The Academy, Chapter 1

Written by Thefirstone :: [Monday, 13 May 2019 05:53] Last updated by :: [Friday, 17 May 2019 21:28]

Maia saw her first Chosen when she was ten. She was with her mother at the bank when a group of heavily armed men came barging in, only to be subdued before anyone could even react by a blur of motion that then resolved into the form of a woman.

She was Israeli, over six feet tall, athletically built but with large breasts. In addition to the beauty of her face, her skin was flawless, without a single blemish or scar. All of this was visible because she was naked (Most Chosen had signature outfits of some sort, but the Sanctum was the only place that made clothes capable of withstanding the kind of things most Chosen put it through in the line of duty, and, as one French chosen who hadn’t worn clothes since her ascension infamously said, Chosen, unlike normal people, had nothing about their bodies to be ashamed of).

The superwoman (who Maia, a Chosen fangirl ever since she’d first heard of them, recognized as Lady Titan) seemed to abruptly notice something as she stood over the robbers, and turned toward Maia, looking her directly in the eye from across the room. As excited as she was that one of the first and most powerful Chosen, one who had been active since the first Chosen inexplicably awakened at midnight on December 31st, 2024, was taking notice of her, the child wasn’t sure what to do in this kind of situation, so she hesitantly waved.

That night, while their daughter was asleep, Maia’s parents heard a knock at their door. It was Lady Titan, wearing a business suit now but still unmistakable.

“Gina and Tyler Baker?”

There was a long, awkward pause before they both nodded.

“You probably know the kind of power my kind have. Strength, speed, flight, breath abilities, intelligence, sensory abilities, and others that develop with time on an individual basis. One of mine is the ability to sense new Chosen before they awaken. During puberty, your daughter is going to become one of us. I’m here to offer her a place at the Sanctum’s academy for when her powers begin to awaken.”


Three years later

There had been a lot of tears and a lot of promises to visit from both Maia and her parents, and a lot of worrying about things she may have forgotten to pack from the latter, but on the whole both parties were quite happy Maia was heading off to the Sanctum. She was fulfilling a lifelong dream and her parents no longer needed to worry about her emerging strength accidentally breaking anything.

Lady Titan, dressed in her Sanctum costume, landed in the family’s backyard at the agreed-upon time. With a last goodbye hug, they left. Lady Titan clutched Maia to her chest with both arms, and took off at supersonic speeds, lifting her luggage telekinetically. Both the school uniform Maia had been given by mail before they left and her escort’s unique one were designed to be able to withstand the forces this trip exposed them to, and within a matter of minutes they had traveled from California to the Sanctum, an artificial island near New York City. Lady Titan decelerated and drifted down to a large landing zone on the east edge, where a number of other women and girls were taking off and landing.

“Take your luggage to that pile over there. Somebody will bring it up to your assigned dorm room. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a few more students to bring in.”

Simultaneously following a sign pointing towards the mess hall and trying to take in as much of her surroundings as possible, Maia regretted only that she had yet to develop her x-ray vision.

The mess hall building was a large, fiberglass dome accessible from the landing pad, and containing multiple long tables. Taking a plate, a sample of salad, a steak and some mashed potatoes from the buffet immediately to the right of the doorway she came in, Maia couldn’t help but take in the room before sitting down.

Girls and women of various ages, none looking older than their mid twenties, sat at eight tables, each of which spanned most of the length of the room. With her budding Chosen hearing, Maia could make out snippets of conversation in various languages (which she could understand thanks to a combination of the large translation dictionary she’d been sent a few months before and her superhuman mind) as she walked towards a table where the new students seemed to be congregating.

“I’ve heard that the first Chosen built this entire island and everything on it by hand.”

“Do you know anything about how we’re sorted into our dorms?”

“My mom’s actually a liaison between the Chosen and the British government.”

“Is it just me, or have your tastebuds gotten more sensitive since you started awakening too?”

Maia tuned out the conversation as she started eating, not really noticing her fork had been bent and deformed in her mouth until she finished the steak. She wasn’t really sure if she had to be embarrassed by her blunder or proud of her strength. A few more students trickled in, but things basically continued as they were for another hour until a voice echoed through the room.

“Attention, all freshmen!” The voice wasn’t yelling, but it was a loud, forceful one all the same. All eyes turned toward another door on the other side of the room, where an adult Chosen was standing. She was a tall half-Asian woman, dressed in a white robe that exposed her lithe but muscular arms. “I am Matriarch, first of the Chosen.”

She didn’t really need to introduce herself, but Maia supposed formalities were the same everywhere.

“I am going to assign each of you to your dorm rooms. Each of you will immediately go find the room I say when I say your name.” With that she started listing off names followed by number-letter combinations, with students heading past her through the door as she spoke.

“Maia Baker, 15-C.”

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