By the next morning, Reina barely remembered anything. The only thing she recalled was that something really bad was going to happen, and it was going to begin in Neverstien. And whatever it was, it had chilled her to the bones. Suffice to say, Reina was mad when she woke. And when Reina was mad, the entire orphanage was terrified. Even the nuns were wary, and everybody moved around Reina as if she was a bomb.

The only one spared from this was Marie, whom Reina couldn't bear being mean to. Even still, Marie had a limit as well.

Reina knew the place she had seen last night. How couldn’t she? It was on the news practically every day!

The self-proclaimed greatest city in the world, the only place where people with powers could use them freely within city limits. A place without discrimination, bias, or judgment. A haven for all of humanity, a marvel of technological advancement that was 20 years ahead of the rest of the world. Or so they said.

Just like any other city, Neverstien had its own problems; and since it was the most powerful city in the world, those problems tended to be the most troublesome. Reina really didn't want to go back there, especially considering what had happened last time, but she knew with absolute certainty that Neverstien was where everything started. If she wanted to help the future, she needed to begin there. So, she went to the only person she could rant to. The only person who knew about her secrets.

Nun Sistiline. The Nun whom everybody loved. She was quite modern. She wore small oval glasses and had a young face one would imagine a high schooler wearing, not a 30-year-old woman. She wore multiple rings on her right hand, and when asked why, she replied by saying to ward off the bad luck.

Sistiline looked up as Reina barged in without knocking. This happened quite frequently around here. "Ah. I was expecting you. The building had a scared look to it.”

Reina rolled her eyes before beginning. “Sis! We have a major problem. I had a dream last night, one of those future dreams. Something bad is going to happen to, well, the whole damn world, and I need to be in Neverstien to prevent it.” Sistiline inhaled shapely and stood up. “I know, right! You’ve got to help me, Sis. You’re my only hope!”

Sistiline grinned, though there was a hint of sadness in it. “Quoting lines won’t help. I, for one, am fully supporting this.”

This derailed Reina quite a bit. “What?!” She couldn’t believe her ears. “Why?”

“Because, Reina. You know as well. Your dreams are never wrong. True, they're mostly focused on who'll steal the daily supply of chocolate but who's to say it's wrong about this?" Sis smiled wearily, twisting one of her rings around. "And as much as I want to keep you safe here, I know you. You can't stay here, stagnant for the rest of your life. You need action, to help people. I know about the Artist attack yesterday."

Reina flinched. "I swear, I didn't intend on-!"

Sis raised a hand, stopping any protest. "I know, I know. I didn't tell you, because I didn't find anything wrong with it."

Reina looked up at this, shocked. "But you told me when I first joined to never endanger myself by rushing recklessly into battle."

"And did you? You didn't fight that Artist for glory or the thrill, you fought him because you wanted to help people. I can't find any fault in that, it's one of your best traits after all. Which is why I'm giving you my blessing to go to Neverstien, even though it will be very hard for us."

"It's going to be hard for me too," Reina admitted, blinking back tears.

"Of course, the best way for you to get to Neverstien, with the income we have and no adult supervision, is through the Academy." Reina stood up at her words and discovered that she had been smirking. Ah ha! So this was her revenge!

"I can't! I can't deal with Arcturus! Besides, it's going to open up a whole lot more trouble!" Reina insisted.

"This is final," Sis affirmed. "The Academy is the safest place for you in Neverstien, and unless you're staying there, then you're not going to Nevestien." Reina growled, but she could see the steel in Sis' eyes. She wasn't going to budge on this, and it wasn't worth fighting over days before Reina would leave.

Reina exhaled. "Fine."

That was how she found herself watching the long line of people waiting for an interview.

Marie and Avery had tagged along. Marie because she loved heroes, Avery because she wanted to be there for her and to make sure she didn’t run away. And she loved heroes too.

Reina groaned. “It’s so hot!” She fanned herself.

Avery laughed. “Is that the sun or you?”

Reina threw a half-hearted glare which Avery friendly swatted away.

“Oh, relax! It’ll just be for a little while longer!” They both peeked out to see the line stretch beyond their view. Avery nervously chuckled. “Or not.”

Reina growled. Most of these people wouldn’t even be able to get in. This was all just a front to appease the public, people without circuits wouldn’t even be considered. “That’s it! I’m going to blast my way through-!”

“No, you can’t!” Avery grabbed onto her arm and started tugging it down.

“Reina! Avery!”

Marie came rushing up with two iced beverages in her hand. Reina’s eyes twitched.

“You’re my hero!” She pounced at her only to slam into the ground as Avery plucked the second one out of her arms. Reina desperately turned to the first one only to find Marie drinking it.

“You know, I don’t care. Gimme!” She started reaching for Avery’s drink.

“Stop it! That’s gross!” Avery’s face got smushed by Reina’s hand.

“Says the girl who loved to take showers together when we were younger!” Reina laughed as she pried the drink out from her friend’s grasp. She raised it high to the air in triumphant, only for a breeze to come out of nowhere and slam into it, sending it toppling.

“NO!” Reina and Avery shrieked as the pink slush slammed down into the ground.

“Okay, what idiot is using wind?” Reina cried as she looked around. Especially in public, what an idiot!

“Over there!” Marie pointed.

The boy from the arcade was standing in the middle of a crowd, using his powers to create gentle breezes that ruffled people’s hair. At least, that was what it did there. Back here, it only made things blow over. Reina clenched her fists as she glared daggers at the boy. She was already feeling tense about this whole situation, and this did not make things better. Avery looked confused until a couple of men nearby started complaining.

“Whoo, it’s hot, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, why did it have to be today? The things I do for my kids, I swear.”

Avery’s eyes widened. She had become so accustomed to Reina’s regular burst of power that she forgot she was more powerful than normal.

“Reina, stop!” she hissed. Reina’s eyes never left the boy’s smirking face.

“If I punch him, do you think anyone would complain?” she wondered.

“Yes, me!” Avery insisted, tugging at her friend’s sleeve. Reina’s hands caught on fire and Avery gasped in horror. Oh no. Reina didn’t know who that boy was but he was going to be burnt. Reina furtively checked the area, nobody was looking her way. Reina tossed the tiniest of flames at him, letting it skim the ground. Not too powerful, just enough so it would singe his shoes. He saw it coming a mile away and twirled his fingers around. The flame became trapped in a ball of wind and died down, with nobody being wiser.

Avery’s eyes widened. This never happened before. She looked nervously to Reina to see how she was reacting and was surprised to find her looking guilty.

Reina clutched her head. What was she thinking? Using her Art like that in broad daylight, abusing it even? Just because he knocked over some 1 dollar drink? Simply because she was having a bad day, didn't allow her to do whatever she wanted.

The boy caught her eyes and grinned. He began speaking, using the wind to carry out his voice. “Now, I shouldn’t show you this yet, but you’ve been such good sports! Here are the new uniforms!” His robes went flying off of him, revealing elegant clothes of the highest quality. Boots, a belt, pants, a shirt with an emblem on it, a cuff, and most eye-catching of all, a short but elegant cloak attached around his neck.

Reina groaned. He was going to be a pain, wasn't he? The man in front of her turned around annoyed at the noise, no doubt about to complain. He did a double-take when he spotted her cloak and mistook it for the Academy one. “Oh! You’re from the Academy, right?”

Reina shook her head, forcing a smile. Could this line move any slower? Finally, the line moved up and they were at the front. A cheery-looking attendant beamed at them. “Hello there!”

Reina had an ear-splitting headache but could respect the fact that this lady had been sitting out here for hours and greeting people, yet she could still smile so genuinely. Avery was in awe.

“Sup.”

“I assume you’re here for the Academy?”

When Reina didn’t respond, Avery hastened to fill in for her. “Sorry. She is. Only her though,” she clarified when the attendant turned curious eyes on her.

“Yeah, thanks, Avery. Sorry. I’m just soooo tired.” Reina apologized.

The attendant took this in stride. “No problem! Just sign your name!”

Reina got up and scrawled in Reina. The attendant snickered. “Apologies, but meant full name.”

Reina added R. R. “Okay. You happy?”

The attendant frowned. “Um, full name means last name and middle name. Don’t worry! This is private!”

Reina growled. There went any hopes that the staff wouldn't recognize who she was. Reina scratched out what she wrote and scribbled in Reina Rachael Romane.

The attendant smiled satisfied until her eyes landed on the last name. “Wait. You’re-!”

“Yes.” Reina answered stiffly without room for any more questions. Her familial connections did not need to be brought up right now. Or ever, preferably. The attendant nodded and directed her to one of the three tents.

“This one, please.” They stopped at a tent with the insignia of earth on it. Reina turned around to find Avery and Marie cheering for her. She grinned before stepping in. The first thing she noticed was that the place was dusty. Too dusty to have been caused by natural sources. She coughed and hacked into her arm. She tried to swat it away but she may have just made it worst.

“Hey! Wherever you are, can you clear out this dust?” she asked.

There was no reply, and Reina groaned. Judging from what she remembered, this was a test; the education board did that a lot back then, putting potential students in unpleasant circumstances and seeing how they would react to the problem without the presence of an adult. Reina pulled her cloak over her mouth and tried to think; she could try to punch and generate even wind power to clear the dirt. Of course, that would probably destroy the tent as well. The only other option was to use her Fire Arts, but she didn't know if she could control it. . .then again, the Academy was a school for Artists. It was all about Arts.

"Last chance, Wynn. You want me to stop, send me a signal," Reina gave a half-hearted offering. The dust was really beginning to irritate her skin, and she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

When nobody said anything, she took that as approval. Reina summoned a small orb of fire, which immediately sent the dust curling away. Looking good so far, Reina began increasing the power and intensity of the flames, making them hotter and hotter. The dust started fading away as the heat consumed them but it wasn’t enough. Reina nonchalantly raised the temperature, until the tent was vacant of dust.

“Ha! This isn’t too hard to control! Take that, Wynn. Now, where to find that pe-“ Reina walked forward, intending to search for him or her (it was a big tent) but she forgot she was still holding a ball of fire. She tripped over a rock jutting out and yelped as she tumbled.

The orb spilled from her fingers and landed on the carpeted floor. The tent caught in flames and quickly began jumping around, devouring the place in a matter of seconds. Reina simply stood there, gazing with true wonderment shining in her eyes as she watched the destruction. To her, it was a beautiful and deadly art piece.

She heard screams from the outside and realized they must have seen the flames by now. Reina smacked herself in the face; now was definitely not the time to get caught in Artists' High. She needed to ensure nobody would get hurt! Reina summoned all of the flames back to her, which was harder than bringing them forth. After all, Fire was natural power and wanted to be set free.

The fire was drained from across the tent, leaving only the damage it'd caused behind. Once the last of them were gone, Reina took a deep breath and cracked open her eyes. There were huge holes in the tent's walls, and the furniture and desk that had been present were little more than a charred pile of wood.

It wasn’t too bad, she supposed. If you turned your head around, it could be considered beautiful!

“Reina!” A loud shriek tore through the air and Reina winced. She was pretty sure her best friend was going to be pissed off at her; and honestly, she couldn't blame her. Well, Reina could blame Wynn for being such an idiot but this was partially her fault too.

“Reina!” This time it was much closer. She turned to find the people in line and the attendants gaping at her. Then she spotted Avery storming toward me with poor Marie flying behind her. The experience must be excruciating, poor girl.

“Hey, Avery!” Reina plastered on a fake smile and waved. "What's up?"

Avery stomped her foot. “I can’t believe you-! I just-Argh!” She threw her arms up and walked around in a circle, murmuring incoherent things.

Marie gasped, her hair all frazzled up. She clutched Reina’s sleeves. "Reina?” she began with those big doe eyes of her. “Why is Avery so mad?”

Reina looked askew, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ah, I don't know?”

At this, Avery’s entire body froze and she spun toward Reina. “What do you mean, you don’t know? You can’t actually tell me you don’t know?!”

Reina shrugged and smiled as innocently as she could manage under Avery's death glare. Sweat trickled down her back as the hatred intensified. “Would you believe me if I said that I didn’t do it?”

Avery puffed out air. “No.”

Reina sighed. “Fine. But it wasn’t my fault!”

Avery scoffed. “There’s a fire blazing directly behind me. A fire, mind you, is right where one of the tents was! How is this not your fault?!”

“Mhm.” Reina shrugged. She turned to Marie. “Do you know?” The innocent little child shook her head woefully.

“Augh! You’re not even trying!” Avery yanked at her hair.

“Not true. I’m trying my hardest. Besides, the person wasn’t even in there! I mean, who doesn’t even show up for their own stuff?” Reina protested.

Avery groaned. “Maybe he was late or something?” (“Or she,” Reina added quietly.) That doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want and burn down the place!”

“I tripped, okay? Besides, they can just make a new hut or something. If they’re masters, I’m pretty sure they can do that, even now.” Reina turned to the attendants, ignoring her friend’s long-suffering groan. “So, how do I know I passed?”

The attendant slowly got up from where she had been crouching. “You get a note.” she tentatively answered, her voice quivering.

Reina nodded. “Well, that’s that! Come on, Marie! Let’s go get some ice cream!” She grasped Marie’s tiny hand and started pulling her way.

“You can’t be serious! You’re just going to leave it like that?” Avery asked incredulously.

Reina shrugged. “Well, yeah, what else should I do?”

Avery flung her arms up into the air. “I don’t know, maybe apologize? For destroying government property?” Avery blanched as she registered what she said. "Oh my god, you destroyed government property. What if the government cuts us off! We'll die!"

"WHAT?!" Marie screamed in terror.

Reina hastily patted her on the head. "We're not going to die, and they're not going to cut us off. This sort of thing happens all the time, right?" Reina asked the attendant, who nodded. "But that wasn't cool of me, no matter if they didn't show up. I'm sorry."

Again, the attendant shakily nodded. Avery sighed, calming down from the freak-out. “Can we go now before attracting more attention?”

Reina gasped dramatically. “What attention?”

“You do realize this entire thing was getting filmed, right? The attendant told me when you were burning down a tent."

Reina did know this but decided some levity was good. Reina’s eyes mock-widened. “No, I didn’t! They don’t have my consent! They can’t do this!” She raised a fist and shook it. “I will exact my revenge!” Her efforts were rewarded when Marie giggled.

“You gave them permission when you signed the sheet. Now, can we please go?”

Reina did a complete 180. “Ice cream?” she pleaded. Avery looked away but was then bombarded by Marie’s cutest eyes as well. “Don’t you have your allowance?”

Reina had the decency to look abashed when she said, “I accidentally dropped it down a drain.”

“I can not believe you. Fine, let’s go.” Avery sighed, admitting defeat.

“Yay!” both Reina and Marie cried as they walked out, completely ignoring the gobsmacked looks of everybody present.

At the same time, somebody else was watching through a screen. Somebody on an island far, far away. Her lips curled up. "Well, well, what do we have here?"