Adrian stands at the gates of U.A., stoically looking at the building.

Adrian: (It’s been so long since I was last in this building… I haven’t had a reason to come here since I graduated, but here I am. It all comes full circle…)

Adrian hears some people talking behind him; he turns around to see Zach, Angel, Gus, Lilith, Ash, and Jace walking to school together.

Zach: So, how were your guys’ internships?

Jace: Eh, I mostly saved cats from trees.

Gus: Consider yourself lucky. They had me fixing septic tanks from the inside. So much feces…

Jace: That’s gross, dude…

Zach: Yeah… and how is that “hero work?”

Gus: I know… god, the internship week was boring...

Angel: It was a fun experience, but it wasn’t too exciting. But, I guess that’s what we should have expected since we’re only students.

Lilith: Hey Ash, weren’t you interning in Atlanta?

Ash: Yeah, I was.

Jace: Oh jeez, were you around where that nuclear villain was? I heard they called in an evacuation of that whole area, crazy stuff.

Ash: Yeah, actually, the hero I was with, Lionel, was in charge of negotiations with the villains.

Jace: Holy crap, so you got to be a part of a real live villain attack? Lucky, I didn’t even get close to that.

Ash: I mean, I didn’t do much, Karma and Alexis were there too, and we just went around the area evacuating people. I didn’t see the bad guys once.

Lilith: Still, that’s so cool that you got to be a part of that!

Angel: That alone sounds more exciting than my whole internship.

Zach: Hey, at least your guys’ hero didn’t jump off a building and break his legs on the first day. I spent my whole internship helping out around the hospital after that…

Lilith: I guess we can agree they were a bit underwhelming.

Jace: For us maybe, I’m sure Aaron’s gonna be bragging about all the villains he beat up during his. And Justus was with Colossus… I can only imagine how many villains he took down.

Angel: Yeah, I saw him on TV like three times. The cameras never stop following Colossus.

Zach: I guess this teaches us that we have to try harder if we want good things to happen for us. I bet Silver and all of them got even stronger over the break too.

Gus: Aw man, you think so?

Adrian starts walking toward UA.

Adrian: (Most of those kids were eliminated in the Sports Festival’s first round, but even making it that far shows they’re worthwhile hero prospects. 1-A sure is stacked, probably the rawest talent this school has had in a single class since, well… us.)

Adrian walks through the front door.

Adrian: (And the part that’s hard to believe… is they’re about to get even more talented.)

The students gather in their classroom, happy to be reuniting with one another. Aaron sits down at his desk and turns back to Wes.

Aaron: How’s it going, man? Did you enjoy getting prison raped?

Wes: No, the closest I got was shooting a rapist in the knee.

Aaron: Woah, Woah, Woah, slow down… you did things? That’s not allowed here!

Wes: Aaron, I’ll have you know that I was basically the assistant warden of a prison for the last week!

Aaron: I bet you just assisted in chugging cocks.

Wes: Can’t you just let me have one thing, huh?

Aaron: No, Wes, I can’t do that. I take pride in my work.

Wes: *sighs* And what’s your work?

Aaron: Not letting you have things.

Wes: *under breath* Goddamnit…

Aaron: Ah, it’s good to see ya, buddy!

Wes: Yeah… you too, Aaron… I’m sure your internship was action-packed. I’m surprised you’re excited to be back here.

Aaron looks over at Alexis sitting at her desk, talking to Ash and Lilith.

Aaron: Eh, I have my reasons.

Justus takes a seat at his desk.

Zach: How did you do, bro? It must have been a fun week for you. I saw you on TV a few times.

Justus: It was okay. We didn’t do too much since Colossus was constantly mobbed by fans.

Zach: Hey, at least that sounds more interesting than what some of us went through.

Justus: I guess…

Justus notices Hayze’s seat is empty.

Justus: (Hm?)

Ash stares at Hayze’s empty desk. Alexis notices Ash is distracted.

Alexis: Are you okay, Ash?

Ash: What? Oh, sorry, I was just spacing out.

Lilith looks up at the clock.

Lilith: It looks like Hayze and Blair are going to be late.

Alexis: Maybe they’re walking together; I’m sure Blair would enjoy that.

Ash: What?

Alexis: Yeah, you’re right, Ash. She would pretend to hate it and hit him; you know her so much better than me.

Ash: Uh… Huh?

Blair walks down the hallway toward the classroom with her fist clenched.

Blair: (Okay, Blair, today is the day you thank Hayze for saving your life… oh god, don’t phrase it like that, that’s way too weird… but it is kind of the truth… whatever I have to say something; Otherwise, it will just get more and more awkward! Oh god, what if he asks me why it took me so long to say something! No, you can’t think about that; you’ve worked up the courage, so you can’t back down now!)

Blair reaches the door to the classroom.

Blair: (Now go in there and be confident!)

Blair opens the door and sees Hayze’s seat is empty.

Blair: (GODDAMMIT! THAT PEPTALK WAS FOR NOTHING!)

Walker: Please take your seat.

Walker is standing behind Blair in the doorway. Blair promptly takes her seat, as does the rest of the class. Walker stands behind the podium; he notices Hayze’s empty seat.

Walker: (As expected…) Alright, everyone, welcome back to school. I hope your internships went well and were a fulfilling experience. I guess I’ll start by asking someone how their internship went… hm… Alden, you go.

Alden starts sweating bullets.

Alden: M- m- maybe someone else?

Walker: No, I really want to hear about your internship.

Alden: Uh… okay…

Alden stands up at his desk and clears his throat.

Alden: My internship was nothing short of unbelievable! I was partnered with the mighty Vulcan, and together we hunted down those bastards that attacked us in the woods and took them down one by one! I even killed the big guy! I won a medal for my efforts, and Vulcan said he would take me on as his sidekick after I graduate!

Everyone stares at Alden with blank expressions.

Jace: Didn’t I see you working at Walmart?

Alden’s eyes widen as he sweats profusely.

Alden: N- no…

Jace: Yeah, actually, weren’t you the worker that had to clean the men’s bathroom after 6 guys went in there with Taco Bell?

Alden: N- no…

Everyone continues staring at Alden.

Alden: OKAY! FINE, NOBODY WANTED ME, NOT EVEN THE AGENCIES THAT SAID THEY’D TAKE ANYONE! I HAD TO GET A JOB AT WALMART SINCE I WASN’T GOING ON AN INTERNSHIP! OKAY, I SAID IT. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!

Everyone continues staring at Alden as he sits down, sobbing.

Walker: Alright, now that I’m done having fun, I’ll get to the important announcement.

Justus raises his hand.

Walker: Yes, Justus?

Justus: Out of curiosity, would you happen to know where Hayze is? He’s not the type to miss class or be late.

Walker: Hayze won’t be joining us today, and that’s all I’ll be saying on the matter.

Justus: Okay, sir.

Aaron: (Strange, I wonder if he’s alright?)

Blair: (Of all days…)

Walker: Now, the first announcement is that a new teacher is joining the staff.

Silver: (Another one?)

Karma: (That’s quite a lot of teachers they’ve added in a short time.)

Wes: (I hope this one hates Alden too.)

Walker: This is Mr. Rodgers.

Adrian walks through the door.

Adrian: Come on, Walker, you know I hate being called that.

Walker stares at Adrian with anger.

Adrian: Right… uh, hi kids, you can just call me Adrian. I’m going to be your Quirk Advisement teacher. I’ll also be handling your hero training from time to time.

Justus: (Quirk Advisement?)

Alexis: (Sounds fancy.)

Karma raises her hand.

Adrian: Uh… yes, you there, sorry I don’t know all of your names yet.

Karma: Sorry but… what exactly are you teaching us?

Adrian: I’ll be meeting with you individually to help you with your own respective quirks. I’m more of an advisor than an actual teacher.

Zach: And how will you help us with our own quirks?

Adrian: Well, I can give you a demonstration, I guess.

Adrian walks up to Jake.

Adrian: Mind giving me a high five? Don’t worry, it's just for my quirk.

Jake: What’s in it for me?

Adrian: Uh… what?

Eve: Ignore him.

Blair smacks the back of Jake’s head.

Blair: Just do what he says, dumbass!

Jake high fives Adrian. He then immediately teleports to the back of the classroom.

The class: Woah.

Adrian: My quirk lets me copy the quirk of someone I’ve been in contact with recently. Who better to help you with your quirk than someone who can use it themselves?

Walker: Thank you, Mr. Rodgers, you can go now.

Adrian: *sighs* (These first couple of weeks aren’t going to be fun… are they?) Alright, I’ll get out of your hair. See you guys later.

Adrian leaves.

Walker: Alright, now for the more significant announcement.

Kevin: (What’s bigger than a new teacher?)

Alden: (Maybe I’m finally getting my internship!)

Walker: We have a new transfer student joining the class.

Everyone is shocked.

Jace: But I thought there were only 40 spots in the hero course? How can they just add somebody? Unless…

Everyone looks at Alden.

Alden: Wh- what?

Walker: No, unfortunately, Alden is staying.

Alden: Wait, what? Unfortunately!

Walker: This is a unique circumstance. They were the top student at U.A. West; usually, the school doesn’t allow students in the hero course to transfer. But with someone of her talent, an exception was made.

Alden, Isaiah, and Demetri’s interests are piqued.

Alden, Isaiah, and Demetri: (her?)

Walker: You can come in and introduce yourself now.

A beautiful girl walks through the classroom door and stands at the front with Walker. Most of the boys’ eyes light up.

Alden, Isaiah, and Demetri: (Jackpot!)

Aaron: (Damn… now that is one fine lady.)

Gus: (Oh god, another one…)

Wes: (Why aren’t we kicking Alden out again?)

Alexis: (Looks like I might have some other female competition, that’s good.)

Blair: (What are the guys drooling over, she’s not THAT pretty!)

Lilith: (I hope she’s nice...)

Jace: (Thanks for being absent, Hayze! She’ll probably have to sit next to me today!)

Alden, Isaiah, and Demetri: (A girl I can have a clean slate with! I can’t screw this up!)

The girl waves hi to the class.

Saige: Hi there, I’m Saige Neidert. It’s nice to meet all of you.

Walker: As I mentioned earlier, Saige was top of her class back at U.A. West, we’ll see how she stacks up against the rest of you during the midterms, but for now, you should know that she isn’t a slouch.

Saige’s eyes dart around the room.

Silver: (Hm? Is she trying to size us up?)

Saige: (Where is he?)

Saige notices the empty seat.

Saige: (Now that’s just rude.)

Walker: Alright, I guess we’ll need to move some seats around to keep everyone in order.

Walker pulls out a seating chart:

Adam Hayze Saige Neidert Ryne Verdugo Wes Zunino Justus Grey Karma Montgomery Gus Riggs Aaron Zamora Zach Crawford Alexis Meadows Demetri Perish Ash Wright Kevin Bohm Blair Maddox Angel Northcroft Lilith Weber Eve Avery Jake Kopech Jace Neil Isaiah Ware

Walker: Only a few of you have to move.

Jace slams his head into his desk.

Jace: (I have to move from the back of the class to the front row!)

Alden raises his hand.

Walker: Yes, Alden?

Alden: Uh… I’m not on the chart, sir...

Walker: Oh right, your new seat is right there.

Walker points at the ceiling.

Alden: Uh… what?

One of the ceiling panels falls down.

Walker: You sit up there from now on.

Alden: OH, COME ON!

Walker: Alright, now those of you who have to move to get moving, it’s time we start class.

Alden climbs up into the ceiling. Saige walks to the back of the classroom and takes her seat; she looks at Hayze’s empty desk and smiles.

Saige: (Quite ironic if I do say so myself.)

Later in the day, during the class break, Isaiah and Demetri come to talk to Saige.

Demetri: I hope you’re settling in well. That was a tough class we had today.

Isaiah: Yeah, Mr. Walker can be a pretty hard teacher to follow. If you ever need any help, just let us know.

Saige: Really? Everything seemed pretty straightforward to me. Did you guys really have trouble understanding that?

Isaiah and Demetri’s eyes widen.

Demetri: N- no.

Isaiah: Yeah, we totally got it!

Saige: Okay, then explain what Entropy is.

The duo is silent; they slowly turn their heads and look at each other.

Demetri: We’ll be right back.

Isaiah and Demetri huddle up.

Demetri: /Do you know what Entropy is?/

Isaiah: /Fuck no!/

Demetri: /Yeah, me neither…/

Saige: Are you two okay?

Demetri: Yup! Everything is fine!

Alden walks over to Saige and starts flexing.

Alden: See anything you like?

Saige: Aren’t you ceiling guy?

Alden falls to the floor with tears in his eyes; he grovels at Saige’s feet.

Alden: PLEASE DON’T REMEMBER ME AS THAT! PLEASE!

Eve comes over and kicks Alden so hard he goes flying out the window.

Alden: AHHHHHHH!

Isaiah and Demetri see this and start running.

Eve: Sorry about those idiots. It’s nice to meet you; I'm Eve.

Saige: Wow, nice boobs!

Eve: Wh- Why is that the first thing you say to me!

Saige: Because they’re the first thing I notice! I mean, look at those things. They’re bigger than my head!

Eve takes a deep breath.

Eve: (Just take the compliment…) Thank you.

Alexis, Blair, Lilith, and Ash all join Eve and Saige.

Lilith: It’s fantastic to have another girl in the class!

Alexis: Yeah, thanks for helping balance us out. Now it’s 11 to 7.

Ash: Wait, but there are 21 of us now… oh…

Eve: She didn’t include the idiot trio.

Ash: That’s fair.

Saige: So tell me, what’s this class like?

Eve: Uh, what do you mean?

Saige: Give me the scoop on everyone. I’ve got months of stuff to catch up on.

Alexis: Well, You’ve got us, girls. Then there’s Demetri, Isaiah, and Alden; they suck.

Saige: I could tell.

Alexis: Another group is the… I don’t know… less impressive, guys?

Eve: Who, Zach, Jace, Angel, and Gus?

Alexis: Mhm.

Eve: Yeah, that name fits.

Alexis: And finally, there are the top dogs. Silver, Aaron, Kevin, Justus, and Hayze.

Eve: Also, Jake and Wes exist.

Saige: Hayze, huh? And… where is he?

Blair: I’m also curious about that…

Alexis: Ash? Do you know?

Ash: Uh, why me?

Alexis: It seems like you know him the best.

Saige: Oh really?

Ash: Not really, we just worked together well, but I’m not that close with him… I don’t know where he is.

Alexis: I guess he could ask the guys.

Eve: Why do you girls even care? He’s probably just sick.

Saige: Maybe…

Alexis: Do you know him or something, Saige?

Saige: No, I was just curious. I wanted to meet all of my classmates today.

Alexis: Oh, okay. We should probably head to the lunchroom now. We don’t want to waste all of our break standing here.

Lilith: Yeah, that sounds good.

Saige: Can I sit across from Eve?

Eve: Uh… why?

Saige: I can’t stop staring.

Eve: No, you cannot.

Saige: Oh, you’re such a tease!

Down at the lunchroom, all of the guys, sans Isaiah, Demetri, Jake, and Alden, are sitting at a table.

Angel: The new girl seems nice.

Jace: She’s also smoking hot too.

Zach: And apparently really strong. She was top of her class, after all.

Silver: Not just that, Zach, she was the Top Student at U.A. West. Which means she ranked higher than even the third-years before the end of her first semester.

Jace: Dang… that’s right.

Zach: Aw man… does that mean I’m farther down the totem pole now?

Aaron: Yup!

Zach: Thanks, Aaron…

Aaron: So here’s the critical question, who’s gonna go for her? Justus?

Justus: Not interested.

Aaron: Zach?

Zach: I don’t know… I haven’t even spoken to her yet.

Aaron: So, Silver? Kevin?

Silver: No.

Kevin: Maybe, I’d have to get to know her.

Aaron: Man, you guys are no fun.

Wes: What about you, jackass?

Aaron: I’ve already made progress elsewhere; I can’t abandon that for someone I just met.

Wes: So noble…

Aaron: Is it not?

Silver: Did anyone catch how she looked around the room when she was introduced? I wonder what that was about?

Zach: Maybe she was just trying to remember our faces.

Silver: I don’t know. It seemed like she was looking for someone.

Jace: Huh? But who?

Gus: Everyone is here today except Hayze. Do you think she was looking for him?

Aaron: Nah, why would she be looking for Hayze?

Wes: Yeah, I’m with Zach. I think she was just looking around.

Silver: We’ll see…

Aaron: I do wonder what happened with Hayze, though. Did anyone catch where he was interning?

Nobody answers.

Aaron: Huh… strange.

Saige approaches the table.

Saige: Hi boys!

Jace: Hello!

Aaron: Hey, Saige, what brings you over here?

Saige: You guys are all friends with Hayze, right?

Aaron: Uh… yeah? Why?

Late that night at Hayze’s house, the doorbell rings.

Hayze: GODDAMN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES!

Hayze stomps over to the door.

Hayze: Jesus fucking Christ…

Hayze opens the door.

Hayze: I told you, people! I don’t want-

Saige: Hello there, Hayze.

Hayze: Uh… hi… who are you?