The R-nex Hero Academy was a fortress of glass and gold, rising above the smog of the city like a middle finger to the poor. Inside, the "S-Class" students walked the halls like royalty, their custom-made sneakers squeaking on floors polished by people who would never earn a Graft.
Kai pulled his hoodie lower as he walked past the main gate. He wasn't supposed to be here. His face was on the "Red List" at every security kiosk—Kaelen Vance: Expelled for Psychological Instability and Quirk-Assault.
"Hey, look! It's the Ghost!" a voice jeered.
Kai didn't turn. He knew the voice. Jax, a junior with a "Magma-Blood" Graft. Jax was everything R-nex loved: loud, handsome, and willing to hurt anyone for a viral clip.
Jax stepped in front of him, his skin beginning to glow a dull, orange-red. "You're trespassing on sacred ground, Vance. Or did you come back to beg for your scholarship?"
"I'm just passing through, Jax," Kai said, his voice flat. Inside, he felt the Null-Void stirring. It felt like a cold, hungry pit in his stomach, reaching out for the heat radiating off Jax.
"You're a 'Null,' Kai. You're a mistake," Jax sneered, raising a glowing hand. A crowd of students began to gather, pulling out their phones. #HeroFight #R-nexAcademy #JaxSmashes. "Let's see if your face can take the heat."
Jax lunged, his fist trailing a stream of molten fire. The crowd cheered, expecting a spectacle.
Kai didn't move until the fist was inches from his nose. Then, he reached out and grabbed Jax's wrist.
The change was instantaneous. The orange glow in Jax's skin vanished. The heat died. Jax's eyes went wide as the "Magma-Blood" in his veins turned back into cold, ordinary liquid. He looked down at his arm, then at Kai.
"What... what did you do?" Jax stammered, his voice suddenly small.
"I gave you a reality check," Kai whispered.
Suddenly, Kai's own hand began to glow. The air around him shimmered with heat. He hadn't just stopped Jax; he had borrowed him. Kai didn't punch. He simply let a tiny burst of Jax's own pressure release from his palm.
Jax was blasted backward, skidding across the marble floor until he slammed into a statue of Malice. The crowd went silent. The phones were still recording, but no one was cheering.
Kai looked at his hand as the fire faded back into the void. He felt sick, but he also felt a dark, sharp thrill.
High above the courtyard, in a tinted glass office, a woman in a sharp suit watched the security feed. She picked up a radio. "Security, we have a breach at the North Gate. Subject is Vance. Don't use lethal force yet. Malice wants to see this one personally."
Kai started walking toward the Academy's main server room. He had ten minutes before the R-nex Cleanup Crews arrived. Ten minutes to steal the one thing the corporation feared more than villains: The Truth.