I hadn't expected to wake up to a llama neighing - did llamas neigh? Whinny? I didn't care enough to know - at all.

My head thudded, and I groaned, slumping back in bed. Delirious in sleep, I didn't care about the llama in our room.

Until it bit me.

"Ow!" I screeched, my legs shooting back and away from the menace. It stared up at me, unimpressed and bored. "Whatever...llama." I muttered. It made a llama noise and nudged me out of bed. When I tried to back away, another one was behind me.

"Uh - one sec guys - FROST!" I screamed. Where was she when needed?

Nowhere.

Of course.

The llamas grunted,and made me move forwards. I did reluctantly. "What is your problem?" I hissed. The llamas did not respond. Frost got up and grunted. She wiped her eyes a few times. "What?" She snapped tiredly. "Um, there's llamas here kidnapping me." She yawned. "Yeah, whatever." Frostbite turned to her side.

These were the people I considered my friends.

"Frostbite!"

She grumbled and got up.
"Oh." She looked with widened eyes, running her hands through her hair. "Is this some kinda prank?" Then her mouth tightened. "Dormant!" I looked at her blankly. "Are you okay...?" She shushed me instead of answering.

The llamas disappeared. "The hell?!" I was genuinely confused. Frost brushed it off. "Later." I frowned, bringing my gaping mouth together. "There won't be one." She blinked. "Oh yeah..." She looked over at me and sighed. "Hallucinations...I don't know. I always thought that was Delirium's thing..." I blinked. "You're...dual?" She shrugged. "I had my energy-contraction powers from the moment I was born. These...they started this year." I nodded, furrowing my eyebrows. "That's weird." Frost leaned forwards, glaring. "Don't you dare tell anyone, Shift, I will hurt you badly." I nodded, pulling my hand up and feigning as though I were zipping it shut, locking it and throwing away the key. Frost smiled. "Good."

And then she ran into the bathroom to get ready because - by her standards alone - she was now late for the day.

By the time Frost was finished getting ready, I had slipped on a red tank, the leather black vest with these really cool buttons and zippers and just all out glory, some jeans, and red sneakers. I grabbed a red bracelet. Why not go all out? I'd made my hair straightened and brown today. I liked it.

"I'm leaving, Frost!"

She was too busy singing.

"If I were your boyfriend,
Never let you go!"

I rolled my eyes. This girl and her outdated music, man. I slammed the door shut. I slid down the banister of the stairs of the first floor, reaching the lobby in a manner of seconds. I ignored the headache.

And there stood Sin.

I realized his hair was curly and had a hint of brownish blonde. Strange how I had gotten his entire appearance wrong. He was pale. His hair was black or brown, and was in dreadlocks, which he somehow made work. But his eyes were the same. Piercing gray eyes.

"Hey...you."

"Shift." I helped him.

"Shift! Yeah."

"Okay then, Sin." I waved and began to march ahead. "Hey, wait!" I glanced back. "Do you have Advil?" I shrugged. "Upstairs, medicine cabinet, bro." I internally winced at the word bro. Yikes. Sin thankfully didn't seem to notice or at least didn't comment and rushed upstairs. I continued my way. Everything from the night before was fuzzy.

I hadn't fallen for the punch, had I?

No.

No. I had my Coke.

Oh my God I fell for the punch.

I groaned, and then focused on my surroundings.

I was standing in the main Lobby of the Academy Institute of Advanced Arts. The floor was polished marble, electric blue. The furniture - an array of waiting chairs, sofas, desks, and tables - was black and the school logo finished it off, gold.

A secretary typed away abnormally fast. A kid was sitting nervously in a chair. And I was standing there like an oblivious squirrel.

Great.

Balling my hands into fists, I walked quickly to the map next to the secretary's desk. The new Squad floors had been added. The older squads had names for themselves. The fourth years were numbered squads, and like an Alias, they earned their names. Somehow.

I searched the Squad numbers. There it was. Squad 1's rooms were in the right corner of the floor.

I spun on my heel towards the elevator.

My mind was dazed and in its own little world for the most part, wondering if Mason and Jans had been seen, if the Alias-less Assigning thing really was a joke, why Jans had gone from nice-guy-next-door to evil-maniac-who-drowns-kittens-and-makes-puppies-cry, where Jet had been, how the others had fares free the party, and wham!

"What the fu-"

The boy in front of me wagged a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. Heroes don't swear." I rubbed my nose, the point of impact with the wall, and turned around, to see a boy in a black tee and a matching beanie carrying a teetering pile of cardboard boxes filled with things. He turned around, and I saw a fuzzy brown-haired afro peeking out from the beanie. Brown eyes and dark skin. He glanced over the pile of boxes in his arms. "Ah. You're Shift!' He said cheerfully.

I nodded. "Indeed." I uttered mysteriously. "Grab your stuff and pick a room, Shift! Before they're all gone." He began moving towards a room himself. I nodded, looking for the mountain of boxes, and finding it in a small corner of the room.

I scanned the little paper labels and found the boxes that had 'Shift' on their labels. I faintly remembered the conversation I had with Sin at the party, and as I carried a few boxes at a time, I mulled it over. He'd said he'd been Assigned Squad 1 as well.

But he wasn't here. He'd come upstairs before me. Perhaps the Advil was taking longer than normal to find.

I was the Deviser. Hunter was the Leader. Sin, the Fighter. So who was the Healer? And the Camarade? I was curious, considering I probably didn't know them. But Frost would.

I made a mental note to ask her about them once I knew who they were.

I looked at the three rooms that were still empty. One at the corner, wasn't very big, but the gorgeous balcony made up for it. The view was amazing. The room next to it was large, with big windows and lots of natural lighting. And the last room was a square room, not big nor small, but it was blessed with its own bathroom. The others were conjoined with the room next door.

I plopped the boxes in my arms on the spare mattress. It was a good room. I wouldn't be spending much time here anyways, - once grouped in Squads, students are sent out on missions far away and lengthy - save for when the time came for the semester's Assessments.

I got up, and went to get more boxes.

There were several other rooms, each different. A Simulation Room, to train and practice, alone or together. The MedRoom. The place where the Healer's less portable treatments were. The Armoury (which was currently empty since we didn't exactly have any weapons yet).

I smiled as I set more boxes down and let a giddy feeling seep in.

*****

I slumped down in my seat. I'd been waiting for someone to show up, other than Hunter, but no one had arrived. Not even Sin.

I idly wondered of he was with a girl. It was quite possible. But wouldn't he want a good pick of a room?

I shrugged it off. As I slowly slid forwards and my cheek pressed against the cool metal surface of the granite kitchen island, the main door opened. I looked up, through my eyelashes because I had resolutely no energy left to get up. A girl with a baggy sweater and skinny jeans stood at the door, red Converse sneakers slapping against the tiled floor as she walked over to me.

"Are you okay?"
Her voice was soft, but clear. I looked up, my chin nudged on the table. She had straight hair, cut into a sharp bob. It was layered and straightened and made her look pretty cool. "I'm fine." I said, biting my lip and stifling a yawn.

"Are you sure? My scanner tells me that your health is in a critical area." I narrowed my eyes. "Who are you?" I asked, making sure my tone wouldn't come across as rude. She smiled wryly. "My Alias is Wire." I nodded. "Are you...?" I trailed off awkwardly. "Cyborg? Yeah." She said, as though she was asked such a thing a lot.

She probably was.

I nodded, raising a hand out. "Shift. I'm the Deviser. Are you the Healer?" Wire nodded. "That's me." I pointed in the direction of the rooms. "The Academy staff moved most of our personal possessions in boxes over there. You should the ones with your name and pick between the two rooms left." She nodded. "Oh, but things like your bed, and dorm furniture?" Wire asked.

I shrugged. "There's spare furniture already there. I don't think we get that stuff back." Wire looked disappointed. "Oh." I grinned "Hey, it's cool though. We'll barely even be here." She mustered up a resigned smile and nodded. "Okay." I smiled back, and then she went off to go move her stuff in.

"So, that's our Healer?"

I jumped, and lightly slapped Hunter's arm. "Are you trying to kill me?" I demanded, my tone jittery. "Relax, person." Hunter leaned against the kitchen island. "Guess what?" He whispered. I waved a hand. "What?" Hunter grinned. "We have a Mission already." My hand fell against the table. "What?!"
"Sh!" Hunter hissed. "We have a Mission, and it's pretty cool. Wait till everyone shows up. Then we go."

I nodded. It was weird. Nobody got Missions this quick. I pulled out my cell, and dialled Jet's number. He was a Leader now, and I wanted to check on the numbskull. "Shift!" He picked up after the first bell. "A bit busy at the moment." I frowned. "Why?" I asked. "Oh, are you with Deli?" I teased. He made a 'pft' sound. "No! But we've got a Mission. Highly classified. I'm leaving with the Squad right now. Bye."

I heard the click of the call ending, and stared. Early Missions. Something was up.

I watched as Sin and a masked girl entered the room. "Finally! Now we can get started!" Hunter clapped his hands. Sin furrowed his eyebrows. "Um...okay."

After a half hour of Hunter dragging us all to a couch and sitting us down, making is introduce ourselves, I found out a bit more about everyone.

The masked girl was actually called Mask. Her name was Juliet Strauss. She seemed quiet, a strange attribute for a Camarade. She explained that the school policy made her keep the mask on, as...her current appearance might repulse people. We didn't push it.

Sin explained he was their Fighter. His actual name was James Tallius. He said that his powers were of the mental kind, but didn't specify. Even though Hunter pried a bit, his attempts were unsuccessful.

Wire introduced herself as Rhea Brooks. She was our Healer, and was rather friendly. I'd assumed she was quiet, but my assumptions were wrong. She was happy, loud and stubborn, as said so herself.

Hunter said that he was a transfer, from an older school. He don't say what school. His name was Liam Fallwood. He said that he'd been at AIAA for three years.

And then it was my turn.

"Um, I'm Shift. I can...transform, into things I've seen before or tweak my appearance. I'm the Deviser. My...my name is Leah." Sin smiled. Hunter nodded. "Leah...?" I blinked. "Right. Leah Locksley." I didn't say anymore.

Hunter leaned back. "Alright guys, we have a Mission." He said, his voice full of anticipation. We all leaned forwards too. "Our Mission is simple. We need to track down a couple of Villains. Nobody too powerful. These guys are nothing more than a bunch of mutant wannabes. They're calling themselves the Three Threat Trio." I couldn't help but laugh. "Were they trying to find the worst possible, lamest name for themselves?"

Hunter shrugged. "It's a possibility. But Shift, I'll give you the profiled info that we received from the Staff. You'll think of an attack strategy. Well meet back in a few hours and discuss. Mask, make sure everyone is good to go, check over their progress, report to me, and if given no further instructions, train with Sin. Sin, you'll be in the Simulation room. Mask will join you after a bite but before she'll tap in the data about these guys, and you'll analyze their battling. Wire, make sure everyone is in A condition to fight. No weaknesses."

I stared. I couldn't understand the sudden change, the sound of authority. One second, he was like a mom, just prying and being cheerful and watching over us. And the next, he was a Leader. I understood why it was him chosen to be our leader.

I noticed everyone nodding and did the same, getting up. Hunter threw a USB at me, which I caught. "Mask, come with me. You can get the data for the simulation faster that way." The girl nodded, getting up.

I headed towards the computer, gently pushing the USB into its port, and watching as it began to transfer data to the computer.

"So is that your original appearance, or an illusion?" Mask asked. I glanced over, my hands holding onto the edge of the seat. "This is my original appearance. I try not to transform much." I explained, watching as the blue bar showing the transfer's progress moved ahead an inch. She nodded. "What're your powers?" I asked. "Hm? Oh, I have this empathy thing. It lets me feel what the people around me feel. I can use their fears and attack enemies, or help friends." I whistled. "That's a hell of a power." She nodded, shifting her gaze to the computer screen. "I guess."

"Where're you from?" I asked, trying not to be awkward. "If I told you that, all the mystery would disappear." She sounded playful. I smiled. "Hey, Im from the Philippines. Well, technically my parents were. I was actually raised in the U.K., until I moved here. For the Academy's training." She nodded. "Cool. You do look Filipino." I nodded, about to reply when the computer beeped, signalling the transfer was finished.

I opened up the files and scrolled through. There was a kit of data. Scanned newspaper articles about their attacks, little paragraphs about their origin, and I skimmed over them. I noticed an audio file and clicked on it to open it.

"Look, we can't just run, can we, dude?" The voice was male, and I figured that it was one of the Three Threat Trio members.

"I think this is a recorded conversation..." I mumbled to Mask. She agreed.

"Of course not, stupid. The billions are out there, waiting for us to take them."

"Bro, we might get caught though."

"It doesn't matter! We need to get to the money. Or would you prefer facing Madame's wrath?"

I frowned. Madame. I made a mental note. These guys had a patron, someone who was ordering them.

The audio file ended.

I looked through the other data files, and in an hour, I'd come up with an analysis.

These guys weren't too difficult to beat. Their attacks were all predictable, in every story or tale. They threw simple punches and kicks, no move more complicated. We could beat them easily. "Alright. Here." I handed Mask the USB. She nodded, turned on her heel and began to walk briskly towards the Simulation Room.

I sat, staring at the screen. What strategy...what form of attack?

The Three Threat Trio, was mainly brawn-powered. Tw occasional gun was with them, but that was it. A deploy, trap, and deliver plan would work well.

I began scribbling furiously on the empty pad of paper in front of me, writing down my thoughts.

After an hour of rewrites, reassigning roles, and fixing it, my plan stared up at me proudly, on the centre table in front of my Squad. "Uh.Uh what is this? Is your plan to scribble on them?" Sin asked after trying to decipher the unorderly thoughts.

"We have one person ready with a net. Two are sent to distract them with fighting while the other two can hack into their database, see who this Madame is. I'm suspicious it's their patron. Whoever she is, she needs to be brought down."
I explained.

Hunter nodded, all business. "I like it. Sin and Wire can fight, with Sin attacking and Wire poisoning, while healing any injuries Sin gets." Wire nodded. "I've got a few poisons and this stuff is packed with injury healing tech." She patted her arm. Hunter nodded. "Shift, Mask, you'll be infiltrating. I'll wait for your signal before trapping the three. Everyone on board?" We nodded.

Sin piped up. "Oh, also, they're pretty good with guns. If we're attacking at their HQ, then they'll be equipped."

Wire nodded. "It'll need to be fast, in an out, and back with three buffoons who obviously can't name themselves."

I smiled. "I think we've got a long and good future, people."

Sin smirked. "Just like my-"

"Okay! Everyone get prepped!" Wire interrupted, saving our innocent ears.

We all agreed, getting up and heading to the Armoury. I'd assumed it was empty since we'd just become a Squad, but considering we'd been given a Mission, it was probably full.

I didn't know what this was, but it felt good, to be doing something like this. Getting equipped to fight crime.

What was it called?

This feeling.

I.

Felt.

Heroic.

And we hadn't even started fighting back then.

----

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