That afternoon, she’d told me she had never really thought of her parents as real parents, even though to her they technically were.

  “It’s weird,” she’d said, “watching them raise you now, too. It makes them seem more legit, if you know what I’m saying.”

  I had nodded, leaving it at that. They were raising me, after all. What more could I ask for?

  What the fuck she was doing on Junos now was beyond me. A rogue, a woman without any superpowers. My best guess was that she’d found a way to con them and had maybe gotten caught. Once I was in, I would go for the prisons first—find out where they were and see if they were keeping her there, or maybe they’d caught her and sent her away. What the hell prisons were doing at a school anyway was beyond me, but I figured it had something to do with the level of highly powerful supers on campus as teachers and guards. If not the prisons, maybe she was in the school itself, pretending to be a super.

  How typical of her that would be—living the dream I’d always wanted. Well, now we both would, in a sense.

  6

  The pod came in for a landing on the massive craft, and I didn’t fail to notice the many turrets and weapons systems prepared to cause trouble for anyone not meant to be there. Lucky us, for now the systems didn’t know we were phonies.

  “First things first,” Silencer said, leading us down one of the corridors and pulling up the map as he did so. It was an interesting power, apparently filling in both where we’d been and a small area around where we were at any given moment, as if fog were lifting around our location. “You saw the others out there—they weren’t dressed like us.”

  I noted he’d switched out of prison browns and into the rogue clothes of our guild, along with the others. Apparently, they’d thought it important, in case fitting back in at the guild had been a plan B. Not uniforms or anything like that, but a generic style that we all recognized, along with an arm band with the symbol of Station Eshu—a hand holding a flame. Mostly we wore battle armor, a mixture of outfits similar to the supers of the Citadel but with a tad more flavor. I, for example, wore tight brown pants with a black checkered skirt, and a flexi-armor top that would deflect most projectiles but allowed me to breathe and didn’t squish my breasts. Over that I tended to wear my long, green jacket, but I’d discarded that earlier. It was all rather dull when compared with my bright pink hair, but honestly it was best to keep a low profile, so when out on missions I’d tended to cover my hair with a helmet or other headgear.

  “Here,” Silencer said, finding a long corridor with foot lockers, beds, and empty of people. “See if you can find clothes to at least help us match the social stations of those people out there.”

  The idea that I might be lower in social standing to anyone pissed me off, inspiring me even further to show these asshats what I was capable of. I was going to their school, and was going to prove to all of them that I was their equal.

  I found an outfit not so different from what I’d been wearing—pants with a skirt and all—only about ten times more refined. These kids had class, if class meant rich punks who had never had to work a day in their lives. That was my guess, anyway, based on the various outfits and even jewelry we found in those lockers. I had to imagine they’d left them all behind in favor of the uniforms they’d be receiving once they arrived in their new rooms. This was a good sign, since we didn’t have a bunch of toiletries and whatnot to arrive with ourselves.

  Silencer saw me eyeing a necklace of light gems and shook his head. “Not here to get attention on ourselves. Keep it minimalistic, nothing that stands out. Last thing you need is to walk in there and have some super start yelling about you wearing her panties.”

  “Nice image,” I said, glaring. “For the record, I’m keeping my own panties on.”

  “And for the record, I’m not wearing any,” Ice said, bending over to check a locker and flipping up her skirt at the same time. Yup, one hundred percent truth in her statement, as evidenced by her ass staring at us.

  “Thanks for that,” I said, and chuckled at the way Trance was biting his lower lip at that image.

  Meanwhile, Ice went to the far end of the room and merely had to touch the metal of the door frame to be able to access the ship’s system. She pulled out an expandable screen with touch keys, connecting to commence with her hack. I’d barely finished dressing when she let out a yelp of satisfaction.

  “We’re in,” Ice said.

  Silencer glanced around, then moved to the door. “Set it up. Does it look like the others were assigned uniforms? Tablets? Anything we need to account for to avoid looking out of place?”

  She made some adjustments on her tablet. “Checking, putting our information into the system…”

  “What’s my alias going to be?” I asked.

  “Going with real names,” Silencer replied. “She’ll delete any other records of us, or already has,” he glanced over and Ice confirmed that with a nod, “and this way any supers with the ability to look into our minds won’t see lies in that regard.”

  “False identities are the easiest to catch,” Trance said, pulling on a long overcoat that made him look more like a prince than a student. He stood regally, knowing it, and winked. “Like what you see?”

  I scoffed, but looked around at us, watched Ice for a moment, then laughed. “The ultimate prank, huh?”

  “What?” Trance asked.

  “Just getting into character. We’re students now, so… this is like a student prank. I’ve always wanted to be part of one of those.”

  He laughed, shaking his head, and moved over to help Ice. I leaned back against the wall, watching through one of the windows—and then sat up straight at a sign of movement.

  “Shit, someone’s coming,” I said.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Trance said, stepping toward the door.

  “No,” I countered, darting into his path and putting a hand on his chest—muscular, firm. At least I knew Ice’s taste. “Let me.”

  At a nod from Silencer, Trance stepped back, gesturing me forward.

  “I’m in the system, in case they check?” I asked, rotating my neck and putting my game face on.

  “You are,” Ice replied.

  With a big grin, I stepped out into the hallway and came face-to-face with a woman slightly shorter than myself, eyes a deep turquoise in their entirety, and with a hat jammed over her head that hid her blue hair and covered her ears. It was a large hat, not fitting in a place like this, but it worked with the flowing, flowery dress.

  “Oh,” she said, eyes wide, apparently surprised to see me there.

  I opened my mouth to say something, but just stared. Until that moment, I’d never met anyone so completely one color like that, though I’d heard it wasn’t unusual among supers. That wasn’t all, though—it was like staring into those eyes pulled me into deep waters, left to soak nude in the afternoon sun, drifting off to sleep. She blinked and I was pulled back, standing there, staring awkwardly.

  “Hi,” I managed.

  She smiled, hands behind her back in a very cute, approachable way. “Sorry, my eyes… they tend to do that to people. Intoxicating is a word often used.”

  I cocked my head, wondering if they worked somehow similarly to my charms, but on a sight level instead of like my breaths. When I realized I was still staring, not saying anything, I chuckled and shrugged.

  Her eyes moved over me, from my new blouse to the way my skirt stuck out in the back. I’d chosen a longer one to try and hide my tail, but she seemed to notice something was off. Damn. Then her gaze moved to my eyes and lingered there a moment.

  Finally, I smiled wide, stuck out my hand, and said, “I’m Charm.” Fuck. I’d totally meant to come up with a codename, but instead I’d blurted out my actual hero name. Son of a bitch. Well, too late, and I remembered that Silencer had said we’d be using our real names anyway. It was all a blur, since I was nervous as hell. “And you are?”

  “Laurel,” the lady replied. “I was just… well, didn’t want to head out with the others. You were lingering also? Like to be alone?”

  “I—yes.” I’d been about to say no, but had a feeling this could be a good “in” with this girl. “You know how it is.”

  She nodded, glancing sideways. I got the distinct feeling she was trying to go into the room to find something. I had to distract her, at least long enough for my team to get out of there.

  “Hey, let’s ride over together.” I instantly felt a surge of warmth as her eyes focused on me again. At least, I think they did, as it was hard to tell without pupils or irises.

  “Really?”

  “Of course. I mean, unless you don’t want to, but…” I bit my lip, unable to take my eyes off this woman. It was crazy. I’d had a few crushes on guys, but never really thought of a woman in that way. Yet here I was, grinning like an idiot, and—yep, there it went, my eyes even darted down to her cleavage. What was happening to me?

  “No, I mean yes.” Laurel indicated the room and said, “I just need to check on something.”

  “Yeah, of course, but—” Just then my team walked out, walking right past us, talking about how excited they were for their new classes. I stared, baffled.

  A few paces past us, Ice glanced back and said, “Oh, you gals new, too?”

  I nodded, keenly aware of Laurel’s eyes on me.

  “Better hurry, don’t want to be left behind,” Ice said, continuing on with the guys.

  “Yeah, we’ll be there,” I muttered, but turned to see that Laurel had vanished into the room. I followed, figuring it was smart to stick with this possible new friend, but also because I wanted to further explore what was going on with my crazy hormones. This was all new to me, and the warmth in my chest was intriguing.

  She was bent over one of the beds, her perfectly rounded ass facing me. I couldn’t help but look as she checked under the sheets, and I saw something sparkly move across her hand, moving up her arm.

  “What’s that…?”

  “Huh?” Startled, she turned, and blushed. “Listen, you weren’t supposed to see…”

  “We all have our secrets,” I said, and offered a smile.

  “That right?” She stood now, turning her hand in a way that made a glow, and she eyed me seductively. “What’s yours?”

  “I, well…” I took a step toward her, about to remove my coat, when she took a step back, hiding the glow.

  “Stop, stop.” She looked flustered, even mad at herself. “Sorry, this is my fault. Part of my powers. If you look into my eyes I can sort of, I don’t know, entice people. Get them to do stuff, in a sense. But it always results in… this.”

  She gestured to me taking off my coat, and I realized what she must’ve thought.

  “Oh, no, I wasn’t stripping,” I said, and then laughed. “It’s just that…” My words trailed off as I realized I had been about to show her my tail, otherwise kept hidden under this coat I’d found. She was right. Somehow she was getting me to do something I didn’t actually want to do.

  This girl was trouble.

  I consciously looked away, determined to not let it happen again. “Maybe we should catch up with the others. You have what you came for?”

  “I do,” she replied, walking past me but pausing at the doorway. “Charm, huh? Why do they call you that?”

  “My powers… Maybe I’ll show you someday.”

  The side of her mouth went up in a cute little smile, and she nodded. “Hmm, sure. You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”

  And with that she walked off. I hesitated, took a deep breath, and followed. I had a feeling this place was going to bring with it a whole new slew of experiences, many of which I never could have anticipated.

  7

  The pods were designated for particular schools, so Ice and I were on the same one as Laurel, the guys moving to two others, apparently to be separated. There was Supralines, but also Rocadium along with several more advanced and specialized training facilities on Junos.

  For supers who wanted to make a name for themselves and become better at what they did, this was the planet. At least, for those of us who believed in education and training. Our guild masters had always scoffed at the idea, throwing new recruits into the action as a way of testing us fast and seeing who sank and who swam. If you sunk it was just like in the water—it meant death in more cases than not. When someone had failed but survived, they’d go off to serve in the latrines or in other less-valued duties.

  My own experience had been quite different, though, having been raised with the guild since I was young. Malina had been at my side on the mission that was considered to be my test, and when the time came that would’ve likely ended my life, she tore out a fucker’s throat and left the other for me, but only after slamming a hammer into his groin.

  Needless to say, I had the advantage, and with my strength and speed, even at seven had made quick work of the bastard. Stealing from pirates was never smart, but it had been a matter of guild pride, so we’d sent all we had against them… yes, even us seven-year olds, usually reserved for petty theft and easy pity jobs.

  So yeah, that had been my education.

  But now, giving a slight nod of farewell to Trance and Silencer and sharing a knowing and somewhat excited look with Ice, I was full of anticipation and ready to see how the rest of the supers learned. We wouldn’t be joining the junior schooling of course, but coming in at the adult, advanced level education would be even better. From what I understood, the adult schooling admitted a small percentage of its students from outside the education system, to include those of us who had been raised on the outskirts, converted over from villains (though that was rarely, if ever, allowed), and other special cases.

  In this situation, I justified myself as a very special case. It was entirely possible I could’ve left the guild and sought sanctuary, then applied to the program and been admitted. For the sake of self-justification, that sounded nice.

  Not the story I would use when people asked, but close enough.

  Laurel took the seat opposite mine and smiled politely. She glanced over at Ice, who frowned and looked out the window. Apparently she was going with the ‘too cool’ cover, or maybe the spoiled brat who’d prove to be a bully. Thinking of it, I realized either would be a good fit.

  “You don’t strike me as the type,” Laurel said, and she cocked her head, considering me.

  “The type to…?”

  “Oh, I don’t mean any offense. The type to have attended junior school here. Am I right?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “I’m new myself,” she said, her eyes widening in a way that made her even more intoxicating. It must’ve been part of her powers again.

  “Oh?” was all I could think to say.

  “See, my type… My people aren’t often invited here.”

  “What are your people?” Ice asked, suddenly curious. “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen anyone quite like you.”

  Laurel looked sad for a moment, but her smile returned. “We’re supers from a planetary system far away from Oram, where powers have affected us differently. We’re called the Drayan, by some, anyway.”

  “Oh, so we’ll be together in that regards,” I said, even more excited to have met her now. “Is it true that Supralines takes all kind? No discrimination?”

  Laurel considered this. “You’ve been reading too much. I don’t believe there’s a place in the universe where there’s truly no discrimination. I would know.”

  Hearing that wasn’t exactly a surprise, but I felt for her. I wanted to tell her, to show her my ears and tail, but had a feeling she already knew there was something different about me anyway.

  “But you’re coming to school here,” I said, hoping that would somehow prove she was wrong.

  “I am,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.”

  All because of her eyes? I wanted to ask but figured that might be insensitive. Ice was watching us with a curious skepticism, like she wasn’t sure if she approved of this friendship, but leaned back, ultimately deciding not to care. Our mission was to get in good, pretend we were normal students to get information that might help us find my sister. So as far as I was concerned, every ‘friend’ we could make was a step forward.

  As we approached the school, I watched with awe. Turning to Laurel, I said, “I’ve always wanted to come here. Always, ever since I was a little girl. You?”

  “A dream come true, and a big step forward for my kind.” She nodded, enthusiastically. “And your friends? They’re going to Rocadium?”

  “Friends?” I asked. The way she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes told me there was no fooling her. “Ah, yes. I think so.”

  Ice caught on and said, “More like acquaintances really. We all just met fairly recently.”

  It was true, and Laurel could tell.

  “I see,” Laurel replied. “They kind of had a Rocadium vibe to them is all. Like you.” That last part was directed at Ice, who frowned.

  “Isn’t it all boys?” Ice asked, astonishing me—if she was the one putting in our information and didn’t know something as simple as this, we might have some problems ahead.

  “Wrong school,” Laurel said. “Rocadium is mixed and, if you ask me… not as good.”

  “Teachers care less?” Ice asked dismissively.

  “Oh, I meant it literally—not as good, as in, more evil.” Laurel grinned at the misunderstanding. “See, they don’t have students swear an oath to become superheroes, and in fact they’ve had several powerful supervillains come out of their doors.”