I am going to do it! Ratcatcher decided, coming to the doors of the cafeteria with her heart pounding.

Two years had passed since that fateful day when she nearly died. Feeling like shit and admitting her guilt, she tried her best to avoid Carlos and Elina, along with the other trainees. What, aside from troubles, could she bring to them?

The therapist helped her deal with the nightmares and overcome her fear of Eight. No longer did this ghastly apparition haunt her sleep. It also helped that she was getting stronger, swinging her staff with ever greater power. Like promised, a silent and normal-looking mister assigned to her by the Academy always trailed her outside, never once getting too close to make any situation uncomfortable, but never letting her go out of his vision either. Ratcatcher tried to talk with the mister and introduce herself, but he only glared, never sharing a word.

To her great embarrassment, the interview did not go as well as she expected. The host and the mayor twisted her every word, painting the trainees as saints instead of the stupid youths they were. And more importantly, her songs and videos with her doing community service shot up in popularity across the Net, making Ratcatcher want to fall underground and hide in shame.

The Academy finally provided its trainees with really fun missions, allowing the girl to escape unearned attention. Iterna needed someone to search the Scrapyard’s tunnels, and she was a perfect candidate. Although the spiders now became protected species, and this somewhat hindered her ability to traverse vast distances. It turns out that having to evade spiders rather than smacking them down ended up being way harder than she remembered. But the armor provided by the Academy always kept her safe. Once the job was done, her "nanny" would pick her up and drive Ratcatcher home. As if she couldn’t walk!

But everything changes today. Here she was, dressed in the blue uniform of a trainee and wearing a proud national emblem on her shoulder. Her posture was finally fixed; the fears of the past disappeared, and now the time came to meet the fears of today.

I am going to do it. She texted Nadya. Confession. I am freaking out a bit. I really messed up on that last training.

Beat it, kay? Just be natural. Everyone makes mistakes. Nadya texted back.

Today was a very special day. After two years, the Academy started forming official groups a bit earlier than she expected. But this was cool! No longer will Ratcatcher be thrown around like a bean in a bottle, joining with one trainee or another for a quick PR stunt before being sent on her way. No. These teams will be permanent.

Prior to putting trainees in teams, instructors had made them run a full advanced course, testing their skills and limits. There were both known dangers… drones, neutered bioweapons, hazards, caverns, and tunnels, along with automatic turrets… and unknown dangers (mines, anomalies, and rogue bots). No one expected the young trainees to endure all of it, although some had managed to, if not sneak past, but rather bulldoze their way through all obstacles. After all, the Academy took in any willing abnormals, and some were crazy tough.

The Week of Misery, as the trainees named it, saw many people fail. Thanks to the ever-watchful eyes of both human and virtual intelligence, no trainee was hurt, but Ratcatcher felt like shit after saving a fellow trainee from a swamp, only to step on a mine and see her whole group coated with a thick layer of paint that marked them as eliminated. No one said anything to her. The trainees just laughed their asses off, happy that the misery was over, but if their frustration was anything like hers, she wished to burn from shame. Once everyone took off their suits, she recognized Elina and Carlos among the trainees.

And now these same people were put at her level, undoubtedly judged lower because of her. They are to attend their first class tomorrow as a team, and no one even bothered to introduce themselves to her! No one asked her number or name, not even a message saying hi.

And this could not go on. They failed precisely because no one had bothered to use their powers to aid each other properly. She saw that a girl had a scanner; had she been using it for the group, Ratcatcher would never have stepped into this stupid mine. And she herself! Why didn’t she mark everyone? Had she done it, no one would’ve gone missing in the blasted swamps!

All in all, if they are a team, she must learn how to cooperate with others. Or at least their names.

Here’s go nothing. Ratcatcher decided, looking at the chestnut-eyed teen sitting at the table along with others and busy eating yogurt.

No scars were on either of the teens. Elina became ripped; her muscles bulged beneath the shirt, threatening to tear the fabric. Rather than letting her gorgeous hair go loose as before, she wore it into a tight knot now, and a pair of steel knuckles always rested on the belt of her skort.

Carlos looked none the worse for wear. Way taller and just as cheerful as before, he was gulping down a piece of jerky and joking about something with another boy, smiling wildly. Like Elina, not a single scar marred his body, but where her once-missing fingers were slightly pale, indicating the result of being restored via cloning, his body shared the same even deep tan.

"Hi, there," she said, extending her human-looking hand. "Name’s R… Eliza Vong, but please call me Ratcatcher. It seems we will be on the same team from now on."

Dammit, Brain! You’re making me sound like I don’t want them on my team! How to fix, how to fix?!

"Elina Vincent, nice to meet you." The brown-haired teen shook her hand, looking closely into Ratcatcher’s face. Then her gaze fell to the tail. "Sphere!" She laughed, recognizing her. "Sorry about the stupid nickname. Where have you been hiding these years?"

"I had a lot to think about…" Ratcatcher started speaking, only to end up in Elina’s bear embrace.

She is tough! The girl thought eagerly, wrapping her own hands around Elina’s body and returning the gratitude. A grimace of anger flashed across the brown-haired girl’s face, quickly changing into laughter, and Ratcatcher beamed, enjoying winning their small contest.

"S’up, rat-girl," Carlos said with a full mouth after Elina forcibly seated Ratcatcher at their table. A boy near him rammed his elbow beneath his elbow, and Carlos coughed, quickly swallowing food and wiping his hands on his jacket. "Carlos Barjoni, it is a most exquisite honor to meet you, my fair lady. Before you ask, yes, from that Barjoni family."

"Are they famous?" Ratcatcher blinked, shaking his hand, and everyone laughed at Carlos’ stunned expression before a mischievous grin returned to his face once more.

"Vasily Rasputin," a laughing boy introduced himself, and Ratcatcher shook his hand, trying to remember where she saw him before. He had perfectly fair skin, almost indistinguishable from any other Iternian, yet she knew that she had seen him before. Noticing her look, Vasily explained, "Saw me before too, I take it? I had scaled skin a few years ago, but then got tired of everyone looking weirdly at me and had surgery. And now I am perfect. Nice meeting you again, park girl; do you still perform for coins?"

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"That’s… that wasn’t it!" She squeaked from embarrassment, turning purple and wishing she had a hoodie to hide in. "And nice to meet you all too."

"Poor thing," Elina said, looking her over. "Did no one ever tell you that clinics are offering bio-sculpturing for free? They can help you with… additional weight." She pointed at the inhuman side of Ratcatcher’s body.

"I am quite okay, thank you!" Ratcatcher laughed and scratched the back of her head.

"Seriously, there is nothing to be afraid of!" Vasily added, showing his hand. Alongside his nails, there were strange slits at his fingertips. Claws showed from them, gleaming white in the light. "See? The doctors know how to change you in such a way to keep all the benefits while discarding the ugliness. My skin is just as tough as my scales were, and…" He turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees, snapped his fingers, and returned his head to its normal position. "…even my bones are as elastic as ever!"

"Women shouldn’t be allowed to have fur grown on their bodies or wear a mustache!" Carlos announced, earning himself a slap on the back of his head from one of the girls. "What? We’ve all been thinking about it; I just said it out loud! That’s how Carlos B rolls, ‘kay? That’s how… Elina, put down the knuckles!" He laughed, turning into a blur and evading a joking swing aimed at his face. Ratcatcher noticed that Elina held back the strike at the last possible moment, ensuring it wouldn’t connect. Carlos, still laughing, appeared behind Ratcatcher, covering behind her in a fake fear. "Please! Aid me, oh noble savior, and I promise to tell you all about how I totally kicked Elina’s ass during the training! By the way, did you know that her favorite food is shawarma? Disgusting!"

"I will not be mocked by a bastard who never washes his hands!" Elina roared.

Ratcatcher giggled when Elina jumped over her, trying to catch up to the other trainee. She sensed no animosity or anger between the two and soon understood what Carlos was doing. He tried to get the attention off the topic of her look by turning himself into a target. That and he clearly enjoyed teasing the other girl, ever reappearing right next to her, only to dodge any attempt to grab him with blinding speed.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one training hard in the past two years. Elina’s and Carlos’ moves were much more refined and controlled; despite the chaos of their movements, they haven’t barged into anyone or dropped a single thing from the table as they jumped over it, making somersaults for fun.

Carlos stopped between two tables, standing on his toes and jokingly beckoning to the girl with two fingers. Coming within range, the teen dropped into a stance, fists raised to the level of her face, ready to both block and counterattack at will. Barjoni kept grinning when his friend threw a feint, dodging the follow-up elbow hit by leaning to the side and keeping his toes firmly planted on the floor.

"Ne-never gonna hit me," Carlos sang as a barrage of punches came at him from the enraged girl, seemingly phasing through his body. The boy has been using his superspeed to waver on his toes, moving from the line of attack just before it could connect with him. "Ne-never gonna touch me, no way, no how, my dear… Oh shit!"

Elina dropped her punches, snapping her finger to create a small boom of air at Carlos’ face, making the teen close his eyes for long enough for her to make a sweep with a leg, kicking him off his footing.

"I am not going to touch you; I am going to smash you!" Elina roared as Carlos started falling, his head about to collide with a table and then being pulverized by the teen’s fist.

Ratcatcher jumped from her table. With her own forearm, Ratcatcher pushed Elina’s wrist aside, stopping the downward punch, and wrapped her tail around the boy’s waist to lift him in the air and prevent the damage. Only his fingers touched the table first, and the entire world spun around when the girl found herself being dragged across the room by his speed and finally ending in Carlos’ arms as he stopped in confusion behind Elina.

"Sorry about that, my bad." Carlos carefully put her on the ground, helping Ratcatcher deal with the spinning head. "I didn’t notice your tail…"

He’s fast! She grabbed her mouth, struggling to keep her lunch inside. Stay in the belly, precious sandwiches! Mommy needs you! Help me, belly, we won’t get anything else until dinner!

"That was awesome!" she finally said, sitting herself at a table and looking at the boy with excited eyes. "Can you do it again?"

"I don’t think I should…" Carlos replied, worryingly keeping his hand on her shoulder.

"Pretty please! It’s awesome, like those high-speed park attractions, and I’ll be ready next time…"

"What’s the big idea?!" Elina demanded to know. She took Ratcatcher by the head, checked her eyes, and sighed before continuing in a slightly less angry tone. "She’ll be fine. You think I’m weak, challenge me in a ring, got it, Eliza? Don’t you dare sneak up on me!"

"I wasn’t planning to, and I…" Ratcatcher mumbled, falling silent.

What was she thinking about? It was obvious the two were friends, and clearly they were good enough fighters to know how not to hurt each other. Planet, she saw Elina pulling her attack at the start! Was she once again barging into things without considering everything? What if Carlos got hurt because of her again? Or, with his speed, he could have smacked her against a table and gotten into trouble! All because she acted recklessly again!

I am falling again. She bit down on her rebuke. No. Don’t you dare hurt them again. Shut up and act nicely. You know nothing; you are an ignorant, feeble, idiotic girl!

"Trainees! Enough of this childish behavior!" A voice snapped from the entrance, and all of them jumped to stand at attention.

A man in instructor uniform came to their tables. Ratcatcher recognized him from that time when she was summoned to the headmaster’s office two years ago. Carlos made a quick bow, and Elina went pale as milk when the instructor stopped near their table.

"My name is Augustus Rho, and I will act as your chief instructor from this day onward," he introduced himself. "Elina, Carlos. A week of cleaning duties for using your power without permission and endangering a fellow student’s well-being."

"Sir, wait, this was my…" Ratcatcher started talking, and Elina pushed her in the side with an elbow, before straightening up.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The boy and girl responded, earning themselves a nod.

“Technically, you are on leave for the rest of the day,” Augustus said. “However, there is no reason to waste a perfectly good day. Introductions!”

He asked each trainee his or her name, occasionally asking a few additional questions. He asked Carlos if his family would be okay with him teaching their scion, and Carlos simply shrugged, stating that it wasn’t a problem. Augustus asked Vasily if he felt fine after the surgery and Elina about her preferred choice of martial art training this year. The girl answered that she planned to join the football team instead.

Am I supposed to know him or what? Ratcatcher wondered, seeing how uneasy the trainees were at answering this man. Even Carlos, for all his boldness, stuttered when he answered this…

Wait! Rho! As in Argus Rho! They must be relatives!

Seeing him coming closer, she took a step forward, preparing to hear the usual things about her looks and how she should visit a clinic and fix them. It… was getting tiresome. Liam was having his own share of problems in kindergarten, to the point that Mom took him out and asked Mrs. Erickson, who studied to become a teacher, to help with the preschool program. On a positive note, it was nice to see Mom making friends.

People weren’t necessarily mean, and no one certainly had any bad intention behind their clumsy attempts to help… yet they looked at Ratcatcher and her people like they were someone in need of fixing. She liked her body, dang it! It served her well, and she refuses to change it!

"Eliza Vong, but please call me Ratcatcher," she introduced herself.

"Eliza, how are you adjusting?" Augustus asked. "It’s been several years since you joined Iterna, but if you have any questions, shoot right away."

"Thanks, I am fine, sir."

"Do you now?" The instructor tapped at his belt. "And what about the Academy’s food? Is there any particular reason you stick to the basic dishes?"

"N-no, just not hungry, sir!" She lied quickly.

"I will be the one to decide it." Augustus snapped his fingers, calling the staff to bring in a small feast. Pizzas, burgers, cola, chocolate, salads, and even seafood filled the table, making Ratcatcher’s stomach revolt, demanding immediate sustenance. "At ease, everyone, the lessons are over for today. Sit and eat, celebrate a little, and feel free to ask any questions. In my absence, Elina is in charge, with Carlos acting as her second-in-command." Seeing that no trainee had any questions, he seated himself and put a terminal on the table. After pressing a button, the terminal projected a holographic image of the last moments of their recent training. "We will review your performance in the joint training. Do you know why you failed to spot the mine? It was a lack of cooperation..."