In her head she pondered about how to get past the boss in the game she was playing, making a canon shot would be effective but that would make her lose a lot of energy and Kate can't have that... Kate needs her character to last a really long in the battle... As she pondered in her thoughts she stopped as the male came up to her and decided to try and strike a conversation. Kate thought the face covering allowed the male to understand what she meant... Not saying anything Kate stared at the boy and frowned.
"Elsword. Please do not make the assumption that everyone is playing such typical games."
Looking away she didn't try to continue the conversation. Not that she could if she wanted to, having no social skills Kate preferred to stay alone with her devices.

 

[TheImagineer]

Nell found the squeech, squeech, squeech... of her sneakers on the linoleum to be a nice rhythm for her thoughts, which were going at a mile a minute. I hope it's okay. I don't want to hurt it, just show it off! This buggy doesn't know how cool it is, I bet! As she ran over the linoleum, feeling only a little bit bad about the skid marks she was probably leaving around for the nice janitor to get to later, she made sure to keep her hands tightly clasped. It was a shame that she hadn't brought a specimen jar, but she just had to show this to Ms. Zenda! Hopefully her little friend would be okay.

You see, a lot of the teachers found her more than a little bit weird. Even the life science instructor was reluctant to have conversations at length with her, the same went for the Biology professor... and that one kid's mom who was an actual zookeeper. But not Ms. Zenda! No, she would listen thoroughly and show interest in the latest tiny critter the little brown tomboy had stumbled upon under one of the loose stones in the courtyard! It's probably a katydid, hiding out until night time so it can go to play. She smiled with genuine happiness, making her way as fast as she could.

According to the secretary at the principal's office, Ms. Zenda was doing detention today, so she was heading to one of the few corners of the school building still occupied at the time. Even she would have run along home on her bike, but she had a project to work on. And had even been allowed to choose her own subject since it was the science fair. Everyone in her class was being made to submit something. So far all she really had was a title, "A Bug's Life". Sure it was taken and all, but it was still catchy if you asked her. Nell was currently in the middle of picking just what bug's life to feature.

Ms. Zenda was supposed to help her pick. According to the nice woman, a scarab would have been... cliché on Nell's part. She could see the door now. However, when she got there, she realized her dilemma. It took two hands to hold a bug. "Hmm..." grumbling under her breath, she put her brain to work and finally resigned herself to using her foot to press the handle. I'm really not bendy enough for this type of thing... But she managed and the door finally clicked open, allowing her to gently bump it wider with her steadily developing hips and burst inside, "Alright, Ms. Z! This one for sure! I- oh?" The teacher wasn't there. Just two students actually, that she assumed were the occupants of detention today.

"Er, hi... Either of you seen, Ms. Zenda?" She asked feeling kind of lame for her entrance. Between her grimy tshirt and shorts, her bare knees which were also probably covered in some type of dirt, and her short haircut, she probably looked like some type of maladjusted freshman, and first impressions were the ones that always stuck.

 

[Harvey Randall]

Hector was leant against a wall in the far corner of the room, hands tucked inside a pair of denim shorts. He ran a few fingers through his hair and huffed the errant strands out of his face with an audible sigh. The noise bounced off the silent walls like a rubber ball. He fidgeted, tapped his foot, checked his watch,tried to daydream - none of it did much good. Time had a nasty habit of moving slowly for the star athlete. True, the arguments he'd been having with his father as of late had been horrible, but it had at least made his life eventful. By intervening and telling his father Hector had gotten a weekend job, Ms. Zenda had saved his future career - but she had also made him very, very restless. The half a week since he'd stepped in front of that van had felt like an eternity. Football practice went by in a blur, but the hours at home raked by like chalk on a blackboard. Hector swapped up the drum-beat he was playing against the wall a little, glancing around him.

It was these events which led Hector into his current situation - "detention for sending a car sideways", or as Ms. Zenda put it, a: "special needs support group". A grin came and vanished like a passing train on his lips. Time to examine the social sphere, he thought: Detention with a nerd and an introvert. Ian Polla and Kate Nintega. He knew plenty of rumours about the both of them, one an intellectual egoist, the other a video-game junkie. He huffed again, shook his head, and went back to staring at the far wall. Faintly, he heard Ian try to make some form of contact, but his mind was already darting through a dozen other thoughts. What exactly had Ms. Zenda had planned? What would being a newgen change for him? Would he be wearing spandex or prison cuffs in the next few hours? A frown bolted across his forehead.

A door swung open a few feet away from him. Hector's head snapped to the new arrival and he strode over, feet glancing deftly against the floor. Nell... Or something? Hector didn't know her personally but he'd heard a couple of scathing rumours from bullies that had labelled her as a bit of a tomboy and a freak. Hector smiled to himself - I'm a freak now, too, he thought. Best get on with the show.

"Yo." Hector waved a hand, finding himself towering over the tomboy a little. He noted down the dirt on her hands and pushed it to the back of his mind. "Hector. Pleasure. No idea, said she'd be here soon. Apparently we're all in a big melting pot - something straight out of The Breakfast Club if you ask me. What's that in your hands, school project?" He smiled flatly. Please be interesting, he thought, or I might die of boredom here.

 

[K. El-Amrani]

Ian shifted back a bit in his chair. The look in the Asian girl's eye made things crystal clear. And her cold tone of voice simply cemented the fact that she was far from any sort of social butterfly.

"Uh, alright. I guess asking you why you're here is out of the question?"

Ian didn't even wait for a response, instead facing forward on his desk and letting the girl be. The room was warm, and Ian could already see tiny beads of sweat on his dark brown skin. He began to wonder how long it could possibly be until Ms. Zenda arrived in this cramped room and told them exactly what they were all in trouble for.

Ian's ears picked up another voice, and he finally noticed the other boy who had been in the room this whole time. Tall and lean, Hector Acelerar was one of the more popular people in O'Mailley High, known as one of the star players on the soccer team. Ian did not think too highly of him, but then again, he didn't think too highly of people beyond himself.

Talking to Hector was someone Ian knew a little better, a true social butterfly, the estactic and friendly Nell Sacreb. Ian fixed his glasses, and made a pretty accurate guess to what could possibly be inside Nell's hands at this moment. Now he could only hope it wasn't something that was bound to escape and multiply throughout the school, as had happened with Nell's "pets" may times in the past.

Ian groaned audibly, about to say something to the Asian girl next to him, but stopping himself at the last minute. He could only do so much as stare at the ceiling, waiting to be released from this prison when Ms. Zenda finally decided to arrive already.

 

[EternalMusic]

Kate sighed with relief as the boy looked away and began to focus on the ceiling. She wasn't going to continue again and she felt like she would just be unnecessarily rude to him if she did say anything. Sighing as she looked out the window Kate thought about what she could do with her time instead of just sitting there. But she couldn't think of anything. The time passed slowly and she began to notice others come into the room as well, she didn't need to think of anything of them though, she wasn't planning on making a conversation which she couldn't continue. Oh how Kate wishes that her video games were with her... Sighing she looked out the window again.

The birds were chirping and the trees whistled outside, she groaned as the clouds passed and the sun shone brightly through the window. Shielding her eyes from the light she looked away focusing only on the other side of the room now. She avoided looking in the other direction until the clouds began to cover the sun again. Kate wishes she could go home... Kate wonders when Ms Zenda will back... This boredom is killing Kate... Sighing she thought to herself and pondered in her own thoughts looking from one side of the room to the other.

 

[RareSecret]

Sia was walking down the halls of O'Mailley High School to the room where detention was being held. She earned herself a seat there after the incident that occurred earlier in the day. Sia was late to school due to her trying to avoid another gang in the Eastbank District and going the long way to school. She went into the office to get her late pass so she can go to first period like any other high school student. Sia soon left the office and started to walk across the courtyard to her first period which was the gym. Halfway there a gust of wind took the pass she held onto and put it into the arms of a nearby pine tree.

At first, she tried to reach for it by jumping, stretching, and climbing but it didn't work. That lead her to her last resort...using her powers. She grew from her usual five foot five and went to eight feet. She grabbed the pass safely from the tree. For every good thing there must be a bad thing to balance it out. For this situation, Sia started to feel irritated and decided to take out her frustrations on the tree by kicking it down. The tree toppled over like a house of cards as Sia reverted back to her normal size. Realizing what she has done, Sia scurried from the crime scene only to be halted by a teacher who saw the aftermath behind her. The confused teacher then gave her detention.

"So much for not drawing attention to myself." She complained to herself within her head. Sia finally arrived at the door that lead to the room where she will spend a part of her life in and opened it up. Turns out four students were already there and the teacher Ms. Zenda, who was suppose to be watching them, wasn't there. Sia slipped in through the door she had just opened and walked over to a desk that was next to the wall without letting the students who were talking to one another see her. Sia sat there with her head down and played with her hands bored. "I could be somewhere else now." She thought

 

[TheImagineer]

Well, Ms. Zenda was nowhere to be found at the moment, so she supposed striking up a conversation wouldn't hurt. Really, it might just help kill some time in the long run for the unfortunate detention-goers. Nell put on a dazzling white smile before she spoke. She couldn't help herself, usually all the bugs around their school were common- while still thoroughly awesome- and not cool enough to dedicate an entire 3-panel, poster board to. But the baby in her hands was a winner, indeed!

"Oh! Well, yea! How'd you guess? You're not reading minds are you, Hector?" She laughed a bit, lifting her chin a bit to look up toward the tall athlete. She actually wouldn't be surprised if he was. If she was lucky enough to end up with some secret powers when there was a statistically greater chance of her having been born a hermaphrodite, then whose to say there weren't other newgens in her school? The chances were high. She had to mentally shake herself from her thoughts before, continuing, "I'm Nell. Nice to meet ya. Oh, and this little fellow in my hands is Jeff the Pink!" Opening her palms to reveal what laymen would simply dub a bubblegum pink colored cricket. She smiled all the more, bright brown eyes glistening with her excitement and obvious joy, "I'm bringing him to show to Ms. Zenda and get approved for my pro- oh snap!"

Logically, she could have guessed what would happen if she opened her hands, but in her jubilee it seemed her brain had stopped working. Her pink friend bounced away with all the speed a cricket might possess landing first on a desk and then going further off toward the back of the room probably looking for a place to hide from the strange giant that had stolen it from its habitat. "No, no, no, come back!" Nell cried out in exasperation, zipping passed Hector and narrowly avoiding knocking him and the surrounding desks completely over.

Where's a cup when you need one?! To be fair she was quite agile. As far as anyone looking would be able to tell, she was keeping up quite well with Jeff, jumping when he jumped and hopping when he did to avoid stepping on the creature all the while frantically muttering, "God, don't let me step on him. I'll never find another pink katydid it'd be such a waste. It's a mutative gene!" She vaguely remembered bumping Hector. She would apologize as soon as she retrieved the wayward Jeff.

As luck would have it, someone else would enter the room at the most inopportune time. It would be best if the only one moving around was her at the moment. She did not need her project being stepped on, she called the girl, "For the sake of all that is holy, don't squash anything pink!"

 

[Harvey Randall]

"Reading minds? Yeah sure, you got me, alas – I am unwoven! My dire secret is revealed! Oh this too, too solid flesh would... Something something." Hector grasped at his head and pulled a face. A smirk lit up on his lips, trading expressions with the small bug collector as she smiled. She turned her hands upwards, revealing the bubblegum bug. Hector blinked. He knelt down to inspect it, before looking up at her – two light-green eyes glimmered through his fringe, like the sun would off blades of grass. "That thing is sick. Though why name him Jeff? Seems a little ordinary for such a colourful fella – woah!"

Jeff bounced out of her hand, landed on a desk, and then darted through Hector's mess of hair, making a beeline for the back of the room. Hector swayed as Nell bumped him out of the way - he was a large fellow, after all. If the opposition couldn't topple him, neither could she. He was careful to subdue his newgen powers to stop her from launching herself out the window with momentum, though - he hadn't hurt anyone yet, and he didn't want to start. The athlete burst into laughter, a smile breaking out on his face as he watched Nell dart around the room, much alike the cricket she was chasing - a little cuter, though. Shut up, Hector. The athlete chastised himself. You don't have to flirt with everything that moves. Much as you'd like. He hopped up onto one of the desks and swung his feet in the air.

"Run, Jeff, run!" Hector cupped his hands around his mouth. He was pretty impressed with how she was moving – she'd make a good member of the girl's football team. Although she didn't quite have the frame for it. On second thought, Hector suspected she'd get trampled like an ant. "Escape the tyranny of your human masters!" Hector shook his fist at the sky like a piece of protest graffiti, watching her dart around the room. Hector glanced at Ian, clapping his hands together and rubbing them, he smirked. "Yo specs, I have four dollars on the cricket. You?"

 

[K. El-Amrani]

"My name's Ian. Not Specs, thank you very much." Ian said matter-a-factly. Clearly, he was quite bad at hiding the fact that he didn't have a very high opinion of Hector and his soccer prowess.

Nevertheless, Ian still turned to watch Nell chasing the small insect in the back of the classroom. Even if he wanted to look away, it was hard to avoid watching Nell running around like this. It was an entertaining distraction, at the very least.

"And if I had to bet money on whether or not an insect can escape human hands, then the odds statistically are not in my favor. Which means you might as well burn that four dollar investment." Ian pointed out.

It seemed that Nell's antics would keep the attention of everyone in the room forever, if not for the timely sound of a door closing as the clacking of high-heeled shoes signified a person's entrance.

"Excuse me, is everything okay in here?" asked none other than Ms. Sarah Zenda, the science teacher whom all the students currently in detention had for their eighth period science class.

Finally, this was the something that Ian needed to keep his attention. He turned away from Nell and the pink cricket Jeff in an instant, a smile growing on his face.

Young and neatly dressed, Sarah Zenda was probably the most beautiful person Ian had ever laid eyes on. In a school full of girls his own age, the nerdy Ian had come to the conclusion that Ms. Zenda was the only person for him.

Clipboard in hand, Ms. Zenda made a point to stand at the front of her desk as she eyed the door. It was clear that she was somewhat uncomfortable with this situation.

They might not know it, but Ms. Zenda has personal knowledge that each of these five students were newgens, classified by the fact that they each possessed superpowers. One way or another, she had inadvertently seen proof of their respective powers, whether she had wanted to or not.

And now, as the science teacher took a deep breath, she wondered if what she was doing right now was truly the best course of action. As a teacher, it was her responsibility to look out for her students.

But if she proceeded with this next step, then she would be going beyond a boundary that exceeded that of simply a teacher.

Gathering her composure, Ms. Zenda seemed ready to deliberate.

"I assume you all know why you're here today?" she asked the five students, her tone quite serious as put down her clipboard on the desk behind her.

Ian was still smiling. He could never stop being enamored by Ms. Zenda. There was something about her orange hair, her elegant features, the green-rimmed glasses she wore, the ponytail she always kept her hair in, and the intelligence behind the words she spoke.

But, at the very least, he had some sense to answer her question, lest he look like an idiot in front of the others.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that you wanted to personally thank me for my phenomenal effort on my project on cell division?" Ian replied, his voice absolutely oozing with confidence.

 

[EternalMusic]

Kate's concentration snapped as a girl began to chase a pink creature around the room, looking at the girl she thought about how well the girl was keeping up and thought about wether the girl was in the athletic club. Shrugging her shoulders she didn't really care though, looking over to hear one of the boys shout.
"Run, Jeff, run!"

Rolling her eyes she pondered about why the boy would try to make it harder for the girl to catch the pink creature. Looking at the creature she thought about how cute it was and how she wouldn't mind holding it. At least animals don't talk... Kate can't handle talking very well... Sighing she remembered back to the very very short conversation she had had with the boy near to her. Turning to give the boy a glanc she blinked as a snappy voice came out of the boy's voice targette at the male who was shouting at the creature to run before.
"My name's Ian. Not Specs, thank you very much."

Seems like those two don't get along very well... Not that it is any of Kate's concern though. As she continued to try and tear her eyes away from the cute pink creature that was running around suddenly Ms Zenda appeared.
"I assume you all know why you're here today?"
Because Kate was playing video games in the library...? Taking a random guess but not saying anything out loud Kate stared at the teacher waiting to hear what the teacher would say and looking over at the male with the glasses as he spoke again a rather sarcastic comment. ...Strange.... Kate guesses that the boy is rather friendly at first but all of the actions the boy has shown Kate till now say otherwise...

 

[TheImagineer]

"Gah, Hector, you're not helping with the pep talk! I think he just got faster!" Nell whined a bit. She almost had him too! Pausing for just a moment, she narrowed her eyes and watched the little thing carefully. Funny enough, it actually paused for longer periods of time when she wasn't chasing it. Go figure. Alright, a change of tactics was in order. Quietly tip-toeing around the desks she had been rumbling by moments before, she snuck up on Jeff much easier, and... pounced! "Gotcha!" Her cry was triumphant for about half a second.

Sure, Jeff was secure in her cupped hands again, but inertia was not being as kind to her. She had been going a bit too fast to stop herself and quickly executed probably the most awful series of trips and stumbles the world had ever known, nearly taking Sia with her as Ian and Kate had by luck found themselves seated closer to the windows and therefore out of the way. "Whoa, so sorry! Ahh, this is gonna be a crash landing!" Nell fumbled herself into the push kart- hey, it was a better option than the beakers at least- hosting a pile of newly ordered lab manuals. Thank god for paperback. "Ugh... ow, success hurts," Shimmying her way out of the fallen text awkwardly- considering she couldn't use her hands- she perked up upon Ms. Zenda's entrance. It was about time! She could definitely get a jar for her project now that the person with the key to the supply room had showed up!

"I definitely know why I'm here! Have I got the bug for you! Okay, so I know the last one was a little bit more creepy. Ms. Zenda dislikes thing with more than six legs has been noted, but this perfectly pink katydid only has exactly six, aaaand he's rare!" If it hadn't been witnessed no one in the room would have guessed that she had just taken a magnificent fall. Nell could have been a spokeswoman for just about anything with her upbeat, sparkling personality. It was only because of the strangest twists of fate that her "product" of choice was nature itself and all her strange babies.

 

[RareSecret]

Sia was annoyed with the people running around causing chaos. She didn't know what was going on but she knows that it was causing a lot of noise. Sia wanted to tell them to be quiet but even so she stayed in the seat near the wall. Ms. Zenda soon entered the room. It gotten quieter. " I assume you all know why you're here today?" Ms. Zenda greeted them. "For kicking down a tree." Sia mumbled to herself. "I'm going to take a wild guess that you wanted to personally thank me for my phenomenal effort on my project on cell divison?" A smart mouth kid said in response. If Sia remembers correctly, it's Ian from when he said it to a girl earlier when she called him specs. "I definitely know why I'm here! Have I got the bug for you! Okay, so I know the last one was a little bit more creepy. Ms. Zenda dislikes thing with more than six legs has been noted, but this perfectly pink katydid only has exactly six, aaaand he's rare!" A girl replied as well. The girl was very chipper and enthusiastic about bugs apparently. As long as that thing doesn't get anywhere near her things will be fine.

 

[Harvey Randall]

"Gah, Hector, you're not helping with the pep talk! I think he just got faster!" Nell whined a bit.

"I'm just attempting to liberate Jeff, Nell." Hector's laugh thundered out of him. He watched Nell swap to different tactics - instead prowling like a lioness. The Athelete held his breath as she prepared to pounce. She thrust forward, and Hector let out a gasp. He put two hands over his face, before bursting out into laughter as she began to stumble with Jeff in-hand. "Attaboy, don't let them take you alive!" He waved his fist in the air again, passionate for the bubblegum-pink rebel. Hector was just enjoying the narrative, a habit born of watching professional soccer. The plays and decisions all exhilarated him, as did the stories born on the freshly-cut fields. No wonder he worked so hard: The flashing lights, the roaring crowds, the thundering of feet - becoming a legend was the only thing Hector really wanted to do with his life.

"My name's Ian. Not Specs, thank you very much." Ian said matter-a-factly... "And if I had to bet money on whether or not an insect can escape human hands, then the odds statistically are not in my favor. Which means you might as well burn that four dollar investment." Ian pointed out.

"I know your name is Ian. Specs is a nickname. Try to keep up." Hector smiled, making a mental note to himself: Yeah. Definitely specs. As Specs continued to talk, Hector found his expression thinning a little bit. His lightning-bolt eyebrows hardened, and his mouth drew itself into a thin line like a boot-string. "Yeeah. Guess I better burn all my money huh. Shame, I was saving for lunch."

As she shuffled back into position with the rest of the class, Hector tapped Nell with his elbow. "Why haven't you signed up for a sports society yet? You're pretty nimble. Like, I'm genuinely impressed. Not that I'm saying you have to - don't wanna pressure you into something that's not your flavour, but you could do good." He smiled at her, leaning sideways as he spoke. Before Hector could open his mouth again, Sarah Zenda strode into the room. His back straightened and his eyes narrowed. Hector squared his shoulders and folded two lean arms, staring the science teacher down.

"I assume you all know why you're here today?" she asked the five students, her tone quite serious as put down her clipboard on the desk behind her.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that you wanted to personally thank me for my phenomenal effort on my project on cell division?" Ian replied, his voice absolutely oozing with confidence.

"I definitely know why I'm here! Have I got the bug for you! Okay, so I know the last one was a little bit more creepy. Ms. Zenda dislikes thing with more than six legs has been noted, but this perfectly pink katydid only has exactly six, aaaand he's rare!" ... Nell could have been a spokeswoman for just about anything with her upbeat, sparkling personality.

"For kicking down a tree." Sia mumbled to herself.

Hector's frown only deepened like a brewing storm on his forehead. If these were her reasons, why call all of the students involved in at once? Surely these are the kinds of things you arrange private tutorials for, was Ms. Zenda so busy that she had to do things in bulk? This was all far too strange. The athelete had at least expected Specs to pipe up and say something, but he seemed to just be drooling over Zenda's orange hair. A sigh unravelled from Hector's lips. He knew he was charismatic enough to play it off as a joke should his hunch be wrong, so he took a deep breath and spoke:

"We're newgens." Hector said. He leant backwards, preparing a grin as he gauged the reactions of those around him. "Why else would Ian be in detention? I mean sure, I'm likely to be a screw-up, but collaboratively we're hardly a merry band of trouble-makers."

God I hope no-one takes me seriously if I'm wrong. Hector's grin wilted a little.

 

[TheImagineer]

Blinking up at Hector, after his nudge, she made a face of genuine confusion, "Sports? That's for people who like balls. I like bugs. Well, I guess I like dodgeball too, but yea, mostly bugs. Now an entomology club would be my style for sure." She smiled and directed her attention back to Ms. Zenda with eager apprehension. All she needed was the go ahead and she would be out of there at the speed of sound! She was sure there were books on Jeff's heritage, and if the library failed, well, Google was always a good second choice.

The way her favorite teacher- She liked to think of her as a sterner Ms. Frizzle- was sizing them up, she wondered if there was more going on than met the eye. Her light gaze cut around the classroom, finally taking in her fellow schoolkids with some interest. There were the two by the window, Ian and... Hm, she didn't know the petite, Asian girl's name. She'd be sure to ask her later. Then there was the other girl who had made her way in while she was cricket-wrangling earlier. She didn't know her name either.

Hector was beside her, so there was that. And then there was Ms. Zenda. This was a seemingly random selection of kids, but detention usually was. However, the main rule of detention was that you actually had to do something bad to get there. And with her nose ring, she was probably the most deviant in the whole group. Er, maybe, she should have taken that out before she came. Whoops... I forgot I'm not supposed to wear this to school. Technically, it was after hours! She couldn't still get in trouble for it, right?!

Newgens. Now there was a word, she didn't think about. That was actually... Something true about her. Could that be why they were all here for real? Pursing her lips into a perplexed pout, she questioned innocently so as not to call attention to herself too much, "Wait... you can get detention for that?" Forget the nose ring, I'm gonna have detention til I graduate at this rate... Please go easy, Ms. Z!

 

[K. El-Amrani]

As he probably expected, Hector's attempt at a joke, or at least making his statement sound like a joke, fell short. Ian, on the other hand, seemed largely unaware that his own attempt at a joke didn't have Ms. Zenda laughing on the inside.

"Let me show you all something. The real reason I brought you all here." Ms. Zenda began, glancing at Ian.

For a moment, Ian thought that Ms. Zenda was preparing to take something out, perhaps from her clipboard. The worst thought came into his mind, where he imagined her taking out the grade sheet for the project he had worked so hard on, with a massive red F grade plastered all over it.

Instead, the science teacher fixed her glasses, her one hand motioning towards what looked like an ordinary, but rather old mechanical pencil sharpener.

"I would hold onto one of the desks. This could get bumpy." she suggested, before suddenly grabbing onto the sharpener's crank.

Pushing up on it, it seemed such force would cause the device to break. Instead, flashing colored lights appeared from underneath the seemingly mundane device, and a light humming sound began as the entire room began to rumble.

Without warning, the entire floor began to lower downwards. Mechanisms that seemed as if they had not been used for decades began turning as they brought the entire floor down into a massive underground elevator shaft.
But as Ian held onto his desk, looking around him in wonder much like his fellow classmates, he could only wonder why this huge shift in mass made little to no sound. The floor continued to lower deeper underground, and yet Ian heard none of the grinding or rumbling that should have accompanied the act of so much weight being moved against gravity.

Ms. Zenda had been silent this whole time, holding onto her clipboard as that unsure expression came back on her face. Too stupefied and astounded by this current development, Ian had nothing to say.

Finally, the massive floor elevator came to a halt, revealing the full majesty of the complex below. Between a massive computer set up with displays the size of chalkboards, multiple rooms, a ceiling so high that a giraffe could easily fit, and enough storage space for a small army, this place seemed like some sort of fall out shelter.

But it only took Ian a moment to see the old tattered remains of a logo on the wall: the same shield logo that belonged to Giger City's former superhero team, the Guardians.

"Quickly." Ms. Zenda motioned as she stepped off the floor elevator. "The sound dampeners still work but anyone could walk into the room, and well, you can probably guess the result."

Ian looked up in response, noting that the floor-elevator was far down enough that an unknowing person could easily fall to their death, if they happened to walk into the detention room now without a floor.

Taking Ms. Zenda's cue, however, he got out of his desk and off the floor onto the cold metallic ground.

For a brief moment, Ian marveled at the splendor of what once was the one and only supehero hideout of the Guardians of Giger City. As a kid, he had heard the stories about Giger City's foremost superhero team from the 50's. Before the days of Henry the Lion, people cheered for the likes of Judge and Jury, The Amazing Aero-Man, Captain Twilight and Victoria Virtue.

"So...since when was the Guardians secret headquarters underneath the detention room? That's something I would have liked to know." Ian asked.

Ms. Zenda sighed again, regaining her composure.

"That's a story for another day. Right now, the matter at hand, is what I'm going to do with you five."

Her tone became serious. "We have the utmost privacy right now, so I'm just going to go out and say it. I know that each of you are newgens."

Ian seemed to think playing dumb would work. "What?" he said, in his best innocent voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

But Ms. Zenda wouldn't hear it. She put a hand up to stop him before he could go on any further. "Ian, please. As one of my brightest students, I hope you realize how stupid you sound right now."

Ian clammed up quickly. She was right, of course. She had seen Ian split into multiple Ians with her own eyes. It was a futile effort to even try and convince her otherwise.

Nevertheless, frustration was clear on the teacher's face now. She put a hand on her forehead, and already she could feel herself beginning to regret this decision of hers. But then thoughts of her brother and what had happened to him came into her head.

Despite how may rules she knew she was breaking, Ms. Zenda was not about to let what happened to Allen happen to students under her charge. Her newgen brother may have been lost to her, but these kids still had a flicker of hope in their lives.

"Why don't we start things simple?" Ms. Zenda began, holding the clipboard in hand and giving the entire group of students her attention.

"Remember show and tell from second grade?" she said, smiling in an effort to make things seem a little less awkward.

"Why don't you all show me, and your fellow classmates, what you can do?"

"Ian." she said to the boy. "Why don't you go first?"

Ms. Zenda then turned to Sia in the back, her expression becoming softer. "Oh, and Sia. If you need some privacy when you show your...talent, I'll understand. I know the issue you're still having with it is a bit...personal." she reassured the girl, whom she had witnessed growing up to eight feet tall and then kicking over a tree in anger.

In addition, Ms. Zenda had seen just how badly torn up and ripped Sia's clothes had become after her growth. The last thing the teacher wanted was for Sia to traumatize herself in front of her fellow classmates.

Ian could only wonder what Sia's "problem" was, but after a few seconds of thinking about, he decided it wasn't all that important.

So, the nerd clapped his hands together, smiling at the chance to show off. "Alright, it's showtime then! You asked for it, Ms. Zenda!"

It took about a second, but Ian's body seemed to flash back and forth, as faint after-images appeared on either side of him. There was a low crackling noise, before Ian literally split apart at either side.

The result created two more copies of Ian, each completely identical to the original. They grinned simultaneously, and when they spoke, their combined voices had a harmonic effect.

"JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF ME, EH?"

 

[EternalMusic]

Kate looked around staring at all the humans around her. Wait... Kate is human too... Sighing she ignored the chatter, she didn't want to stay here any longer, her video games were waiting for her. Suddenly the floor began to shake and lowered, clutching her seat Kate felt her stomach drop at the sudden downward movement and she felt herself being reminded of a video game. This is strange... Even for Kate... Sighing as it began to stop she listened to the conversation between Ms Zenda and the boy with the glasses. They are talking a lot.. Suddenly Kate's attention zoned in on what Ms Zenda was saying. Ms Zenda knows about Kate's powers? Is that what Ms Zenda means..? Confused slightly Kate tried to think rationally about where she went wrong with hiding her identity but her train of thoughts were stopped yet again as the boy with the glasses became not one but two!

KAte is so confused... Kate doesn't understand... No... Can't understands but Kate doesn't understand. Rubbing her temple she frowned again and sighed, she was confusing herself now. Suddenly she noticed that Ms Zenda was looking at her waiting for her to show her powers. Not sure wether or not she should she reluctantly picked up her red hard cover book that she always had with her just in case. Touching the book she transformed the cover into what can only be described as "8-bit" particles, the colours were all different from one another and she closed her eyes as she began to imagine a form in her mind.

Imaging a robot, Kate created a minuscule red robot that laid in her outstretched hand tenderly. The object swung it's legs by itself as it sat down on her hand and seemed to look around the room as if alive. Allowing the robot to walk around she watched as it made its first couple of hesitant steps and then began to walk. Picking up the robot again she whispered.
"Thank you..."
And then closed her eyes again as the robot disappeared into the "8-bit" particles again and then she changed it back into a book cover. Opening her eyes she looked around with her stoic face and then moved away allowing the others to take the spot light quickly.

 

[Harvey Randall]

"I would hold onto one of the desks. This could get bumpy." she suggested, before suddenly grabbing onto the sharpener's crank.

Hector got ready to bolt. After seeing the look on Ms. Zenda's face, he remembered two things: Firstly, the last superhero team formed over thirty years ago. Secondly, that he sure as hell didn't want to be a part of another one: He had a career to think about. His eyes widened as the floor began to sink, and he glanced upwards at the ceiling with an open jaw. He didn't know if he could run up walls yet - and as the ceiling got further and further away, becoming a small square above a fatal drop, the athlete shuddered at the thought of breaking his spine on the classroom floor. Hector let out a heavy sigh and relaxed his shoulders. He moved to the slanting wall, resting a hand on the cool, rusted metalwork. His heart sank with the elevator and he turned to regard Ms. Zanda, his skin uncharacteristically pale.

As the elevator swept down into the rest of the complex, Hector found his mouth opening - but in a rare twist, nothing came out. The speechless athelete followed with his hands swaying limp at his sides, drafting deep breaths into his lean chest. After a few moments, he let out a sharp whistle and allowed a smile to break out across his face like wildfire.

Damn. The Guardian's old dig. That's a lot of history. Hector thought to himself.

"So...since when was the Guardians secret headquarters underneath the detention room? That's something I would have liked to know." Ian asked.

Hector slapped Ian on the back, careful not to wind the intellectual. "For once, Ian: Don't talk. Just admire. They saved hundreds of thousands of lives here: You're walking on hallowed ground, Specs."

Her tone became serious. "We have the utmost privacy right now, so I'm just going to go out and say it. I know that each of you are newgens."

Hector's smile vanished off his face like a gust of wind. He stared right at her. Yep, good hunch.

So, the nerd clapped his hands together, smiling at the chance to show off. "Alright, it's showtime then! You asked for it, Ms. Zenda!"

It took about a second, but Ian's body seemed to flash back and forth, as faint after-images appeared on either side of him. There was a low crackling noise, before Ian literally split apart at either side.

The result created two more copies of Ian, each completely identical to the original. They grinned simultaneously, and when they spoke, their combined voices had a harmonic effect.

"JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF ME, EH?"

"Oh jesus." Was all Hector could about manage. "Leave it to you to breed through mitosis."

Hector looked at all of the after-images, his stomach gnarled. Everything had taken a swift turn down a bizarre street and he felt as if he'd forgotten his stop. After a few moments, he took a step back, shaking his head - Guardian headquarters. Group of Newgens. Ms. Zenda was putting together a team. Hector threw his hands out as he spoke, motioning with a broad sweep of his palm to the computer displays around them. "So you think you can just steal us away to some basement? Get us performing for eachother? Ms. Zenda: I don't know what to tell you, but it's going to take more than a little pep-talk and some history to convince me to join your little band of superfriends. I'm trying to get a scholarship, make something of myself. I can't... I can't be dealing with... All of this." The Athlete pointed firmly at the bizzare images of Ian fanning out before him. It seemed like he was being ignored, however, as Kate took the stage.

Imaging a robot, Kate created a minuscule red robot that laid in her outstretched hand tenderly. The object swung it's legs by itself as it sat down on her hand and seemed to look around the room as if alive. Allowing the robot to walk around she watched as it made its first couple of hesitant steps and then began to walk. Picking up the robot again she whispered.

"Is anybody even listening to me? Doesn't anyone realise how crazy this is?" Hector threw his hands into the air.

 

[TheImagineer]

She could be a little clumsy. Sure, when she was determined, cat-like reflexes were the result about half the time, but otherwise the bets were off. So when Ms. Z recommended taking a seat, Nell settled onto a desk. It was a good thing too, since the floor started moving! This day... This was definitely one just made perfectly for a diary. Too bad she didn't have one, but certainly the thought of getting one was there. Something about a gaggle of newgens just screamed adventure too her brain. And every adventure needed a scribe around to write everything down!

The ride below the surface was smoother than anyone could have guessed, but she didn't dislike it. She felt like a spy going to HQ. If Jeff wasn't such a scamp, she might have let him out to enjoy the ride, but it was safer for him in her hands, definitely. "This is like something straight from an action movie!" She was obviously one of those people that liked surprises. This was a new, interesting aspect to her life that she was excited to explore. Stepping from the moving floor, she looked around noting that despite the age of everything, there was nothing that suggested that it was in a state of disrepair. Maybe Ms. Zenda had been keeping this place up covertly? That would make the most sense, it was under her classroom after all.

She desperately wanted to touch some of the weird doodads lying around. Alas, she still needed a freaking jar for Jeff! There just had to be one around somewhere. There were computers, tables, various types of equipment... Who's to say there wasn't a simple jar with holes in the top around somewhere? Bending and assessing each space carefully, she stumbled upon an old looking glass cup. "Well... this will do." Biting her lip a little, she pulled an Indiana Jones, quickly slipping her charge beneath the cup before the little creature had time to realize that it was being moved, or that it had an escape route.

"Whoo!" Nell clapped and turned feeling significantly more freed up in her abilities. "Alright then, I guess it's my go!" Really, Hector seemed a little more high strung than he had in their conversations before. Maybe he didn't like his floors to move? Hopefully he regained his jovial sense of humor. She liked his confident nature. Bounding up to the spotlight- well, the space in front of Ms. Z at least- she smiled and relaxed her arms at her side and closed her eyes.

At first it may have seemed that nothing was happening, but if one paid close attention they would notice her skin taking on a distinctively pink palor and eventually a fluorescence. Light popping sounds would indicate the shifting of bones and the sinew around it as she began to morph into a different state of being right before their very eyes. Wings emerged from her back, and feelers sprouted from her head. And within the span of a moment, but what may have felt like forever, there was a colorful, fluttering, uncomfortably large butterfly in the room. In retrospect she may have chosen something that didn't fly as Nell was causing quite the gusts of wind. At least she landed when she noticed the problem of loose papers and anything not heavy falling from their respective places around the room and landed daintily.

"What do ya think?" She spoke plain as day.

 

[RareSecret]

"Let me show you all something. The real reason I brought you all here." Ms. Zenda said as she walked over the pencil sharpener suspiciously. She cranked it once and the whole bottom of the classroom started to lower. Sia was trying to keep her balance by holding onto two chairs as it lowered. Soon the moving floored stopped. It seemed that below the room for detention is a superhero secret base. Who knew?

Following Ms. Zenda's lead, Sia stepped off the elevator. "We have the utmost privacy right now, so I'm just going to go out and say it. I know that each of you are newgens." Ms. Zenda started. Sia would've denied it but the Ian kid beat her to the punch. He looked like an idiot trying to deny it so Sia lucked out since it wasn't her.

"Why don't you all show me, and your fellow classmates, what you can do? Ian. Why don't you go first? Oh, and Sia. If you need some privacy when you show your...talent, I'll understand. I know the issue you're still having with it is a bit...personal." Ms. Zenda continued. Sia looked down at her feet trying to avoid any and all eye contact when she mentioned her. The eyes in the room were probably all darting towards her when Ms. Zenda said the word 'privacy'. That word probably came up because her clothes tear apart but she still could've handled it herself without Ms. Zenda mentioning it since it's her power and she has to deal with it.

The show and tell began. The first one up was Ian like Ms. Zenda asked. His power was being able to clone himself. There were two of him. "JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF ME, EH?" They both shouted at the same time. It was a harmony... but an annoying one at that.

Up next was a girl whose name Sia didn't catch earlier. Her power seemed to change objects into something else. She magically changed the red book into a robot. There was another girl too. Sia couldn't remember her name. She changed into a huge butterfly. Amazed, Sia silently clapped in the back.

It was Sia's turn. Luckily, there was a curtain attached to a rod that was portable like the one in the nurse's office. Sia walked over to the curtain and dragged it in front of the group was. She stood on the side of the curtain where no one was standing. Sia then grew to the point where her neck up was visible. Her clothes started to come apart unable to support her size. Sia then reverted back to her normal size trying to spare her the clothes she was wearing now. "Does anyone have a change of clothes?" Sia shouted from behind the curtain.