Chapter 5: Hannah Ross, Pyrokinesis

“Next!”

Based on the current public data that the government had surveyed, 1 out of 20 people had superpowers, and almost minimally increasing annually. And also based on their research, out of the 20 people, excluding the one that had already declared they have powers, it is said that one is hiding their abilities.

With the world’s current population of approximately 5 billion, there were almost half a billion super-powered humans roaming in the world– including those who were in hiding. With that number, the government would not really be able to efficiently track every special individual that may be a threat to the world.

But with the birth of Mega Academy, as well as the incentive of having the chance of becoming the world’s greatest superhero, they have finely targeted people with dreams– children and teenagers.

Children who were otherwise scared to expose themselves, children who were hidden by their parents because of the danger their power held, children who did not understand what they truly are.

Teenagers who wanted to become something big, teenagers who wanted to explore their powers, teenagers who just wanted to belong.

With the promise of the Academy to train and hone their abilities, these individuals would surely surface, making it easier for the government to track anyone who even had an inkling of superpowers.

The only reason why the government had not done this until now was because of the existence of Mega Woman, who was completely against militarizing super-powered individuals. And with a school controlled by a government, stationed in different countries– that was not so far-fetched. The fact they already even had the facility to accommodate such an action was proof enough that they had planned this way before, and were just waiting for a chance to make it happen.

Well, at least that is what Riley thought as he continued to watch the other examinees showcase their unique powers and abilities.

“…Why are you smiling? Stop being so creepy.” Hannah, who was beside him, could not help but slightly move away from him as a small hint of laughter was escaping from his mouth, “Don’t tell me you are actually happy that you finally get the chance to go to school? Let me tell you, it’s nothing special.”

He couldn’t help it– seeing all of these people displaying their powers, the only thing that Riley could think of was how easy it would be to just snap their necks or squash their heads in.

Dreaming of wanting to be the next Mega Woman? Pathetic. Her powers were way beyond that of everyone else.

Flight, Herculean strength, Minor telekinesis, Heat vision, Superspeed, Nigh-invulnerability, and as it would seem but not yet proven, Near-immortality. Her powers were simple, cliche, even. But the level of her strength was undeniable.

And so, right now, as Riley watched the current examinee showing his powers, he once again could not help but let out a muffled giggle, garnering the attention of the other examinees near him.

“Bro, don’t do that,” Hannah could not help but let out a short but deep sigh as she pulled Riley near her, “That’s a guaranteed way to be bullied, your complexion is already weird as it is, don’t add anything to it.”

Hearing his sister’s words, Riley quickly nodded his head. He was here to blend in and to pass time while waiting for Mega Woman’s recovery, if something happens and he has no choice but to ‘accidentally’ kill everyone here, then he would be left with nothing to do.

Blend and adapt, blend and adapt– Riley repeated to himself. But as soon as he saw the examinee currently showcasing her powers, the only thing he could do was close his eyes to try and ignore it.

The power to not be seen by the naked eye, invisibility– that was the examinee’s power. Even if Riley can’t see her, he could just destroy the whole vicinity and she would surely be one of the–

Stop. Riley took in a long and deep breath as he tried to center his thoughts. He didn’t truly realize how hard it was to be surrounded by people without his mask on. As Darkday, he could say and do anything he wanted, without any filter.

But now that he was out in the world as Riley, he was having a difficult time adjusting. But he would try; he promised himself not to look away from the next examinee that would showcase his or her powers.

“Next!”

“Silvie Savelievna.”

“Savelievna?”

“Is that Russian? Why is a Russian here?”

Hearing the female examinee introducing herself, most of the examinees started to look at each other; the merging of their whispers, enough to be heard by everyone. The female examinee, Silvie, however, did not seem to mind as she just looked at the supervisor.

“You can start.”

As soon as the supervisor gave her permission to do so, her feet quickly left the ground; slightly pushing the blades of grass that were previously peacefully resting beneath her feet. But that was not all, she flew to the weights that were strategically placed for the examinees to use and proceeded to lift the heaviest one without exerting any visible effort.

“That’s enough.”

It would seem that she had more in her arsenal as she remained floating in the air. But before she could do anything more, she was ordered by the supervisor to return to her line. Most of the people that were previously chatting and murmuring about her completely shut their mouths, and the one on her left couldn’t help but scooch to the side, instinctively avoiding her.

How could he not, when she displayed powers similar to that of Mega Woman?

The one on her right, however, did not even flinch and only looked at her curiously, before turning her head to the other side.

“Oho, what’s with that look? Don’t tell me you’re gaining a crush?” Hannah then let out a small giggle as she saw her brother with his mouth slightly open, his eyes completely fixated on the girl beside her, “Maybe it was worth it being your chaperone after all.”

Hannah continued to tease Riley, even waving her pinky finger in front of his face. Riley, however, completely ignored her and focused on Silvie. He didn’t recognize or realize it earlier since his sister was completely blocking Silvie from his view, but if Riley’s guess was right…

…then Silvie should be related to Mega Woman, maybe even her daughter. And it’s not only the fact that she had similar abilities, but they also look somewhat alike. Out of all the people here, he was probably the only one who had seen Mega Woman up close and without her mask.

“…Stop that,” Hannah, who had seen the weird growing smile on her brother’s face, could not help but want to cover his face, “If you want to woo someone, smiling like a serial killer is not the way to go.”

“Next!”

“Don’t do anything weird while I am gone!”

With her being called forward, Hannah slightly hesitated as she tried to warn her brother. She then looked towards Silvie, snapping her fingers to get her attention.

“If my brother does anything weird to you, I give you the permission to very lightly slap him on the face,” she said before walking to the front.

“…” Silvie wondered what her co-examinee meant by her words, but as soon as she turned to look at the direction she pointed to, she could not help but slightly back away.

How could she not, when the strangest looking person she had ever seen in her entire life was widely smiling at her? It did not help that his whole body was completely wrapped in clothes, with his face the only thing you could see on him.

“…Hi?” However, as soon as she tried to greet him, the boy’s smile quickly dropped as he looked away. The only thing she could do was blink a couple of times as she too, focused her attention towards the current examinee.

“Hannah Ross, Pyrokinesis.”

Hannah casually said as she flicked her finger, summoning a blaze hovering on its tip. She was going to return to her line, but before she could do so, the supervisor stopped her.

“Is that all? I am afraid you will not be able to pass if that is all you can do.”

“Seriously? I don’t even want to– Fine.” Hannah could only groan in frustration as she returned to the front. And as she did so, Riley took a few steps back, distancing himself away from Hannah before wearing his sunglasses.

“…” Silvie, who saw him suddenly moving back, could not help but look back and forth between him and Hannah. But after a few seconds, she too decided to step back a few steps.

As soon as Hannah got back to the front, she quickly looked towards Riley, who had both his thumbs up. Seeing this, Hannah let out a light scoff. Since her brother was cheering for her, then as her big sister, she shouldn’t disappoint– she thought as she closed her eyes, taking a long and deep breath.

From afar, it looked as if Hannah’s body was becoming distorted, as if a ripple of water was surrounding her entire body. The blades of grass beneath her feet also started to wave, but not for long as they soon slowly turned to ashes.

And as Hannah let go of her breath, a bundle of smoke fumed from her mouth. And as soon as she opened her eyes, a whistle of a cry roared through the air as flames instantly wrapped her entire body, causing a small thunder that lifted her up into the air.

With her slightly hovering from the ground, Hannah then turned her flame-clad face towards the supervisor.

“…Happy?”