It feels like only enough time has passed to flip a coin and call the side it's fallen on before Malikai finds himself here; hunched, shoulders almost against his ears, as he hides away from the colorful students passing him by.

The student body of Hillfire Academy is as diverse as anyone would suspect. They are a blur of colors and lights, excited murmurs and laughter, nervous ticks and confident posture. The only thing they all seem to have in common is that none of them are wearing the schools uniform.

This in and of itself doesn't seem out of place to Malikai, he gathers that; much like himself, no one had received them. It does beg the question, however, as to WHY.

'Classes don't start for another week. This is just orientation or some shit.' While the voice in his head might be correct, there's a niggling feeling that accompanies the space where that voice lives that's telling him otherwise. Other academy's send uniforms out weeks in advance so students can request alterations or other necessary accommodations for them.

He, and he assumes the rest of the students, had received no such uniform or information in regards to accommodations where uniforms are concerned.

Furthering his paranoia was that they had been asked to leave anything not concerning their Anomolys behind.

Some students had what appeared to be early renditions of hero costumes with them, others small assist items. He caught a whisper or two about how all this all seemed as he was passed.

His skin crawls.

He cracks his pinky on his left hand to center himself.

He barely starts walking again when a girl that seems to walk on literal sunshine and glitter glides past him, the backdraft of her movements throwing him and his hood to the ground. There isn't anyone behind him when he lands on his ass, head tucked towards his chest avoidantly.

Someone near him shouts 'WHEELS!', before who he assumes the owner of the tenor stops by him and grasps his elbow to pull him up. He yanks himself out of the other's grip once he's on his feet again, head tilted down and hair veiling his features.

"Sorry about her, are you......" The tenor trails off, vowels and consonants of the last two words spreading out as something like recognition starts to dawn on the other student. Malikai is quick to throw his hoodie back over his head, nails biting into his palms despite the cloth of the hood and the leather of his gloves.

"Hey, aren't you...!" The tenors voice raises in pitch as he speaks, the question almost out before he's cut off.

"No." Malikai speaks the word, short and bitter, leaving no room for further questioning or argument. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, he turns on his heel; moving with every intent to put as much space between him and Tenor as possible. It almost sounds like the other tries to call after him, but he ignores it. That same rush of glitter and light passes him again, in the opposite direction this time, and he plants his feet to avoid falling over this time.

The designated meeting spot for orientation is a large, empty gymnasium that leaves a number of students befuddled. Malikai is too busy noting the odd, dual echo the room has to care much about it's size. He notes that some of the tiles don't meet the wall's edge correctly, and that some of them almost seem to lift beneath his feet.

He's on edge immediately.

It's easy to tell when the other students notice it as well, as one by one they stop moving and start looking around. They're confused, not on edge like he thinks they should be. There are a few students that seem unbothered , and Malikai notes how much they resemble some of the licensed heroes that are known alumni of Hillfire; so they are either very stupid or know something the rest of them don't.

He's willing to bet on the latter.

There's a loud clapping noise that comes from the front of the room and seems to shake it, and for a horridly panicking moment; Malikai is taken by the familiar sensation of vertigo. It's short lived, but every hair on his body stands on end as his head snaps up to look for the sounds source.

The air leaves his lungs, his mouth opens just enough to gasp through, and his whiteless eyes widen almost comically in their sockets even as his entire posture goes perfectly straight and ridged.

He doesn't think he can look more shocked if he tried.

Before the students, God, and everybody stands three of the most prestigious heroes to ever grace the streets. None of them are alumni of the school, but all three of them teach there; and while Malikai had known that he'd have encountered them at some point, it doesn't stop the shock from settling in.

Duplicity. Boom. Red Feather.

The stunned silence around him is welcomed.

"Now that we've got your attention." Boom speaks first, his voice feeling just as powerful as his Anomoly. It's a deep baritone that reverberates around the room, demanding in a way that's almost physical.

"I know that you are all here under the pretense of orientation. And, to a degree, you are. However, this will be an orientation unlike any you've ever had before. You all received letters or videos that congratulated you on being selected for the Hero program. As I'm sure you've noticed; there are far to many of you for that." Red Feather's voice is more soothing. She is loud but soft, her words and what they imply much easier to process and swallow for it. She stops long enough for the students to look around at each other; proving her point to be true. There are far to many of them here for them to all be enrolled in the hero program. Almost everyone goes from calm to tense.

"You are here to prove that you deserve to be in the Hero program."

It's like a bolt of lightening coated in candy has struck the room. There's a sharp uptick of whispering, weary glances and outright aggressive posturing start up immediately.

"That doesn't mean your enrollment at Hillfire is voided if you fail to pass into the program. Of those that do not make it, you will be divided out in to one of the two other programs we have available to students: Hero Support and Anti-Hero." Red Feather speaks over the noise, voice lowering as the whispering begins to subside.

So that's what this is.

This is the actual test. The demonstrations most of the other students had gone through. The Anomoly testing, that was all for show. THIS. This was the determining factor. This was going to be the moment that would define their academic career, and quiet possibly their careers as heroes.

"This is how the test will be conducted: You will be faced by a number of adversaries, and there will be more of them than there are of you. This is NOT a test based on points. This is a test based on how effective your Anomoly is in a combat situation and how well you keep your composure. Essentially, if you use someone else as a human shield; you will not have a place in the Hero program. We will take a number of factors taken into account, so I assume you use any and all tricks at your disposal to impress us." Boom is speaking again. He sounds far from pleased or amused. He sounds exhausted and board, his stance is ridged and combative; like he's daring them to argue or make a scene about what's going on.

Malikai notes that the others are smart, because no one opens their mouth to argue or ask any questions.

"Your adversary will be Duplicity. As a seasoned, Licensed Hero and staff member; she knows her limitations with students. Especially new ones. However, that does not mean she will be taking it easy on you. Remember this: Neither she nor her clones are Heroes in this. She is here to hurt you. I suggest you DON'T give her that chance." Boom's mouth ticks up into a smirk as he speaks, and Malikai can't help but think that he's a sadist at heart.

Duplicity pulls herself over the railing that separates the raised section she'd been at with the other teachers, and then all hell breaks loose.

Suddenly, Duplicity she's everywhere; hundreds of copies surrounding the students faster than any of them can blink. They all smirk at once, like a creepy representation of funhouse mirrors that are all facing each other to create an unending fall of reflections.

They do NOT all move as one, and a number of the other students are overwhelmed almost immediately.

Malikai is far enough back to run-through what he knows of the current situation:

Adversary: Duplicity.

Anomoly: Stunt Double

Properties: Can copy herself as many times as she pleases. Shared skill set; if Duplicity knows it, so do her copies. The copies cannot make copies of themselves.

Copy compound: Organic.

He thanks whatever god can hear him that Avin was so invested in Heroes.

He looses focus for too long, and suddenly one of the copies is is under him; crouched before lurching up fist first. Malikai jerks back, narrowly avoiding the fist that would have put him on his back. This leaves him open, and the copy kicks his feet out from under him and the force by which he hits the ground forces the air out of his lungs.

The copy is fast, as is Duplicity, and is over him in a second; swinging her leg up, around, and down; Malikai moving just fast enough to avoid a heel to the face. It cuts his cheek instead.

'Christ.' This time, the voice in his head is his own, and Malikai scrambles to his feet; cheek stinging and hair wild where it's tossed about. He barely notices that his hood has long since fallen back.

He breaths in. Breaths out. Cracks his pinky again.

He can hear the other's around him, noises that mean bruises, smells that mean Anomolys, he can't be bothered to look. It wouldn't have mattered if he had, a by now familiar streak of light a glitter swerves in his peripherals before cutting in front of him; the clone he'd be squaring off against disappearing in a cloud of smoke and a pile of sand.

It only ends when all of the copies have been reduced to sand and smoke. Malikai doesn't destroy a single one.

There's a medical team ready to help the injured, scrapes and bruises and a fracture or two are the worst of the injuries and a number of the medical staff posses a healing Anomoly of some kind.

They are told, once everyone has been patched up and medical has left the gymnasium, that they will know what classes they have been sectioned off into before the start of the school year.

"And if you've got a problem with where you've been placed: go somewhere else." Boom's voice is flat, his words final, and the Heroes turning to leave is a cue to everyone else that they should be leaving as well.

It's a gaggle of whispers and pained noises as people discuss how they did, where they think they'll be placed. Malikai doesn't hear much of it, opting to pull his hood up and tight around his head; waiting for the last of the other students to leave.

He feels eyes on his back as he leaves.

He resolutely does NOT turn around.