[center][b][h1]Prologue: The Prelude of a New Era[/h1][/b]
[hr][hr]
Alone in a darkened room, a much older man looking to be in his sixties reclines in the back of his chair, listening to the ambience of the speakers as they play a Star Trek episode. The hologram in front of him flashes scenes that go between the inside of the ships and the intergalactic battle going on. The room seems to be neatly packed, old carpets tucked away and well maintained, a wooden clock from an outdated age sits on a wall to his right hand side. While there are traces of slick new technology such as the minuscule holographic projector and the out of place sleek desk, the room is reminiscent of a much older time with some of its hand-crafted wooden coffee tables, two rocking chairs, and strangely enough an unused chimney.

As the man relaxed, a loud buzz fills the air, lingering only for a few seconds before going off. Sighing, the man sits up properly, rubbing his eyes and sniffling as he tugged away at a few loose strands of hair. Clicking the remote at his side, the projector lightly whizzed off and with another tap, the shade started to lift from the window, introducing a dim light into the room.

As the place lit up, the man procured his glasses that were sitting nearby an ash tray; a cigar butt lay there, recently finished as the man set the glasses on his face. [color=gray]"Looks like it's that time of year again,"[/color] a bass voice grumbled as he coughed a little.

[color=gray]"Come, come, the day is waning sir and or ma'am,"[/color] he beckoned into the speaker near his desk, setting both his arms on the desk as he stared expectantly at the doorway. Some smoke escaped his nose like a bull as the suit entered the room.

They all wore all the same outfits; crisp jacket, crisp tie, crisp pants, hmph... except this boy looked a little out of his league. He seemed to look around, in wonder of the area from what the man saw; also adorned with glasses. The man patiently await for the boy to stop surveying his room.

...

...

It had been five minutes, couldn't he deliver the news already? Clearing his throat, the headmaster tilted his head a little before speaking. [color=gray]"Are ye quite done sight-seeing boyo'?"[/color]

The gruff voice seemed to startle the young man, jolting into position like a fresh-face militant, waiting orders. "Uh-uhm, Mr. Harrowed Mist-"

... oh, it was a girl; no way a man could speak with such a feminine conjecture... they almost all were the same alright.

Leaning back a little, he held up a hand, causing them to yield and wince a little. Poor kid, bracing for an impact that would never come. [color=gray]"I dun go by my vigilante name anymoore; jus' call me Neil Farron,"[/color] he grumbled, staring the young woman down. [color=gray]"... 'lright? Now, what were yeh sayin'?"[/color]

"Ah, uhm," they stumbled, trying to catch their breath as they seemingly tried to match their composure against his own. Honestly, at this point, they failed hard already and should stop embarrassing themselves, putting it lightly. "S-sir, ATLAS requires y-you to read this l-letter."

Really. He would of never guessed. Furthermore, Neil was getting a little irritated by the constant supply of letters. Yes, he was old, but he had access to this magical, futuristic thing known as technology... I mean, there was a right computer at his desk for crying out loud... no mater how many times he would tell them when on break...

[color=gray]"Alright, jus' set it right down... here, missy,"[/color] Neil tapped the center of the table, vacant as it was. The woman made it brief, quickly setting it down before quickly leaving the room... wonder if she had super-speed?

Ah, no matter, there were other matters to be attended to. Snatching the letter, he swiftly opened it up and began looking over the contents of it all... a list of new aliens under surveillance at Palladium with a brief description over their powers, a meeting he would have to attend this week, and they wanted to alter the speech again...

[color=gray]"Alwehs at the last second,"[/color] he grumbled, looking over the new premade speech the higher ups at ATLAS required him and the other headmasters to learn and say. Couldn't they try to be punctual? Well, it wasn't his problem if the others couldn't memorize this all fast enough.

Pocketing the letter, Neil stood up, stretching his arms to the ceiling as he stifled a yawn. Letting his arms loose, he scratched the back of his neck as he sniffled, walking towards the unused fireplace. [color=gray]"Well, lets get to work then..."[/color]

Slowly, but surely, his whole body began to dissipate into a cloud of gray smoke that started flying up the fireplace, leaving the room completely abandoned.

Time to get to work.
[hr]
As the hours continued to pass in the waking world, a flaming sun began to show its face once more over the horizon, beckoning those in its wake to rise up once again. However, certain people weren't privy to such natural things. Far below the ocean and out of anyone's sights was a glass tube, surrounded by rocks, coral, and all the works. Within the tube, there lies a silver, bullet trains zooming through the fortified chamber. It was simple, the inside having the usual windows at looking outside to watch the walls quickly zoom on by.

But, there was another catch to the train - it had an overhead window which stretched all the way to the back of each unit. The reason for this was that it gave the train an overview of the ocean above them, allowing the passengers to get a beautiful look of the marine wildlife. It wasn't uncommon to see schools of fish pass them by, or a passing manta ray overhead. Sometimes a few clown fish would show up, or a huge whale shark would obscure a persons view.

And that wasn't getting into the coral that sometimes obscured a persons view.

Even so, some of the students occupying the train wouldn't be able to see such a view with the drugged state they were in. All of them were administered a drug that would keep them asleep for enough hours to load them all onto the train. While some time had pass already, some of the new students were starting to awaken from their slumber, groggy and yawning, trying to figure out what was going on.

Some strange figures were out and about, making it difficult to tell if said person was an alien or human-being with no control over their transformative powers. Those with less than stellar control over their powers were quarantined to the farthest trains, allowing them not to injure anyone, or themselves for that matter.

There was some commotion on trams three and back, but the first two were oddly quiet... probably due to the fact that they were filled with awestruck second to sixth year students who were either chatting or taking in the ambience of the scenery above them.

Moving focus onto the third tram, the new students there were slowly coming to their senses, yourself included. Hopefully they would be able to adjust to their environment soundly and not cause a ruckus... pfft, that was usually par for the course; usually some new students would cause an uproar, others confused, in awe of the scenery, or frightened by all these supers.

But you? That all comes down to you.

So, rise up, young one. Rise up and smell the ashes.[/center]