I pissed off Director Penn this time—I know I did. But unlike any other time I've crossed a line, I couldn't find it in me to care about the consequences of my actions. The board could all shove it up theirs, minus my mom.

They're the ones who forced me into this hellhole of an institution, anyway. The Heroes Academy was something I was born into. Unlike others who discovered their powers and were legally obligated to join, I was the daughter of the Dynamic Duo. Genetically, there was no doubt I'd have powers. Day 1, I trekked around with my mother and father as they went about their daily lives, working for and attending classes in the Academy. Harnessing their powers while I watched in wide-eyed innocence.

My future was sealed. I was to become a hero.

However, not all the time do two heroes get together and have children. Sometimes, a hero and a civilian will get together and have a kid with superhuman abilities because of the hero's superior genetics. Other times, two people with no super capabilities would get together, but someone with powers was forgotten somewhere in their genealogy. And the lucky kid would be entered into the Heroes Academy when their abilities manifested.

Those unfortunate kids not born into the Academy who had to join later had hopes of becoming the new Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman! But, unlike how heroes and superheroes were portrayed in the olden movies, we didn't have dramatic titles.

No, we took a more military approach. My callsign was Switch. Came to figure out it was because my emotions flipped like a light switch. I didn't like it, but it wasn't up to me anyway. Being born into it means abiding by the Academy's damn rules—something that was harder for my generation.

We were a different breed than those before us, and even our parents' generation. While their bodies could only specialize in one type of power, ours could juggle many.

Of course, that's a cause for complaint. As I made my way down the hall to my apartment (technically a dorm room but bigger), I heard on the overhead speaker, "Azira. To Director Penn's office. Right. Now."

I knew exactly why they were calling me. She deserved it, though, in all fairness. Every time I told her to leave me alone, that I was stronger than her and didn't want to hurt her, she pulled me right back in.

So I beat the crap out of her, hero style. I struck her with lightning first before trapping her wrapped up in what was once a metal trash can. I didn't kill her, though. I guess it's inherent that none of us have that desire. But I wanted her to learn a lesson she'd never forget—I thought that was pretty heroic of me.

But as I entered Director Penn's office, I could tell he didn't share the same sentiment.

I sat across from him as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His office was quaint and not very show-offy, which is why I always liked him. He proved to stay humble and within his means. There were no flashy degrees and no photos of him with the people he'd saved; you'd almost think he was a regular, everyday civilian.

That'd be far from the truth, though.

"I swear... it was easier to deal with you guys when you didn't understand how to harness multiple abilities," he grumbled.

"What was that?" I asked innocently.

"Azira, no, now is not the time to play dumb," he snapped, looking up at me with his intense tri-toned eyes, his dark skin accenting them even further—not that it would've made a difference. "Your actions alone today could result in your expulsion from the Academy. Is that what you want?"

I sighed dramatically and leaned back in my chair. The leather seat cushioned my butt and back as I held his gaze. "Lyla deserved it."

"How'd she deserve it?" he asked, appearing to try to keep calm with me. His face twitched, and his eyes held an unwavering intensity.

"I've told her not to mess with me countless times," I said firmly. "Actually, I've practically begged for her to leave me alone. That wasn't good enough for her. She sought a reaction from me—so she went for Cecily."

He leaned forward, sighing heavily, and clasped his hands together. "And what did she do to Cecily?"

"You know Lyla's powers are her kryptonite," I said coolly. "She used them on her to piss me off. And it worked."

Kryptonite is a name we so lovingly kept from Superman because it properly represented the weaknesses we all had. It came in different forms. Some people's powers operated like someone's kryptonite—those people tended to stay away from one another. For others, theirs was a flower, stone, or other naturally occurring element.

"Mhm," he said. His features seemed to lighten some, seeing that my actions were taking a stand for someone being abused by someone else's misuse of their abilities. "How is Cecily?"

"She's fine," I said. "I used my healing powers." I waved it off because that was possibly the only power that made me unique. That's saying very little about me.

"Okay," he said. "Okay, okay, okay... I can make a case for you. But...!" He leaned closer, holding my gaze. "Switch, you're 24-years-old. You are no longer a student here; you're an employee. Expulsion from the Academy is like being dishonorably discharged from the military. You need to remember that this is not fun and games anymore." Using four fingers, he tapped down furiously on his mahogany desk. "You're in the real world."

"Then why," I started bitterly, "are we not allowed to leave?"

"I told you why," he said, lowering his voice as if the whole Academy was listening to our conversation. "There has been a significant threat increase. You are all valuable, meaning we must keep you protected or face consequences from the government. Trust me, your safety is our top concern."

"Mhm."

"Switch." He crossed his arms. "We've provided everyone here with places to eat, sleep, lounge, drink, and party. You've got it fairly good."

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"You get to go home every day—you have independence."

I wasn't ungrateful for the lifestyle we lived. It just felt suffocating, as if you were still living with your parents who tried to acknowledge you were an adult but still treated you like a child. The heroes in the grades right before us figuratively got to leave the nest, albeit briefly, before they were recalled back. But the rest of us? We've been under Daddy Academy for our whole lives.

"No, no, I don't." He sighed and shook his head. "Even we've been told to stay within the Academy."

My sour disposition shifted immensely upon hearing that. I hated it when higher-ups were treated differently. Seeing that he was in the same boat as us made things feel a little better. If only momentarily.

"Listen," he continued, "you're still put on missions. Ones that don't pose a significant threat to your wellbeing."

"Don't get me started with that," I said, my mood plummeting again. "You have me on the most low-profile cases."

I've gone against no villains. I guess technically, you could consider robbers and rapists villains, but they were the easy kind. The kind a mere police officer could handle.

I didn't get to use my powers against those who stood a chance against me. Villainous civilians are easy—too easy.

"You've cracked several child trafficking and human trafficking rings," he said, shaking his head. "Your work has been invaluable. It's not all about saving the human race from villains. It's also about saving the human race from themselves."

I sighed heavily. "Gross. Stop with the theatrics. Do you want me to cringe?"

"That's not at all the intention," he said and gave me a teasing smile. "All right. Go back to your apartment. You're off the hook."

"Thanks," I said, unable to stop myself from smiling as well. I exited his office and walked back down the hall, a skip in my step.

Until I saw her. I rolled my eyes as I neared. One of Lyla's friends, Clara, stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a smug smile on her face as she blocked the way to my apartment door.

"So, are they finally expelling you?" she asked tauntingly. Her blue hair draped over her shoulders like a cape, and her perfectly manicured fingers looked too pristine for her being a shapeshifter. She also had ice powers, but she seldom used those since they were too draining.

"Actually, your friend using her powers as Cecily's kryptonite left me off the hook," I said, shrugging. "Now get away from my door."

She laughed humorlessly, and I could tell she was fuming. "Always the Director's favorite. Just another slap on the wrist for you."

"Yep," I replied, a smile creeping onto my face. "You seem to forget I was not in the wrong for defending her."

"Cecily isn't weak," she hissed, slamming her fist against the wall. "If she were, she wouldn't be assigned to defeating Scar."

"And when," I started, stepping closer, "did I call her weak? Freudian slip?"

Freud was indeed a relic from the distant past. Back when cars ran on fossil fuels and global warming was starting to become a thing. Fortunately, humans learned, although it didn't seem that would ever happen. It took a whole bunch of us with mutated genes and abilities to harness powers to make that happen. Twist the arms of government officials back slightly, and they caved on making progress that didn't just benefit them.

She gritted her teeth and pushed herself off the wall, moving closer to me. "Don't flip my words."

"You flipped mine," I said. "She's a better hero than both of us combined. Now get out of my face."

"You're playing a dangerous game," she hissed. "If you—"

"We're adults now, Clara," I snapped. "If you don't cut this crap out, I'll beat it out of you like an adult would. You understand? Out of my face. Now."

"That's not how an adult behaves," Cecily said from behind me, cracking open my apartment door.

"Not the time to lecture me, 'mom,'" I responded, slightly annoyed. I turned to see my best friend looking a lot healthier than earlier. Her features brightened, and her face was no longer sickly and gaunt. Her straight black hair fell softly past her eyes, her blue eyes more radiant. "You're looking better."

"Of course," she said, smiling. "Thanks to you."

"You're so dramatic," Clara grumbled. "You weren't even hurt. You just needed your dog to protect you."

I spun back around, ready to pounce, not because she called me a dog but for the very fact that she was talking down to Cecily.

But Cecily knew me too well. She grabbed hold of my arm and yanked me back.

"You're bigger than this," she said. She shoved me into the apartment and slammed the door shut as Clara yelled out some additional profanities she's lucky I wasn't inclined to have heard.

"Why do you do that?" I asked. "I was going to knock the teeth out of her face."

"For what?"

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Did you not hear the things she was saying?"

She scoffed and then chuckled in disbelief. "Who cares? Come on, I can handle myself—if I wanted to, I would've addressed it."

"But you don't," I emphasized. "You let people walk all over you!"

"I'm being merciful," she said, a slight edge in her tone. "Trust me, if I didn't want to, I wouldn't."

"Right," I said, plopping down onto my couch. "That's why you were struck with your kryptonite."

She grinned. "To be fair, I didn't know that was going to happen."

I shook my head, regarding her seriously. "They're sending you out to fight Scar in a few weeks. One of our most notorious villains on the wanted list."

She sat across from me on the loveseat. She raised her eyebrows and waved her hand as if egging me on to make my point.

"He's killed every one of the heroes sent to fight him," I exclaimed. "You see how serious this is? You can't let what happened today happen to you."

"It's not," she said soothingly. "Don't worry about me. Focus on you."

"Focus on me?" If I didn't love her, I would've strangled her.

She stood up and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed two wine glasses from my cupboard and poured the red liquid into it. She returned to the couch and handed one to me with her same confident smile.

"Yes. You." She brought the drink to her lips, drawing a long gulp. "Listen," she said, wiping the sides of her mouth off, "you've made many enemies here. And many more friends. But you're too busy watching my back when you should be watching yours; people here are trying to get you expelled."

Why did she always have a point? Although, technically, I didn't make the enemies myself. More so because my mom was on the board for the school. They despised us, seemingly nepo babies as if I didn't have powers of my own and got into this school just because my mom was making behind-the-scenes decisions.

Give me a break.

"So what're you saying I do?" I asked, leaning my head on the couch. My neck stretched back as I stared up at the ceiling. "Lay low? Be perfect?"

"Be yourself without being aggravated so quickly."

I scoffed. That was literally like asking a pig to fly. Except in this case, that was entirely possible.

"Everyone here acts like they're trying to piss me off."

She laughed, her nails lightly tapping the sides of her now-empty glass. "They are."

"Great," I muttered under my breath.

"Listen, you have two of the most powerful parents," she said. "And your powers reflect that."

"My powers are literally nothing special." I sat up, glaring at her.

"You don't think so because they remind you of your parents'."

"I mean, yeah." I twisted a strand of hair between my fingers. "You have powers no one has ever seen before. Ever. Literally, who would see steam as a weapon? The way you mess with Fire and Water and combine it into a weapon that's physical but not actually physical—"

"It's nothing special—"

"It is! Out of all the crap I've seen in this school, nothing has been that unique. The only thing special about me is that I can heal people."

She made her way back into the kitchen and poured herself another glass. "That's very special. No one in the school has that ability. No one in the entire populace of this country has it. They do in some areas in Vetust Asia, but we don't know who those people are. They've been hidden. Or else risk their abilities being exploited."

She sat down across from me once more, sipping slower this time. "Anyway, friggin, stop comparing yourself to others. Be happy with what you have."

"No, you stop," I groaned. "Don't pep talk me or whatever the hell you're doing."

She giggled. "C'mon, I'm right!"

I shook my head.

"Hey," she said, flicking me gently on the forehead. "You need to smile. Jeran wants to meet us today for drinks. So pregame, and let's get going."