Superhero CITY - The Test

Chapter Twelve (edited)

"Well done cadets."

Miss Summer's voice rang out behind us, and I felt myself jump in surprise at her voice.

"You were the first to complete your match out of everyone here, and, since all other teams are still currently occupied, you may leave early this time. I still expect to see the eight of you on time tomorrow after classes, and I will review the data recorded by your suits before I next see you. I will not by nice on the feedback when I am able to speak with you. Other than that, enjoy your night."

Imagine Demons turned to look at us, and we to them as she walked away. I gave them a shrug, two of the older cadets returned it, and our exchange was over without anyone saying a word. We simply twisted back around and went our own ways; they turned towards the cafeteria and we started off in the direction of the dorms at a rare, leisurely pace together.

Natalia danced ahead slightly, spinning around to walk backwards. Her gaze caught Allison's, and slowly their faces began to scrunch up into a rather uncomfortable set of matching expressions. It took only seconds before whatever it was they couldn't hold back any longer, and they burst out into laughter for no apparent reason whatsoever. As the red-head twisted her head to look at Chuckie and I, we joined it with the two of them.

Our peals of mirth were ugly and genuine, resonating harshly through the air around us with cringe-worthy intensity. We didn't hold back because we were amongst friends, our high cackles and heavy bellows harmonizing. Natalia was wiping away tears by the time we were done, her eyes red but shining.

"They will never see us coming." Allie murmured thoughtfully, "I don't think that even Miss Summers will have realized that we threw the battle – because, technically, we put everything we had into it. Our suits only records physical effort and exertion statistics, which we went full out on during the match."

"They don't state that we purposely used them in an ineffective way." Her brother finished for her.

I grinned, glad that they were finally getting it. If we could keep to where we were, then everyone would just look over us; underestimate us until it was too late. We wouldn't appear weak enough to be considered one of the easy wins everyone wanted to have, nor would we look strong enough to become one of those challenges that our opponents would fight all out against for the bragging rights. We would be slotted right in the middle of it all, with no one possessing pre-match expectations other that that we were an "average" team that "got lucky" occasionally.

They'd go easy on us without even realizing it.

"I've got some protein bars in my room. They're small enough that if we eat them, we can go straight to be afterwards without any ill effects and still tide us over to breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Natalia's eyes had narrowed, and her tone was suspicious as she questioned me.

"Because the four of us are going to be up and training at half past four tomorrow morning – at the latest. I've already planned our session, and we need to keep our edge somehow if we're not going to show it to the rest of the academy. Duh!"

The girls groaned dramatically and Chuckie hung his head, but they all followed me up the stairs and settled in with ease as I fetched the protein snacks I'd stashed away. A stranger would have been able to see how tight the friendship and trust was between us simply through the familiar comfort of our positions once we were all gathered together in Chuck's and my dorm.

My roommate had sprawled on his back across his bed, using minor gusts of wind to toss around a small, hollow ball of iron in a gravity defying manner, periodically covering it in a sheen or frost or fire. The sister that had given it to him the week that her powers had manifested was currently slouched opposite from him. She was currently seated backwards on his fancy desk chair, leaning on crossed arms against the padded back of it with the tips of her fingernails tapping out a lazy tune against the soft leather. Natalia was half leaning against me with her arms slung over my shoulders as she lay behind where I was perched at the end of my own bed across the room from them.