The scent of Autumn air wafted in through the open windows as I stepped out of my dorm, drawstring bag slung over my shoulder. I sighed, adjusting my denim jacket slightly in front of a hallway mirror.

"Siennnnaaaa ♪"

I bit back a grimace as a cooing voice trailed in from behind me, and I turned to see Madison Mathers walking towards me, smiling like the cat that caught the canary.

She had her hair up in a classy and elegant bun, and her skin positively glowed with a radiance that felt a bit sinister.

"Nggh, hey Madison," I nodded, doing my best to smile at her as she strutted up the hallway.

As always, her outfit was perfectly tailored to flatter her body, and there was no denying how beautiful and effortlessly chic she looked. It made me simultaneously jealous and annoyed, especially as I took in her full, pouty lips, angular cheeks, and emerald eyes that glimmered in the late morning sun.

I'd run into her the day after the craziness of the Cataclysm ended, and she'd been friendly, but her voice, personality, and general vibe were so plastic that it set me on edge. She could be a bit passively condescending and patronizing, but at least she hadn't tried to push me around or threaten me like some of the mean girls back home.

Not that it made her prodding much better, honestly.

"Just wanted to see how you were holding up. I'm on the way out myself," she giggled, glancing around as if trying to spot someone else.

"I'm alive and kicking," I smiled weakly. "That's more than can be said for many other places. You up to anything today?"

"You know me," she chuckled. "I'm always up to something."

"Uh huh," I breathed, hoping she couldn't sense how disinterested and disengaged I was.

"All these shops closing up has been, like, really bumming me out," she mumbled, frowning and pouting her lips. "You?"

"Yeah. My best friend got injured in the Cataclysm and I haven't seen him since. I'm meeting him for lunch and hoping he's okay," I said with a sad smile.

"Oh, you poor thing," she whined, rolling her eyes. "I know how you feel. I haven't seen my besties in, like, days either. This whole situation is a total bummer, right?"

"That's one way to put it," I chuckled. "Anyway, catch you around?"

She giggled, "Hun, we should totes go summering together when the year's all over with."

"Oh," I chuckled. "Sounds like fun?"

Did she just say 'summering'...? Was she just unfathomably wealthy or what? Maybe that's why we felt so disconnected.

My side of the tracks was just... so different from hers.

"Anyways, I better get going. I've got a big shoot scheduled next week and I need to get fit for it. You wouldn't believe how behind I am with working out," she murmured. "Ah, it's a shameful, awful life."

"I can imagine," I nodded. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Toodles, darling! Stay cute, will ya?" she smiled, turning around and walking back up the corridor, her hips swinging with each step.

I shook my head, looking around before hoisting my bag over my shoulder and making my way out.

It was a beautiful day, with the sun hanging high in the sky and a fresh breeze flowing in from the ocean not too far away. The Kaleidoscope Academy campus was nestled on the coast, and as I looked at the lush, sprawling grounds, I couldn't help but marvel at the size and scale of it all.

Kaleidoscope City was a place of healing and growth, of power and possibility.

But it was also a place of mystery, of danger and strife, where supervillains were constantly plotting their next move and knights had to be ready for anything.

A faint thrum of energy rushed through me, and I stopped, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was the same feeling of unease and warning I'd had earlier, and I tried to ignore it as I adjusted my bag and walked through the commons.

There was a crowd forming near the edge of the courtyard, and I glanced around curiously, trying to see what the fuss was about. I had to get a move on and meet Al, but a part of me wanted to see what was happening.

Against my better judgment, I jogged over to the crowd and pushed my way through, feeling my pulse quicken as I did so.

And then I saw her.

She was standing there, looking at the campus with a faint smile on her lips. Her eyes were almond-shaped and a deep hazel, and her skin was a flawless, porcelain white. Her hair was black and glossy, falling halfway down her back. She was wearing a tailored blazer and pants that fit her perfectly, emphasizing her curves and shape. She looked like she was mixed, maybe Asian and European, but it was hard to tell.

She was a girl around my age, and the sheer aura she exuded made my heart stop for a brief moment. There was something so familiar about her, as if I had seen her before somewhere.

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She turned, looking right at me as if she knew I was staring, and I blushed. There was an unreadable look in her eyes, and I couldn't help but feel like I'd seen her somewhere before.

It wasn't just that she was conventionally beautiful. Very beautiful. It was something deeper, something intangible and ineffable, like a warm, comfortable fireplace just beneath the surface.

She blinked, staring at me almost as if she felt the same connection, but then she shook her head and smiled before turning away, strolling through the courtyard and heading towards the main administrative building.

"Who is she?" a girl whispered next to me.

"Don't you recognize her?" another girl snarked back. "She's the daughter of the Sovereign. A genius in her own right, even."

"Oh shit," the first girl breathed. "What is she doing here?"

The daughter of the Sovereign?

My curiosity piqued, and I stepped forward, wanting to find out more about her.

"Yeah, the Paragon who was part of President Escathos's elite guard," a boy nodded. "He's supposed to be like a big deal in the Bay Area or something."

"No way," a third girl gasped. "Really? That girl?"

I shook my head, letting the conversation fade around me as I stepped back and made my way up the campus, lost in thought.

Whoever she was, she was clearly a figure of interest, and the way she carried herself made me suspect she wasn't just some ordinary student.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out to my side and I spun around, a smile already crossing my lips. "Sienna!"

I didn't even have to look to know who it was. I was already sprinting towards the source of the voice, feeling my heart beat out of my chest.

"Al!" I cried as I jumped on him.

He laughed, wrapping his arms around me as I put his neck in a cross grip. "Jeez, you crazy yeti, you trying to crush me to death, Sienna?"

I pulled away, shaking my head as I dropped to the ground looked up at him. The growth spurt he went through over the last year had made him tower over me making that a lot harder to do, but I didn't care.

"My big bro is back, and he's okay, and that's all that fucking matters," I grinned. "Al, I was so worried about you. You have no idea."

"You could have come to visit me, you know? Sorry I ran off like that with my mom, I was stuck in that infirmary for a week..." he sighed, fixing his trademark red hoodie. "I just really, really had to get out of there. It was just so lame."

I chuckled. "Sorry. I really thought they were going to kill you with the way they were poking and prodding you. Your mom is a bit overprotective, huh?"

Al shrugged. "I know, I know... And c'mon, she treats you like family. She would've picked you up if you just called and asked. She knows you were worried."

"Yeah, well..." I shook my head. "How are you?"

Al flexed his legs, shifting his weight and biting his lower lip.

"Well, not a lot of guys can say they survived getting hunted by the possessed....corpse of one of the most infamous supervillains alive. I was damn lucky."

A frown crossed my face, and I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Well, I'm just glad you're okay. Seriously."

"And you? The... new friends treating you alright?"

I nodded, leaning in with a whisper. "Better than I could've hoped for. They've got me scheduled to meet up and train with a few of the others later, and I've even got a fancy new personal device for our program now.

"Ohhh, you've gotta show me that. Maybe later when we're not in public or anything?" Albert said with a grin.

I grinned, holding up my hand in a 'stop' gesture. "It's actually pretty neat. Look."

I pulled out my shiny new Nexus device, eliciting a confused look from my best friend. "Huh? Isn't that your normal phone?"

I shook my head, pulling out my normal phone for comparison. "I'd guess they did a scary amount of research on us if I had to be honest. It almost looks identical, but this one has a few super cool features that come with it."

Albert raised his eyebrows, running his hand over it. "A new gadget? Let me see."

"Oh come on," I rolled my eyes.

That was so like him. Always interested in the latest technology and pushing the boundaries of what was possible. It was part of why we got along so well.

He took it, going through my lock screen and apps list, and his eyes lit up in surprise. "Holy shit, you weren't kidding. This is something else. The CPU, the internal memory, the storage, and they didn't even skimp on the fucking display. This is top-of-the-line build quality. It looks almost exactly like your old phone from the outside, too. I don't think any commercial smartphone producers would be able to catch up to this for at least another three or four years before supply chains went to shit. Where the hell did you get this from?"

"Kaleidoscope Academy," I said, a smile crossing my lips. "And this is in stealth. Wait till you see what happens when I do the... sparkle sparkle thing or whatever. It transforms with me and everything. There's also a R.A.I.K.O. model inside or something that's apparently custom-tailored to helping me learn."

"Raiko?" Albert asked.

"Some kind of custom GPT voice assistant they crammed in there or something. I don't know. I'd rather not find out, honestly. It kind of gives me the creeps as it is. I'd say it's firmly in the uncanny valley."

Albert snorted. "Right. Weird. Still, it's the most advanced thing I've ever seen."

"Yeah, I guess so. It's incredible they just gave it to me like that. It feels so simple and elegant. I can't believe it's just lying around."

"Hey, let's hit up that Rose Garden Cafe. I'm freaking starving. You're sure they take our meal plans and everything?"

I nodded. "Yeah, positive. Besides, it's been nice taking a breather around the campus for a while. Makes me feel... I don't know. My head feels clearer when I'm here."

We started walking in the direction of the cafe, and I felt a sense of calm come over me. The pressure and tension of the week eased out of me with each step.

Then, I looked over at my best friend, taking in the bandages wrapped around his waist and the slight limp in his stride, and couldn't help but feel a pit of guilt building in my stomach.

The final showdown with the monster on top of the roof had been far too close of a call, and the terror I'd felt when it nailed him to a wall was a feeling I didn't want to relive again.

If I'd lasted even a couple of seconds less than I did, the Bravehearts wouldn't have been able to pull him out of danger, and he wouldn't be standing here with me, breathing and alive.

"Hey, you okay?" Al smiled, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Ah, yeah. Just thinking."

He shrugged. "Fair. You're always deep in thought, huh?"

"You know it," I grinned. "This is seriously all I need. Anyways, let's get going before the line gets too long. I heard that they put out their fresh scones right about now!"

"Now that's the kind of welcome back I could get used to," Al beamed, nudging me in the ribs.

I chuckled, holding the door open as we made our way in. The warm, comforting smell of freshly brewed coffee, cake, and flowers washed over me, and I couldn't help but smile as I spotted a few students from my homeroom class sitting at a table nearby.

Today, everything felt right with the world.

At least for a little while, we could sit back and breathe.

"Hey Sienna—"

Just as we made it to our seats, the distant sound of sirens rang through the air. An explosion followed seconds later, shaking the ground beneath us.

Al and I shared a look, and a sense of dread rushed through my veins as a sharp sense of deja vu rippled through me.

Fuck.

Just our luck.

What now?!