Seltron Super Academy

[Skyfyre]

I opened my eyes instantly, the alarm clock blaring by my ears. This was the day, the big one. Throwing the covers aside, I pressed the off button on my alarm and swung out of bed. It's hard to stay calm, but I know that getting overly excited or panicked won't help. Besides, it's not like I haven't prepared enough for this day. My bags and suitcase lay at the foot of my bed, almost fully packed, save for the last few supplies I'd need to use this morning before packing them up.

Moving swiftly to the bathroom, I began my routine, brushing my teeth and getting ready. It's kind of funny, I realized; I haven't needed to brush my teeth, comb my hair, etc., ever since I got this power seven years ago. Still, these routines served a purpose. Namely, making me appear more normal and helping calm down others around me, like my parents. Almost 60 years into the emergence of powers and people are still unused to them. It'd be tragic if it didn't let me hide things so well.

I finished brushing my teeth and eyed a photograph I had taken with a couple of my friends from middle school. Well, that might be a bit much. 'Associates' or even 'groupies' might be a better term for them. Alysha, Maxine, and... Gretel, right? The three of them weren't 'bad' in any sense, but I couldn't help but feel like I had attracted them because of my powers and status.

I looked at the framed photo for a moment longer before putting it down and packing the last of my clothes. I doubted I'd talk to them after I was gone, but I had tolerated them well enough when we hung out. And if I'm being honest with myself (not like I can be honest with anyone else), I kinda like the aura of awe they hold around me.

Walking in front of a full-length mirror, I put on my outfit and gave myself a once-over. I stood at 5'6 feet, tanned, and had curly black hair with stormy grey eyes. I was wearing a pink top, a white skirt with leggings, and a matching white jacket with pink trim. A little girly, but I feel a bit girly today. Still, something felt missing, not quite right.

A ripple passed through my body, changing me from head to toe. Only slight changes; I like most of how I look, but I could do with a more 'adult' appearance. I gave myself a few more inches, sprouting up in an instant. Parents won't like it, but I'll be leaving now, so I won't have to deal with any complaints for a while. I lightened my eyes a shade or two as well, making them closer to light blue. The hair was a bit more drastic, but changing that up was commonplace. I made it grow out a bit to my mid-back and turned it blonde. Holding it up like a ponytail for a moment. I liked it, but tweaked it a bit more, changing it with another ripple that made it light brown. Cute, capable, and ready to take on the world... hopefully not literally, but if so, nothing I haven't managed before. Nodding at my new appearance, I smiled and headed down the stairs for breakfast.

"Hey mom, what's for breakfast?" I said to Willow Einsburgh as I entered the kitchen. It was a cozy kitchen, filled with signs of family and warmth, with Willow by the stove, flipping some bacon expertly as she moved back and forth easily around the dishes she was making.

Willow tossed me a half glance as she focused on plating the food. "There you are, Camila. I was worried for a moment that you'd be late for your first day," she chided.

Willow was a fair bit shorter than me, her auburn hair cut short with a bit of gray coming in at the roots, undetectable to most with how she dyed her hair. I wondered sometimes if Willow was jealous of her daughter for having the ability to never look old, to hide any signs of age as I saw the wrinkles grow slightly more pronounced on her over the years. Though given the ways Willow would sometimes quickly glance at circles or other iconography around the house when she saw me after a drastic change or would warn me to 'remain on the path of righteousness,' it was at most half that and half fear.

"I'm fine, Mom," I groused. "I had pretty much everything packed two days ago, and it won't be for another hour till I have to leave."

"I suppose so. I just want to make sure you didn't run into any trouble or forget anything and then have to leave in a panic." She finished moving the bacon out from the pan and onto a nearby plate. "Here you go, honey, triple of all your favorites - which is everything." Willow joked as she lay down the plates piled high with hash browns, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and scones at the small table in the kitchen. I did my best not to drool at the sight and looked up at Willow, smiling widely.

"Thanks, Mom, this is great!" I ate more than most due to my powers, but this was still a spread far larger than I could usually get. Looking up at Willow, I grinned and realized that despite the misgivings Willow sometimes had for me, the fears and concerns, she really cared for her daughter. Willow and her husband, Jarred, both worked hard to support me, even if they didn't always understand me (even the parts I did try and share with them). I felt guilty about it for a moment before digging into the food laid out in front of me. It was too late to do anything about that now, so it was time to focus on enjoying the food.

I'm glad to have this experience. Despite any friction we've had, she's shown me a good deal of love and guidance. Even if unnecessary for me, it helps give me a better idea of how to fit in as a regular student, which will be incredibly important.

One delightful breakfast later, I stretched back in my chair, feeling contented but still excited for the day to come. Willow and I hovered around each other for about ten minutes, getting our farewells ready, but it wasn't really the time for it yet, about an hour until the bus came by. I went back upstairs to 'finish packing my things' (1 minute) and played on my phone (all the other minutes). It was the latest SuperTech™ Cape type. Usually, I cared little for the 'latest and greatest' tech advancement, quite fine with my brick cellphone before, but it had been a gift for the latest birthday, which had only been a couple of days after my acceptance letter had come in.

At least it was very durable even while slim and advanced, something SuperTech™ prided themselves on - 'You could fight a demon or drop it soaring through the skies; SuperTech won't break!' as the slogan went. Comes with a sky-high price tag too, though. They actually seemed to deliver on their claims at least, even to my discerning eye. I couldn't find any spots of weakness, and even the touchscreen could fall on a pointy object from a couple of stories up (seen from videos; I'd never tried such a thing myself), and it never caused anything more than the lightest of scratches. I hoped they'd allow me to keep it with me at the academy.

Thinking about my acceptance letter, I picked it up from where it sat on my bedside table. 'You've been accepted to join Seltron Academy!' It read at the top of the page. The letter went on to explain how it was a school for Empowered individuals, to develop their powers, obtain a great education, learn deep moral values, blah blah blah.... It was a superhero school, basically. Seltron 'Super' Academy as it was already being called around the internet.

I tucked the letter into my pocket. It wasn't necessary or anything; I knew the school would already know who I am, obviously, but it still. This had been my dream, one of my biggest ones. Being a superhero was something I had hoped for since... I can barely even recall how long it's been. Since I was a kid at least.

Fiddling with my phone had me figure out a few features I hadn't paid attention to before, most of which were neat but not too interesting, like a 'calorie-burning tracker,' which was worthless thanks to my powers. I got caught up on the news around the world as well. My sites tended to be about Superhero and demon news, but I had a few focused on more general news.

Today seemed like a pretty calm day in the world, all things considered. A new virus was spreading about in Pantarion, which had some health specialists worried, but nothing too major yet, with few deaths for how virulent it was. Some minor skirmishes flaring up in the East, but details murky as of yet. I wonder how Mirashi's handling things over there. Last I heard, she was up to her old tricks thereabouts.

And of course, in the Sallian Empire. Why do we still use that name? It became a democracy decades ago. If I'm thinking something's behind the times, it has to be out of date. Everyone here was talking about Seltron Academy. Same for most of my superhero feeds; even the retirement of Hammer from the Miracle Squad barely made a blip with the news that had been surrounding the school in the past weeks.

I knew it was a big deal, but it was still surprising to see so much talk and speculation here. Almost no one knew where it was, for the safety of the students... which extended even to me, as the letter hadn't come with any directions, just the fact that there would be transportation to pick me up today. Even came with a non-disclosure agreement to ensure I wouldn't tell anyone about it afterwards. Heh, well, I can keep a secret; I've been doing so for almost all my life. If they ever find out the truth about me... well, I like living, so best to keep my true abilities under wraps.

I grabbed my bags and headed downstairs when I heard the front door open. Moving around the kitchen and through the living room, I saw Jarred Einsburgh, standing in his regular business suit. Jarred was almost as tall as I was, with salt and pepper hair and green eyes.

"Dad, I didn't think you'd be able to make it," I said. Indeed, we had all thought he'd be busy with work, so I said my goodbyes to him yesterday.

"Managed to get my coffee and lunch break moved around a bit to see off my baby girl," he said, opening his arms to hug me. I embraced him and then saw Willow standing behind him and hugged her too.

"Thank you guys so much. I love you, and I'm going to make you proud." I was certain of it; I'd be the best hero the world ever saw, bigger than even the Miracle Squad. And wouldn't that just grind that man's gears? To see me succeed where he failed.

I mentally shook my mind free of those thoughts, not wanting the hate of the past to taint this moment here. "We know you will. Now let's see if I can give you a hand with those bags." Jarred walked over and tried to heft my largest suitcase up, wheezing from the effort. "What did you fill these with, rocks?" He asked, bewildered at the weight.

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, not having wanted to cause Jarred to throw out his back further (I could almost see the vertebrae in his spine shifting as he tried to manage it), but knowing that his fatherly pride wouldn't let me take it off his hands, even though I had packed them with only the thoughts of carrying them myself. I'm pretty happy with that motion, though. For some reason it's hard for me to portray 'modest and eager' correctly.

"Just a bunch of books and clothes, really. Mostly books, a lot of good biology and chemistry ones in there." Interesting fields on their own, but absolutely vital for my powers.

"Uff. I don't remember," he panted for a bit as he dragged the suitcase outside. "You having this many books," he finished, placing my suitcase down on the boulevard and looking tired but proud of himself. I don't really get that, as I could have carried them all by myself without breaking a sweat, but whatever.

Willow came up to her husband's side and gazed lovingly at their daughter. "Camila, we know you'll do great, and we'll always love you, but just... if anything, anything ever seems wrong to you about this place, you can come back to us right away. And let us know if you need any-" I cut her off by hugging her and Jarred.

"I know you worry, and I appreciate it, but really, I'll be fine. I've been open about my powers for years, and nothing bad happened to me then. This is supposed to be the safest, best school in basically the world." I pulled away from them as I heard the bus approaching. Finally. I turned to look at it.

It was... rather underwhelming, just looking like an ordinary orange school bus at first glance. Looking deeper however, I could tell it was pretty advanced. The wheel axis had additional stabilizers, the tires were thick, and though the frame looked normal to the untrained eye, I could tell it was far heavier duty than and tougher than most armored vehicles had. Even the windows were bulletproof, and all while looking completely normal. Anonymity while still keeping up protection, just for the bus designed to pick up the students to the school, the government really wasn't taking any risks here.

The driver stopped by their house and came out from the bus to take my bags. His clothes were a bit loose, but I suspected he had a fair bit of muscle there given how easily he moved the heavy bags to the storage area. Also, there was an odd bulge or two - odd as in a firearm or other concealed weapons, not anything else - so probably not an average bus driver (though it didn't seem like much would be 'average' with this school).

"Alright, it looks like it's time. I love you, I said again as I stepped onto the bus steps, waving goodbye to Jarred and Willow. They waved back, Willow somewhat tearfully, and I turned away, heading towards my destiny.

Spoiler: A/N:

Hello, and welcome to my new story. This story will be a bit darker than my Pokemon fic with plenty of mystery and action to uncover. If you like it, please consider becoming a member on Patreon to get early access to the next ten upcoming chapters, or Kofi (just to be kind). I'm going to try to avoid giving things away with this story to preserve some of the mystery, but everything should make sense in time. I hope you enjoy this story, thank you.

 

[Skyfyre]

The bus was already about half full, so I made my way to the back of it and found an empty seat across from a girl with wings. I would have sat beside her, but those feathery appendages actually took up a fair bit of room around her and might make it uncomfortable to squeeze in. Being polite, I introduced myself, extending my hand across the aisle as the bus started moving again. "Camila Einsburgh."

"Oh, hello! I'm Alexandra. Alexandra Herron, but you can just call me Alex." She took the offered hand eagerly at first but then seemed to hesitate right before shaking it, her grip and motions kind of weak.

"Then please, call me Cam."

"Sure thing!" Alexandra said with a big grin, turning around for a moment to look around at her surroundings. "Wow, I can still hardly believe that we're going to Seltron."

"It was a bit of a surprise, the announcement of the 'first' school for superheroes." At Alexandra's curious look, I explained. "Oh, sure, Seltron is the first official school for Empowereds, but there have been other programs to gather people with powers in the past."

"Really? Wow, I had never heard about those."

"Ehh, they didn't last that long and weren't as well publicized as Seltron has been." The understatement of this half century - Kintash's Empowered agency was still recovering from the disaster they had almost a decade ago with their program, and they had been one of the more stable eastern powers before then.

Outside, I noticed the bus taking some odd turns, seeming to enter a construction site. I raised an eyebrow at Alex, who just looked around excitedly, practically bouncing up and down in her seat, causing it to creak from the force. Very odd; the seats are just as reinforced as the rest of the bus. It must be related to the wings in some way as her power - no way Seltron would accept that obvious of a tell otherwise.

"Something interesting?" I queried.

"Just watch, it's so cool," she said.

I focused my attention back on where the bus was going and saw the road behind us being closed off by some 'construction workers' as we went further in. Once out of sight from anyone else on the nearby roads, the bus stopped. It stayed still for a moment before it started moving again- no, not the bus, but the ground. The road beneath us started sinking down, taking us underground several meters, sheaths of metal covering up the opening above them, leaving the bus in a dimly lit metal chamber under the ground, a few red lights on the walls.

A quick shift had my eyes and ears enhanced, pushing them to become more sensitive as I noticed the bus driver doing something, saying something. He whispered, "-elta, sockfish, major, 36, sentry," to something on his console, probably a microphone of some sort. There was a slight shift in the wall in front of the bus, something popping out and sending a blue light through the front window to scan the driver, likely his face or maybe a retinal scanner.

With those tests passed, the wall in front of us opened up, revealing another chamber, this one slightly brighter and rounder, with curved walls and ceiling making the place almost a cylinder. Hissing quietly at the new sound and light, I shapeshifted my eyes and ears back to normal. That was the major reason why I didn't just run around with super senses all the time- while I could enhance them (and did usually, at least a little bit), that mostly just made them more sensitive, which meant extra stimuli could be painful and suddenly disorienting. Still, usually not that bad, I must have made them a fair degree too sensitive.

Blinking my eyes clear of the stinging pain, I could see the place clearer. It was made completely of metal, like the former chamber, but even extending to the floor the bus drove onto. It was a platform of some type, with rings of white light extending around the walls and ceiling with a few prongs and other unknown instruments poking out from around the wall in between the rings. There were a few measurement readers at the sides, and in front of them was a... it was hard to describe, but it seemed like a large lump, maybe some kind of engine attached to a circular device pointed at the bus, taking up most of the space in front of them.

The walls behind them closed, and looking from this side, I saw a reddish-orange barrier they made up, blocking the way back. My Structural Analysis power could tell me a bit about how fortified the walls behind the machinery were, but I couldn't get any further details.

Suddenly, the lights on the sides dimmed, sparks arced between instruments sticking out on the walls beside them, and a blinding light built up in front of the bus before washing over them. A slight, disorienting feeling came over me, and I thought I saw... something, a flicker, but I couldn't make out what it contained. Then the light faded and the doors behind them opened, the bus backing out onto the lift.

"What was that?"

"Just wait, you'll notice it in a moment when we get outside," Alex said as the lift started taking them up, the overhead panels sliding away.

They were in a construction site again, but I immediately spotted the difference. Minute ones, this was still a closed-off construction site, but the buildings were different. The clouds had changed quickly, and the skyline was different. A hologram or illusion- the truth dawned on me quickly. "A teleporter," I breathed out, shocked.

"Yup! They got those teleportation rooms to send the bus around to pick all us students up. Isn't it great? A little wibbly-wobbly feeling at first - and honestly every time after too - but so cool!" She squealed in glee at the thought. "And the machines looked so..." Alexandra gushed about the teleporting rooms, but my mind could only focus on the implications behind this.

It makes more sense now why they had a bus pick us up instead of a cab to an airport so we could take blimp flights to a central location, but still. I hadn't thought that the Empire had technology this advanced. Power detectors are still too bulky to be portable after all. Could it be a ruse? Fake gadgets and tech that did nothing other than look pretty and a teleporting Super moved us all here? No, that's paranoid (which isn't wrong by itself) and foolish (which is wrong). The government has gone to great lengths to hide and protect those chambers. The disguises outside and the NDAs we all had to sign (that I, for one, actually read!) mean that we can't tell anyone about even the method used to bring us here, so they really don't want anyone to know about these.

A non-disclosure agreement could be fairly punishing, but these ones had been enforced by a Super under their control. Not even sure if she had a 'hero' name, but her power made written agreements literally binding; we couldn't tell anyone about this no matter what... Not that I had actually signed it with my true name, but I doubted these kids were as informed or properly cautious as I was.

I glared mildly at the kids up front talking about how they 'couldn't wait to tell their friends about how cool the school was.' If it was all just a show for school kids, they'd be unlikely to go to such lengths. Also, teleporting powers are rare. The only one I have is pretty situational even before it got weakened. Plenty of those powers, even at their full potential, wouldn't be able to do this, or at least not as subtly.

I cast my mind to the currently most popular teleporting hero, Starshift. A somewhat overblown name, but he came with a decently strong power, even if he'll never make the Miracle Squad or quite match up with any of the other top ten heroes. He could create 'gates,' circular disks in space that connected two points together. Strong enough for such a teleport, but everyone on the bus would have noticed it.

My first thought still isn't impossible, mind. With multiple heroes working together, they could do it, but I'm starting to think it's likely that the government really just made those chambers... and placed them all over the country... This is for way more than just moving us school kids around. This is huge. It gives the Empire great control and reach, the kind that, though they still wave the patriotic flag about, hasn't really been seen since its heyday two centuries ago. Especially if they have access to other countries. I shivered at the thought, immediately calculating rival nations and how likely this would be to ratchet up tensions between them...

"Cam?"

"Ah, sorry, Alex, I just got a little lost in my own thoughts," I said with a bit of a chuckle, affecting a suitably embarrassed grin and scratching the back of my head. "Let's see if we can figure out where we are now."

It was the River Province, though which of its two major cities I couldn't tell. The bus didn't stay there long, picking up a new student and carrying on. We chatted a bit as the bus moved around, picking up new students before it would go back to the site and teleport them to a new city, the bus filling up as the bus toured all around the country.

The bus had over forty students in it when the driver declared that we were heading to the school, and the bus descended into excited chattering from the students. Entering the teleportation chamber, there was the same flash and weird feeling. When the bus drove out, this time it came out not to a construction site but to a parking lot. Or something like it, while there were a few cars, there were ATVs, some bikes, and other vehicles more than there were cars here, as well as a sign for a blimp landing platform on the roof.

"Alright kids, this is your stop," the driver gruffly said (clearly not picked for his people skills). All of us got off, and standing in front of us was an older man with a short military cut, faded yellow hair. He had stern green eyes and bulging biceps crossed in front of him as he looked down at the class with his imposing 6'6 height.

Everyone else looked nervously at him while I resisted the urge to shake my head, not surprised by his appearance but still annoyed. I take it back; if this is what they were working with, maybe the driver was picked out for his personality.

"Welcome to Seltron Academy. I am Derrick Beachwood, one of your teachers, but you will call me Mr. Beachwood or Sir, am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," I said clearly, trying my best to keep the boredom and contempt out of my voice. Derrick had been a real pain the last time we met, though he seems to be a bit more laid back than then. Less angry too, but that's probably just speculation on my part; the circumstances are quite different here.

Beachwood's eyes flickered over to me as the first student to speak up, the others chiming in quickly after me as they realized the older man wanted them to respond in the affirmative. He only seemed to look at me with faint approval, not a hint of recognition on his face. First test passed. He looked at our group, seeming to think something over for a moment before muttering (or just speaking in a low tone, as it really wasn't that hard for us to hear him), "We'll work on it."

He spoke up louder to us students and said, "Follow me; I'll show you around the campus." Walking out of the covered parking lot, the students followed in a vague line behind him. I was near the front and the first to step outside and see Seltron in all its glory.

Lush fields of grass extended on either side of a well-tended, fresh dirt road leading out from the parking lot and to the school itself, with cliffs and beaches past them on either side. There were trees scattered about, a few clusters farther from small groves to mini forests. The sky overhead was a bright blue with a few clouds and... a shimmer?

Turning around as I stepped further out, I saw that the shimmering appeared in all directions of the horizon, up or around out to the ocean all around us. We were on an island, with some kind of field generated around the outside to protect it. Or trap us in, the wary part of my mind, that part that had let me survive this long, warned.

A few buildings, small metal hut-like things, dotted the sides of the path as we walked to the center. There lay the jewel of this mystery island: Seltron Academy, shining in all its glory, the sun's light reflecting off of the domed top of the large building.

I couldn't make out its full size from here at the bottom of the hill, but judging from the peak of the dome, it must have spread out over several kilometers. All in shining glass and steel, glittering brightly in the sun. At the front of it was the Seltron Academy 'SA' logo in red and blue, standing out brightly even this far away from the school.

Alex, basically summing up all our thoughts, let out a "Whoa."

Spoiler: A/N:

The second chapter and our first look at the school! If you want to find out more about this and my other stories, check out my Discord. And if you want to read ahead, I have a Patreon. Enjoy, and I'll see you all in two weeks!