BXBX NOVEL Chapter 70 Academy Twelve
B-187
The mechanical door whirred to life and slid to the side as Victor stepped in. The classroom was empty of desks. Chairs were in a U formation. A slide projector shined onto the wall opposite to where Victor entered. Alex stood with his bulging arms interlaced with each other. He was tapping his foot and looking straight at Victor.
"You\'re late." Alex said. Victor nodded and walked over to sit next on the right end. He noticed Manny was sitting in the middle of the U-shaped chair set up. Manny acknowledged him and Victor gave him a quick nod.
"Where\'s Sara, Victor?" Alex inquired. Victor cleared his throat and gulped.
"She\'s--"
"I\'m here. Sorry we\'re late, Dad." Sara spoke out. Her eyes were puffy and she was trying to hide the fact she was crying. Victor was sweet one second and then sour the next. He had really left her to figure herself out. Sara stepped in and the mechanical door whirred and shut behind her.
"Get over here, Sara. You\'re late. Why were you guys late?" Alex asked sternly. Victor turned to look at Sara and then back at Alex. He started to stand when Sara\'s voice spoke.
"Bumped into an old face." Sara said. She waved her hand and moved over to sit on the left end of the U-shape. Alex nodded and watched her. He noticed her eyes were puffy.
"Just an old face? An old face can make you cry?"
"Dad." Sara quickly interjected. "It\'s nothing serious."
"Nothing serious, Sara?" Alex turned to look at her. Alex had switched into "Dad mode" on his daughter and Sara thought she would be used to his antics by now. She groaned and slid into her seat.
"Ah, Uncle, give her some slack. We\'re going to see him for two years." Manny chuckled. Alex turned to look at Manny and narrowed his eyes. Manny raised his hands in the air and gave him the smirk that could easily sway most people. Alex shook his head and growled.
"You saw Lee Seng?" Alex asked.
"Yes, sir. I saw Lee Seng." Sara begrudgingly nodded.
"And?" Alex pressed.
"And it didn\'t go well." Sara stated. She folded her arms together and turned away from her Dad. Alex nodded and turned to look back at the rest of the group. There were about 12 students seated in the room. The Academy Twelve looked like they were a mix of the four years. Most of the twelve were either 3rd or 4th Years.
"Alright, since we\'re on the topic, let\'s start with the Creator\'s son, then." Alex motioned at the projected screen behind him. He stepped away and the screen switched over to a slide with Lee Seng\'s picture. It was a school picture with an obvious fake smile. "As you all know, Dr. Chang has contacted the school to accept his son, Lee Seng Chang.
"I\'ve contacted the Academy Twelve here today, so you are all in the loop on what to expect with Chang." Alex clicked the button and the slide changed. "Chang got the Biohuman serum like everyone does before their 8th Grade Year. He produced no powers and Dark Matter levels did not exist. Instead, he gained Biohuman superhuman abilities. Strength, self-healing, speed, senses, and intelligence increased. He is in the top 99th percentile in superhuman strength.
"Shortly after that, he lost contact with his childhood friends and closest friends from middle school. He became a loner and labeled \'powerless\' amongst the students. His ex-best friends, Jason and Jae Kang, turned on him and bullied him for the next three years."
The slide changed and articles of Lee Seng started to pop up.
"Lee Seng began to rebel shortly after he got the serum. He became a hot topic in and around Capitol City. \'Lee Seng Chang, the Creator\'s failure\'; \'Lee Seng Chang, a painful reminder\' and more were published about him. Over the three years, hundreds of articles were posted about Chang. He\'s the \'hot tea\' as the kids say these days." Alex continued. The Academy Twelve groaned at the mention of \'hot tea.\'
"Alright, alright. Enough." Alex waved. The next slide went up and everyone stared at it. It was data on Lee Seng. "This is current data we were given by the Creator on Lee Seng Chang. We have updated it according to the Exam results we have. Lee Seng Chang\'s power is Gravity. From what we\'ve seen he can push and pull objects or people. He can create these bubbles of gravity space which can slow down whatever is happening around him.
"In his fight with the blood puppet, we have evidence that he can use ranged weapons and infuse his Gravity powers with it. He has gotten the enchanted bow attached to the blood puppet and used it against her and won." The slide started to show the fight between Lee Seng and the blood puppet. The Academy Twelve sat in silence, patiently watching it.
A 4th year female student stood up. She wore glasses and braids that ran down her sides. She pointed and the video stopped at a blurred interval. Everyone stopped and looked at her. She gave off a strong sense of leadership and kept her eyes on the screen. She slid her hand left and the screen began to reverse. She kept going until she landed on a clear shot of Lee Seng. She made a fist and the screen held.
Lee Seng\'s body was covered with white aura and wisps. His tail pulsed brightly and he was wearing a fox mask. The 4th year female student pointed at the screen and looked around.
"And what\'s this? He has a tail and ears that look like a fox. Even more, he seems to don a fox mask of sorts? Is this a coincidence?" The 4th year female student spoke. "Clearly, there\'s a lot we don\'t understand about Lee Seng Chang. He got his powers not too long ago, so how are we going to be sure he\'s the one who can help the Academy?
"He\'s a rebel. He\'s a loner. He doesn\'t quite fit into society and was outcasted for three years. The Creator doesn\'t quite like him from what gossip there is and the father-son relationship isn\'t really there. How will Lee Seng help the Academy keep its reputation?"
"Sanchez does have a point." A 3rd Year male student spoke up. "He has done nothing but cause trouble from what I\'ve heard. Even earlier, there\'s certainly personal unfinished business between Sara and him."
"Connor, shut up!" Sara snapped. Connor chuckled and motioned at Sara.
"My point exactly."
"He\'s already been accepted into the Academy whether we want him to be here or not." Victor spoke up. He stood up and looked around. "Vickie is right. But, since I\'ve fought him, he would be a nice addition to the Academy IF he figures out what he needs to figure out. Chang has a lot against him already and I agree with what Vickie said, but I also think he deserves a fair chance to prove himself."
"So how does he prove himself? He\'s already gotten in because of the Creator. The Academy isn\'t gonna let an opportunity like that slide even with all of Chang\'s negative connotations to being a member of society." Vickie asked.
"There\'s already gossip going about on the First Year forums." A nerdy guy spoke up with bright orange hair. He pushed his glasses up and tapped his phone twice. The projector screen flickered and a forum post showed up.
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"You gotta be kidding me." Manny spoke up. He unfolded his legs and arms and stood up. Vickie sighed and sat down. "It\'s Buster who\'s causing problems like usual. He likes to pick on others because of his daddy\'s status. Nothing more, nothing less."
"And why do you protect Chang?" Connor asked. Manny turned and snickered. He took a step forward and looked around.
"Lee isn\'t one to pick a fight."
"You\'ve lost contact with him too. Don\'t act like everything is different because you\'ve met him a couple times outside the outskirts of the city. He\'s changed." Vickie reminded him. Her words were meant to quiet down any opposition in Lee Seng\'s favor. She knew these types of people wouldn\'t go far in the Academy. They would dampen their reputation.
"You\'ve done the same exact thing Sara and the rest of his friends did. You all left because he was powerless, right?" The nerdy guy asked. Manny took a step back and contemplated about shutting up but shook his head.
"Even so, I will apologize the way I have to. And that\'s by sticking to his side. Sure, I left him. Sure, it was partially because he was powerless. But you can be damn sure, Lee Seng still acts based on how he always acts even if he acts colder towards me and hates me.
"Lee Seng still has a great amount of potential and I think he will deliver the standards of the Academy." Manny explained. Manny felt bad about all that happened and this was one of the ways he thought could help win him favor. He looked around and Victor and some of the other Twelve members nodded along. Sara, the nerdy guy, Connor, Vickie and another member quietly shook their heads.
"Let\'s not be hasty." Alex spoke. The slide changed and it was footage of Lee Seng and Olviia\'s second match. Alex waved his hand at the footage playing highlights. "I would say he\'s quite interesting. He\'s adapted well to his power and abilities. All we need to know is if he\'s capable and can sway the others in the third match."