Chapter 60: Changes in The Academy

"How… long do you think they want us to wait? In our costumes at that."

"Is it just me, or are there a lot fewer than us since the entrance ceremony?"

"Bruh, you in denial? Most of your class were offed and some students joined the Dark Mille--"

"Uhm, I think what Hannah is trying to say is that there should be more of us, even after the incident."

A full day.

The students were advised to take a full day of rest after they got back from Canada after the incident. Of course, perhaps the term 'advised' was a little light, as all of the facilities, be it shops or training halls of the Academy, were closed; basically forcing the students to stay within their rooms.

No one complained, however. No one even stepped out of their rooms since almost all of them were still shaken from the events that had transpired just the other day. It wasn't until a school-wide announcement that told them to gather in the auditorium echoed throughout the entire Academy did most of them leave their rooms.

They were also strictly told to wear their costumes.

But now, an hour after the first students arrived in the area, almost a quarter of the hall was empty.

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"I don't think we can blame them for not leaving their rooms," Silvie then let out a sigh as she continued to converse with Gary and the others, "I was also having trouble getting up this morning… what happened the other day was just… it was just too much."

"Meh. People die every day. In our line of work, that should just be considered a normal Monday," Gary then said, "Also… I also had trouble getting up this morning, if you know what I mean."

"Fuck, ew," Hannah quickly pushed Gary away, making sure to wipe her hands after her palms made contact with his skin.

"I agree with Gary."

"...You do?" Gary could not help but widen his eyes as soon as the words reached his ears. But as soon as he saw who it came from, he quickly slouched down and sighed, "Of course you agreed, you're surely in the Potential Villain list."

"Birds of the same feather," Hannah then let out a small smirk.

"I will not let some list define who I am," Gary then stood up, placing one of his feet on the bleachers as he covered his face, before splitting his fingers and exposing his eyes in between them, "For I am the Dragon Monarch, and there are only three people who could dictate who I am…

...Me, myself, and I."

"Hm," Silvie nodded several times as she heard Gary's words. Hannah, on the other hand, only rolled her eyes before landing them towards Tomoe, who was sitting awfully close beside Riley, who currently had his eyes closed since he arrived in the auditorium.

"So… you and my brother, since when did the two of you become close?" Hannah then asked.

"We… only lately, Ms. Hannah."

"You don't need to speak so formally, you know. Shit, we're just pretty much the same age here. Except Gary, he could be a perverted 80-year-old man disguising himself as a young man."

"I can't presume to--"

"Ack, forget it. It's probably ingrained in you-- you're half Jap, right?"

"I am, Ms. Hannah," Tomoe said as she slightly bowed towards Hannah. Her tone, even monotonous, contained a hint of respect as she addressed her.

"You like my brother?"

"Y… what!? Y… well, no… What!?" Tomoe's stutters almost filled the entire hall, causing Hannah to momentarily cover her mouth and shush her.

"Look, my brother can be quite dense and aware at the same time," Hannah then said, "But if you want to become his girlfriend… you have my vote."

"W… what?"

"Hm," Hannah nodded before gesturing to Tomoe to lean closer and whispering to her ear, "You know Scarlet Mage, right?"

"...Of course."

"That predator has the hots for my brother. So it's better you than her. How old are you?"

"I… I'm 18."

"Good, from now on, you call me big sister," Hannah then raised a thumb before leaning back to her seat, "Buy him some cutlery, he likes them."

"I… I will take a mental note of that. Thank you, big sister," Tomoe then once again bowed towards Hannah, before also leaning back to her seat. Taking a glance at Riley from time to time, of course.

The group continued with their chatter until finally, Prophet appeared on stage.

"Good morning to all of you, students," and without even taking any time at all, he proceeded to talk, "First of all, I know Whiteking had already done it on my behalf; but I still would like to apologize for failing each and every one of you. What happened then shouldn't have happened in the first place."

"Damn right!"

"Gary, what are you doing!?"

"What? I had to!"

Silvie quickly pulled Gary down as he once again stood on the bleachers. Prophet only looked towards their direction for a few seconds, before letting out a small sigh and proceeding with his talk.

"I know most of you are still in your rooms, that is alright-- this is being broadcast throughout the school so I know you could hear me. But what I would like to also tell you... is that this is also being broadcasted throughout the country."

"!!!"

And as soon as Prophet's words reached the students' ears, they all could not help but let out gasps of shock and curiosity. The Academy had always prided itself with its secrecy, not even letting a single speck of the media inside its premises… and now they are broadcasting live?

Most of them wanted to ask questions, but before they could do so, Prophet once again started to talk.

"Massachusetts was not the only one that was… attacked," Prophet continued, "Moscow, China, Japan, South Africa, England, and Singapore…

...7 Academies around the world were attacked by the supervillain organization who had made themselves known as the Dark Millenium. Supposedly, they claim that the leader of their organization is none other than Darkday.

But as of now, we do not know if there is any truth in that as Darkday himself had not yet made an appearance; but what we do know is that this organization is highly dangerous and is now on the government's top priority list."

"Shit… this was more intense than I thought," Gary whispered, "And here I thought they were just a bunch of goons. Attacking 7 Mega Academies all at the same time? How did they manage that in different time zones?"

"Shh, I can't hear him, and stop being a retard."

"What, I only--"

"The Dark Millenium will be handled by the government and the superheroes. But for now, I am here to address you, the students," Prophet continued his speech before Gary could react more, "You are the first-ever batch of students of Mega Academy, all of you have a lot to learn… but so do we, so do the world government. We are going to make a lot of mistakes, and for that, once again I apologize."

Prophet once again paused as he scanned each and every one of the students present in the auditorium, "The Dark Millenium… has more than likely have information in some, or maybe even most of you."

Hearing Prophet's words, most of the students did not really react wildly. Only letting out a short but deep sigh as they looked at each other; after all, Prophet was only stating the obvious.

"But of course, the information the school has on you is also limited-- and therefore, the information they have should also be limited. Your family, where you live, your previous affiliations were all information we discarded as soon as we accepted you in the Academy. But just in case… we transferred all of your families to a secure location."

This time, the students reacted-- either by a sigh of relief or crying.

"Secondly, since they have your information-- there is the threat of them leaking it to the public," Prophet continued, "I am afraid we can't stop this. The government may be able to filter most of them, but some will surface and scatter. So because of this, we, the members of the board of all the Mega Academies in the world, as well as the world government, have made a decision; we may not be able to stop this cyber warfare…

...but we-- No, you can control what comes out. You will still not be able to go outside the Academy freely. But from now on, you will have access to smartphones and can connect to the outside world."

"Yes!"

"..."

"...Fuck," Hannah quickly sat back to her seat as soon as she realized she was pointing her finger towards Prophet; grabbing Riley's sunglasses from his pockets before wearing them and trying to hide beneath the bleachers.

"Is… this wise?" Silvie then whispered as she placed her hand on her chin, "Wouldn't more information leak to the outside because of this?"

"Stop being humble with your words, this is stupid," Hannah whispered, "But since we're going to have our phones back, I don't fucking mind."

"Does this mean… I can continue my vlog?" Gary muttered.

"Knowing the government, the phones are more than likely bugged."

"Sadly, the devices would be monitored 24/7..."

"Told you so," Hannah then let out a sigh before returning to her seat, "But it's better than nothing. I have nothing to hide unlike Gary, who probably watches superhero porn every night."

"...How did you know?"

"What? Fuck, ew."

"Shh, guys!"

"...All of you might think this to be depriving you of your privacy-- that is exactly what it is," Prophet continued, "Take this as real-life training-- your actions will always be watched once you become a superhero. You have the choice, of course, to take the smartphones or not-- but that is why we asked you to wear your costumes today; because from now on…

...the only time you would not be wearing them is when you are in your room."

"Fuck, now Gary is going to stink even more."

"You really have it out for me today, don't you? I am starting to think you like me."

"No. I think my sister meant you just genuinely stink, Gary."

"What the!? What is with this brother-sister roast duo!?" Gary then dropped to the floor as soon as he heard Riley's words, "And that's seriously the first thing that comes out of your mouth, bro?"

"Shh, guys!" Silvie once again placed a finger on her lips as she gestured for the group to quiet down, "Prophet isn't done yet."

"Social media accounts have already been registered under your superhero name; I suggest you use them safely. However, once again, if the information you share with the outside world is deemed too sensitive, it will be instantly filtered out by the government…"

Prophet's speech continued on for almost an hour-- telling the students what they could and could not do. It might seem strict at first, but for the Academy to allow the students to use phones in the first place was already a huge leap of either faith… or utter stupidity.

Each of the students had their own opinions about this-- Riley, most especially.

The government is gaining more and more control over the future superheroes of the world; once again using a tragedy as an excuse to further monitor their activities. If Mega Woman was here, something like this would definitely not come to pass.

"And lastly, I know you are all tired of hearing me speak and excited to get your own personal fancy phones," Prophet was about to step off the stage, but he did not even take 3 steps before returning to the podium."

"Jesus christ, just how long is this speech?"

"There is another thing that we discussed with the other members of the board. Exactly a month and a half from now, a competition with the other Academies will be held right here on our campus."

"!!!"

"The event was supposed to be held somewhere else, but due to the recent incident, it was almost cancelled. But we have decided to continue with it, but continue it in the safest place possible-- right here. And so, in line with this; we are going to be selecting a group of students that would oversee the event, and any student events henceforth…

...A student council, if you will."