Chapter 25: Welcoming Speech...

Stepping into the auditorium after being dropped off with the rest of the Mellbrook crew I look around at all of the aspiring heroes and smile. These are all people who are willing to place their lives on the line for other people and that is admirable. Now with that said only 10 people will graduate. So out of this class 50, only 10 will leave this campus a certified hero. leaving the others to find a chair I sit down and look to the Stage. On the stage behind a podium is a tall, athletic man. He is wearing square glasses and exudes an air of authority. looking at his overall appearance it is obvious that he keeps in fighting shape and is well-muscled, he keeps his black hair trimmed short and neat and looks as well put together as you would expect the dean of a college to look. When it comes to age I would put him in his mid 40's to late '50s. From my meeting with him at my home, I know that he is Dean Blaine, the current dean of this school. When he was a hero he went by the name of "Zero" and he was a graduate of Landers "Class of Legends". A class that was so skilled at taking down Villians and keeping the streets safe that their entire class was given a nickname. The dean's power or lack thereof? is neutralization. He can prevent anyone in his area of influence from using their power. Added onto what is basically an ironman suit and he is one formidable foe. Now I know he can't take away my strength because it has more to do with my body and training than any power. But he might keep me from using any Qi related abilities. Which can make him a threat, Just not a massive one to me. Not that I need to think of him as a threat, but it is always better to know who you can and can't beat.

Seeing that everyone is here dean Blane clears his throat and starts his speech.

"welcome Freshman. It is my pleasure as dean of the Hero Training Certification Program(HTCP) to be the first to congratulate you on making the cut and being enrolled in our very elite little academy. My full name is Blaine Jeffries. But I would like it if all of you would call me Dean Blaine. It is my hope that each and every one of you grows stronger in the years to come and the best of you graduates with full certifications and go on to become acclaimed heroes. I hope all of you will receive the lessons you need to succeed. Now I know all of you are a little nervous. After all most of you are from schools, if not towns where you were the only super present. Being around others who can understand you may be a new experience. Well, I'm here to tell you that it will be a wonderful one. you are going to have friendships, support, and respect. All built on the mutual understanding that only supers can understand."

Thinking back on it some of the information that I gather seemed to be a little wrong. I had originally thought that there was about 10 percent of the population that had powers. Well, it seems that the percent was much, much lower. In reality, it seems that only half of 1 percent (0.5%) had some kind of power. Making our kind very rare. It also explained why supers were able to stay in hiding before captain starlight came out and became the first hero.

"You're going to need that support network too. Becoming a hero is a grueling task. You will be taking combat classes, Training your tactical skills, learning to think around corners, and possibly most importantly of all. you will be learning about the ethics and morality of using abilities. And of course, you will be doing all of that while maintaining your secret identity up top."

*groaning from audience*

"Now, now none of that. I know many of you have lived out in the open with your abilities for years. but this is how we do things at Lander. Keeping a secret identity will help hon a lot of skills a hero will need, ingenuity, thinking on your feet, planning, all major elements of keeping your secret safe. All of those who fail at keeping your identity secret... Well, let's just say "fail" was the operative word there."

"..." (everyone)

"Of course, there are always exceptions. But let's just say, you should do your best to keep the fact you are a super, hidden. If you need to show off, work out, or just get the powers pumping. Then you are always welcome down here. Where you can be the super we all know you are. With that settled, let's go over today's activities, shall we? Since the above ground classes don't start until tomorrow we will be using today to do our combat ranking. For those of you who don't know, we do rankings at the beginning and end of this and every other year. This is so we can get a sense of where you are starting from based on the last test. We will also be able to see how much you have grown by the end. we won't be just taking into account who wins each fight. We will be looking at how they use their abilities, bodies, and brains to make the most of every situation. Todays' will be a single-elimination tournament. So the more you win, the more you fight, the better chance you have of showing us what you can do."

Combat ranking huh? well, I hope there is someone who can give me a challenge, even if it is a small one. But if no one can even do that... then I guess I will have to spend some time during these years whipping some of them into shape.

"I'd like all of you to come down now and meet the professors who will be overseeing the fights and first battles of your college careers. The Freshman combat instructors Coach George and Coach Persephone."

Two people from the side of the stage, both wearing jeans, walked up and joined the dean in the center. The man is dark-haired, tall, and muscular. The woman, on the other hand, is blonde, lean, curvy, and just plain sexy. honestly, I can tell that a lot of men around here will definitely find themselves crushing on her. I would as well if not for the fact that a certain blonde woman that I met in the cafeteria hadn't already caught my eye. Though if I was turned down by a said girl, I wouldn't mind trying to rebound with a curvy professor. But something tells me she isn't the type to give out anything easily, she seems more of the type who adores the admiration from afar but never lets a man get too close. There was also one more thing that turned me off, and that was that she is dangerous. I don't know how dangerous, but something inside of me is telling me to stay away from her or stay on her good side. I don't know what her power is, but I'm guessing it is something my impressive sustain and endurance could do nothing against.

Rising from my seat with the rest of the class I start to make my way down to greet the professors who will be overseeing this tournament. looking over I can see both Vince and Nick talking to each other as we make our way down. And from the direction that Nick is staring, The professors' tits, I think I can guess what they are talking about. Looking around some more I spot a certain small blonde who is very shy, and very pretty. It seems Camille is a Super. Interesting. Not wanting to startle her or put her in the spotlight I decide to ignore her for now. It is probably for the better, with the looks I'm attracting from the female population and some of the males. It seems kind of rude to put such a shy girl in the middle of all this attention. It seems with my supernatural looks and noticeable height advantage over everyone else in the class I kind of stand out. Ignoring all of the gazes I make my way in front of the professors. Well, let's see what they have to say.