Korrynn~

Oh no. This has not gone according to plan. I land ASAP and turn back into a human. The Condor is busy trying to break through a done of stone. Cracks are beginning to appear, and three other kids are rushing towards the ferocious Exofauna. I join them, running with all of my spee towards the beast. I get to it before the others. It shrieks and whips it's head around as I cling to it's bald forehead. I see Daniel notice my efforts and gasp. Without another moment passing he charges, yelling, at the beast.

"Daniel! Your half form!" He doesn't hesitate. As he jumps onto the Cobdor's back, claws arch from his fingers and horns sprout on his head. His skin turns to black scales, but nobody can see that, his face and limbs covered by the bird's feathers. The Condor's shriek becomes a screech as Horatio blinds it again, Wei hacks at the Cobdor's legs, and Daniel digs at the bird with his claws. I slide down to Daniel. Locking eye with him, my own features change into the half beast form I used in the forest. He smiles, baring sharp, white teeth, and together we tear at the bird. In a sudden fit of rage the Condor shakes itself violently, and I grab at any place to hold onto. By chance, My claws go slicing across the bird's throat. With an evil scream, it collapses. I look at my hand. No blood. No feathers. My claws are clean. I look back at the giant bird at my feet. Before our very eyes, it crumbles away into dust. Not dirt, dust. Visage had nothing to do with this.

Something very wrong is going on here.

~~ 

Sorry for the inactivity! I had no idea what I wanted to happen. Hopefully this direction is ok

Wei~ 

Everything goes according to plan during the initiation. Despite the recent troubles I've been having with Jingchen's obedience, he is in perfect sync with me throughout the test. Almost... too perfect. I hope he isn't planning something.

Vestige has an impressive power, but I've still seen worse. I take down the monsters with ease, making sure to show off a bit for the teachers. At this point, the only true threats are the other students, the ones who can put up a fight, but also the ones who use cheap tricks and slink along the edges of the course, hoping to claim the victory that should be mine.

Once the last beast is out of my way, that victory is in sight. That is, until a bunch of girls who all look like the same girl trample me. In the split second in which they pass me, I catch one of them smile at me like a lunatic.

Clones. 

Stop her!

On it.

My whip extends to its full length, lashing out like a roadblocking snake and reeling all of the clones in like an ancient lasso. Most of them dissipate upon impact, leaving the original wrapped up in the chain. I fling her to the side, and cross the finish line.

That was close. Too close. 

I reflect on my close win, wondering if I've gotten rusty. Of course, I'm always looking for ways to improve, but that still wasn't the landslide I was hoping for.

As if a sign, there is a deafening screech from above. Another chance to prove myself.

Is it a new test? No, this looks real. No time to debate over it. But how did they get past the force field? 

The students have scattered, and the teachers can't help us. Korrynn is the first to act, transforming into a mimicry of the Condor. Rather startling, as this is the first time I've seen her power, but I can't let it distract me.

Horatio blinds the bird with the same tactic he tried to use on us during the test. One-trick-pony, that boy, but I will admit he's good for long range. Until the Condor gets out of the clouds, I can't do much.

Thankfully, it doesn't stay there long. The twin girls become the bird's new target as it swoops down, its talons outstretched, to attack. Dariya swiftly creates a protective barrier, just barely saving them from being eaten alive. The bird is momentarily distracted by the strange material, and I take the oppurtunity to charge it. Several other students have the same idea, and soon a mob is surrounding the bird, attacking in any place they can.

Korrynn delivers the finishing blow, but the madness continues as the Condor dissolves into dust.

Korrynn steps back with a look of bewilderment. "So, it wasn't real?" 

My mind furiously tries to come up with an answer to this dilemma. Finally, I remember something from my old Superpower Analysis class.

"No, it was real. It was living. Just not in the same way you and I are."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Korrynn asks apprehensively.

I kneel down, scooping up a handful of what used to be the Condor. I grind some of it between my fingers, noting the texture.

"This is carbon residue." I conclude. "Wherever this bird came from, it was probably from someone with the ability to create artificial life. A superpower now, but a few centuries ago they would've called it alchemy." 

"That still doesn't explain how that person was able to bypass the school's force field," Dariya points out.

"They stowed away. Probably on one of the choppers. And if I'm not mistaken, they're still here. They might even be watching us right now."

The students fall silent, now sensing a pair of eyes on their necks, a pair of malevolent eyes, hidden by the cover of the woods. I sense it too.

"This isn't over. Be on your guard." 

I quickly take note of what Wei is saying as I pull the strings on my hoodie to hide my face. My horns are poking through the top of my hood, having torn through the fabric. My tail swishes behind me as I watch the forest. Whatever is in the forest growls and I growl menacingly back while I lean back on my haunches, ready to spring. Just like a beast. Instincts. I have animalistic instincts. That is what causes me to challenge the creature lurking in the woods.

Horatio looks at me as if he's contemplating whether to demand who I am or just punch me in the face. He decides to do the former and asks "Hey,! Monster boy, what's your name?"

"Call me Drake." I lie, not wanting to give away my real name.

Korrynn seems to contemplate my new name, but before she can say something Visage runs over to us.

~~~

Woot I posted 

Horatio~

I overstepped my bounds by a longshot. It's a good thing the Condor was taken down when it was, because if I'd used my power just one more time, I'd probably faint.

A single maximum power flash was sometimes enough to burn me out, and I did three in the span of ten minutes. Back home, I was always second fiddle in the band. Everyone always remembers the singers over the guitarists, that's the sad truth. Maybe out here I was trying to steal the spotlight for once. But even my power itself is designed to play support. I can only stun the enemy, never defeat them. And until I figure out more ways to use my power, that's the way it's gonna stay.

Still, I shouldn't devalue the merit of those with different power sets. It's not about what you get, I remind myself, but how you choose to use it. Just look at Wei, for instance. Talking to ghosts is something I would never associate with combat, and yet he's already top of the class. He's put his own spin on something he had no control over.

But that doesn't mean I can't be suspicious when someone's powers don't add up. For example, that horned kid who seemed to come out of nowhere towards the end of the fight. He must be from one of the other classes, seeing as I don't recognize him, but I still could've sworn I scoped out every single student during the test. I approach him.

"Hey, monster boy, what's your name?"

"Call me Drake."

Drake, huh? Something isn't adding up, but before I can say anything else, Vestige comes sprinting down the hill.

"Is anyone hurt?" the man wheezes. He's always calm, at least on TV, so it's a little disconcerting to see him like this.

I step forward. "I'm not hurt buUt.." I stumble a few steps back, my vision blurring and my stomach heaving.

"Did you overexert yourself?"

I manage a nod, refraining from speech for fear of passing out or losing my breakfast.

"You should probably see the nurse, just to be safe. You too, young lady." he points to Dariya, who looks similarly worn out.

Several other people come forward with scrapes and scratches from the fight, but Vestige dismisses them all as minor.

"It's lucky no one got any serious injuries. Even luckier that we were able to lock in everyone's grades for the initiation before the attack started. Of course, waiting for the test to finish may have actually been the intention of whoever orchestrated it."

"So you think there's someone else behind this, sir?" a student asks. I uneasily recall what Wei told us.

"All we can say for certain is that there is someone or something on this campus who intends to sabotage everything Candrama stands for. We've had breaches in the past, but this seems to be an especially strange scenario. That faux Condor you guys took down, we faced one just like it. It actually reminded me of my own power. A very unusual case indeed."

"So you saw us fight?" Korrynn asks, with surprising enthusiasm. "Does this mean we get bonus points? ...If you're not mad." she quickly adds after being met with one of Vestige's famous death stares.

His icy stare dissolves into a dry chuckle, however. "No, you won't be getting any bonus points, but I'm certainly not mad. The other teachers will probably give you a hard time for throwing yourselves into danger like that, but if you ask me, this was the perfect learning experience. You did well. Just... try to stay out of trouble from now on. We clearly have a security issue, so something like this may very well happen in the near future. Got it?"

There is a collective "Yes sir" from the crowd.

"Good. Now get to class. We won't let an upset like this ruin the whole school day." 

As I head back up the hill, I can't help but look over my shoulder at the dark timberline, wondering what exactly could be lurking within it.

---

???~

Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. Everything is spoiled.

First it was that horribly cramped transport vehicle I had to crouch in for two hours. Then that infernal beast child nearly found my hideout last night. And now those smug little brats are walking right away from me and I'm not allowed to do anything about it.

My com device is stupid and outdated, but Leader said we have to use old ones so as not to be detected by the local radar.

"This is J-5, Leader. Reporting from ground zero."

"Ah, Good. Have you collected the data?"

"Yes, I am in the process of writing my report. But those horrible novices destroyed my birds! They're spoiling everything."

"Not this tripe again. What's truly spoiled is you, J-5. You are like a child. You're still new to this world, after all. You were not cooked for long enough and you came out too soft."

"But they killed my lovely creations!"

"All things must die eventually, J-5. You of all beings should understand that. The Condors had a single purpose, to help us analyze Pahada's newest lackeys. Did they serve their purpose?"

"Yes, they did, but-" 

"Then I won't hear any more of it. Remember that you were made for a purpose as well, J-5, and until you serve it I'm keeping you on this assignment. Continue your reconnaissance and don't bother me unless you have something useful to say." 

*click* 

~~~ 

Sorry for the long post, but I just had a great idea and I couldn't resist writing from a differnt POV. I'm out of time now but I'll post my ideas about our villains later...

Korrynn~

We all slink away to our rooms for the night. I wonder what my room will look like, as I've never been in it before. As the key clicks into the lock, two scientists come up to me.

"Korrynn Maye. We need you to come with us." I shrug, lock my door again, and follow them. They lead me through white passageways, lit with those horrible fluorescent lights instead of windows or normal bulbs.

"Soooooo, why am I here? Where are you taking me?" I cross my arms behind my back. My blackened hair slips from behind my shoulder. Without looking at me, one of them answers:

"We noticed something strange about your powers. They don't seem like normal shapeshifting."

"What? But they're the only powers I have. They've been diagnosed as shapeshifting!" When I say this, they hang their heads solemnly.

"Wrong. They were diagnosed by common doctors. The blood sample you sent us as verification and a application-" One holds up a small vial with a deep red liquid in it. My blood. "-had unique traces in it that made us scientists doubt that your powers were what they seemed. We put DNA strains through extensive examination, and we found that you also have powers over pictures."

"I do?? How come I've never used them then??" One scientist flinches, the other scuffs his foot along the floor.

"That's where it gets complicated. You see, you've been using your powers over pictures to shapeshift."

"You literally just said it's not shapeshifting." They both simultaniously throw their hands up.

"WILL YOU JUST LET US FINISH."

"Fine." I sneer, but they don't see that. Finally, we've arrived at a pair of doors. S01 (that's what I'm calling him in my mind) unlocks the doors and puts his hand in a scanner. A beep, then the doors swing wide. A sterile-looking lab greets my senses.

"Thank you." S01 says with only a touch of sarcasm (sarcasm alert). "As I was saying, you've been displaying pictures, almost like making people, including yourself, hallucinate that you've shapeshifted."

"So how did I fly and kill the Terror Condor?"

"That is the most complex part of it all. When we saw that our conclusion still didn't line up with the oddities in your DNA, we searched further, and found that... No. It'd be better to show you."

~~

Ehehehe cliffhangerrrrrrr I'll post again ehehehehe I love doing this so much ehehehe 

So, my idea was that there are "Exohumans" being made. That is, humanoids artificially created through the splicing of Exofauna and human genes who are basically the Exofauna equivalent of a human. They have alien traits while also being able to manifest superpowers, giving them the potential to be extremely powerful. Of course, many of them are kind of stupid and don't really know how to use that power yet.

I don't know who exactly is creating them or why they're being created, but you guys can tell me if you have any other ideas.

Okay, so I've been kind of inactive and I want to update, but I don't have very much time. SO I'm just going to say that Ayelet went to her room and set up her stuff, then she goes to bed, does fairly well in the course, narrowly misses being blinded by Horatio, and is part of the "mob of students" that Wei describes.