“Where is she?” the well-built boy said, looking around the deserted school campus. His friends stood beside him, eyes searching hungrily for their latest prey. Two girls looked around walls angrily. “She’ll pay for ruining our chances at being in the Squad!”

“Oh, hell! All you ever think about is cheerleading!” the leader angrily shouted at them, staring around. His ears stood alert for any noise the prey might make.

Nearby, a girl stood behind a dumpster. Her panting had been successfully reduced to a minimum, and she was trying her hardest to find a way out of her current predicament. She looked up at the dumpster and climbed slowly onto it. She accidentally kicked a trashcan in doing so.

“Who’s there?!” one of the boys shouted. Gulping, she let out a cat meow. “Oh, just a cat.” She smirked and climbed onto the roof of the school cafeteria. Crawling under the wall, she managed to make it half way when…

“Look! I see her!”

“Hell!” she shouted out, getting up and running. She grabbed onto the pipe by the wall’s side, sliding down and running as fast as she could to the school gates. Nearly there, until a rock tripped her up.

“Stupid rock!” she said, trying to get up. Her feet refused to support her, and she fell back onto her knees. She felt two pairs of hands roughly pull her up to their level. Her feet dangled helplessly from the ground as the bullies closed in on her. She gulped and closed her eyes, turning her cheeks to them.

“It’s a good thing you’re wearing your contacts!” one of them mockingly told her as she readied herself for the punch. A menacing crack was heard close to her ears as the leader cracked his knuckles. A sheering pain exploded in her face and lights erupted under her eyelids. She gasped for air and felt herself fall back to Earth in a daze.

“Let’s finish what we started…”

******************

“Honestly, Ivy. Keep getting into fights like that and you’ll be sorry.”

“Nob by ault.”

“I know it isn’t your fault but you could at least have tried to use your Inner Strength. And heal that swollen lip.”

“Bub, I was beat ub. I couldn’t eben mobe.”

Her mother sighed, turning to the door to the living room. “Diane!”

“Yeah?”

“Come heal your sister, will you?” A girl with blonde hair came into the room. Sitting beside her little sister, she brushed her hand expertly over her face. The pain was soon gone as the lip reduced back to normal size. “You’re welcome.”

Ivy got up and ran a hand through her brown hair. “I’m going to my room.”

“Dinner’s ready, honey.” Ivy sighed turning back around.

“Fine…” she sat at the table again and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. Soon, the room was crowded as six children ate and two grown ups tried to keep the peace as two boys tried to have a food fight with their forks.

“So, we have some news today.” The father said after calming the boys down. Everyone stared at him as he got up. Samuel Manson-Dales was an inventor who spent his days locked in the attic, creating his latest experiment, while also providing The Academy – as everyone called it – with supplies for the lab.

“Ivy, tomorrow, Danny will take you to the Academy so you can start there.”

Ivy gawped, finally realizing that she was being offered a chance to go to the school for people like her family. She was hugging her father soon, burying her face in his clothes, taking in the smell of chemicals, fire and smoke. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she told him quickly. He looked down at her and poked her shoulder.

“Ivy, tomorrow you’ll be joining the class of people your age, but just because you’re a Manson, doesn’t mean you’ll be any different from them, understand?”

“Dad!” she mock scolded him, returning to her seat. “I don’t even have my own original powers! I can do what you guys can, but I don’t have my own original one. How lame is that?!”

“Oh, sweety, don’t worry! You’ll find yours one day! Everyone in the Manson has an Inner Strength. You aren’t going to be left behind!” Her mother, Judith, told her reassuringly.

“Look at the time, piano lesson in five! Gotta go, see ya’ll later!” she spoke hurriedly, grabbing bag of gummy bears and running out of the house fast.

“Wait…she doesn’t play the piano, does she?” Danny, the second eldest-son, looked at his parents as they stared at the space his younger sister had been previously.

**********************

“Explain this whole Strength thing again,” a boy of about fifteen asked his friend, dragging from a cigarette.

“If you put that out I will.” Ivy slapped his head from her position on the wall. He sighed, dropping the cigarette and stomping on it. “Thank you. Now, remember that explosion the History teacher told us happened a few decades ago in Russia?”

“Yeah.”

“The radiation affected some pretty badly. They started experiencing a very strange change. Some could stop time. Some could breathe underwater. Some could run super-fast. Gradually, the powers evolved even more to fast cell regeneration – healing; vibeing the Earth – elemental control; and loads more. They called it the Inner Strength. My family was the one which took in the most radiation, and we can control all the powers. Which is why the Manson name is so powerful. People made an Academy for the children so they could learn to control the powers, and at fifteen people can go and learn there. Tomorrow is my first day.”

“So that means you won’t be going to school anymore?” another boy on a bike asked her sadly.

“Sorry Dave.”

Dave shrugged. “I got Matt to keep me company.”

“Yeah, and to kill you with second-hand smoke!” Ivy laughed. She jumped off the wall and ran home. “Later guys!”

As she made her way home, she passed by the various people she knew possessed the Inner Strength. There was Harry, he could change shape. There was Horatio, he could time travel. There was also Maria, who could heal. There were so many that only people like them knew of. Nobody else except people who were trusted knew of the Inner Strength.

When she arrived home, she headed for her room, lazily waving goodnight to the rest of the family. As she ascended the stairs, her brother Don whizzed past her on his skateboard. “It’s bad luck to do that!” she called after him. He saluted, albinism features showing more in the semi-darkness. She laughed and went into her room.

Despite their constant clashes and randomness, she loved her large family.



“Wow!” she breathed, staring up at the walls of the Academy. A green yard took up most of the space, trees of every type planted every where. Birds, cats, dogs and the occasional monkey ran past them as they walked to the large steps before the Palace that was their school. “This place is so cool!”

“Go to the Office to get your information. Then just go to the girl’s locker room and start lessons from there. I’ll see you at lunch.” Danny ran off, leaving her at the door. Breathing in deeply, she pushed open the large oak doors and stepped inside.

The entrance hall was filled with all sorts of paintings, photos, trophies, carvings and graffiti. There were sofas and armchairs strewn around, and students sat on them, getting ready for the day. Two doors led to the locker rooms, and a door in the middle of both led to the Office. As she walked, Ivy’s shoes echoed around the hall, though no-one noticed as the constant squeaking of shoes and chattering continued.

“Urm, hello?” she asked, popping her head behind the door. A woman stood at a desk, papers scattered all over. She looked up and smiled. “Danny’s little sister? He just came to tell me. Your time table and other information’s on the cabinet.” Following her, finger, Ivy took the papers from the top of a metal cabinet, thanked her, and went to what seemed like the girl’s locker room.

After walking for what seemed like hours through the long corridor filled with lockers, she finally arrived to her own. Locker Number 3421. Of course, there weren’t that many, but there were a lot of lockers.

Noticing a window nearby, Ivy leaned on the nearest locker and stared out. She watched the clouds drift by, letting her thoughts wander. For instance, how come only she didn’t have an Inner Strength? She was, after all, just like her brothers and sisters. She gulped and did not notice the arrival of a fellow student near by.

“Hey, can you move please?”

Ivy’s head snapped to the right, taking in the girl by her side. She nodded and moved. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this locker was taken.”

“Oh, they all are!” the girl joked. She opened her own locker and Ivy remembered what she was here for. She opened her locker and found all her books already there. Danny had told her that the books and provisions were provided by the school.

“I’m Scarlet.” The girl spoke up. Ivy looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I prefer Scar though. Scarlet Combs. What about you?”

“I’m Ivy. Ivy Manson-Dales.”

“Cool, a Manson. I’ve never seen one before.” Scarlet joked, packing her book bag. Ivy smiled and closed her locker.

“Our first lesson says Homeroom. Where is it?”

“Our class is out on the lake. Today we’re gonna look for our Inner Element. Too bad you weren’t here yesterday when we looked for out Inner Strength. I can Time Travel.”

Ivy smiled. “Cool.”

“What about you?” The two started to move away to the lake behind the school.

“I can do everything my family can do. Dad says we can naturally because of our high radiation.”

“That’s cool.” Scarlet sat on the edge of the lake, Ivy crouching next to her. “The bell should ring in a few.” The class slowly started to assemble. Amongst them were Harry and Horatio, the Fletcher twins; Conrad and Forrest, the Poe cousins, and loads more from around the town. One girl stood out from the rest of the crowd. Scarlet waved to her and the girl walked up to them. Ivy gulped and got up, brushing herself down from imaginary dust.

“How you doing Bec?”

“Fine…” she answered indifferently. She eyed Ivy suspiciously as she tried to avoid her gaze, staring out at the lake. “You new here?”

Ivy turned her head slowly and nodded. “Just started today.”

The girl nodded and stared at Scarlet accusingly. “Trust Scar to bring along the newbie, eh Scar?” Scar pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Anyways, I’m Rebecca. But I like Becca better. You?”

“Ivy. Ivy Manson.”

“You mean Manson-Dales,” Scarlet corrected her.

“Too much of a mouthful,” Ivy shrugged. A bell clanged across the campus, and the students sat down on the grass, waiting for the teacher to come. He soon ran out of the building, smiling at the students.

“Good morning everyone! I’m Mr. Randals. And since today is the first lesson with you, I’d like an introduction to get to know you better.” He pointed his finger randomly, landing on Scar. “You first.”

Scarlet dug her hands in her pockets as best as she could. Ivy noticed the chains dangling from her trouser legs. Tough impression? She smiled, liking the idea.

“I’m Scarlet Combs, but I prefer Scar. I can time travel.”

Mr. Randals swept his hand across the heads and pointed at someone else. “I’m Horatio Fletcher and I’m a Morsmorphi.”

The introductions continued. Ivy soon learned that Becca was Rebecca Gunn, had Irish roots and that she was a Morsmorphi. It seemed to be on of the most common of the Strengths. Soon it was her turn.

“I’m Ivy Manson-Dales. I can basically do anything.”

“Danny’s little sister?” Mr. Randals asked. She nodded. Did everyone know her brother? “I thought so. You look alike.”

After all the class had finished gawping at her and introducing themselves, they all got up. Mr. Randals waved his hand over the land around them. “We have an hour of the lesson left. Today, we are going to search for our Element. One by one, we’ll first try to lift this feather from the ground.” As he spoke, he lifted a white feather out of his pocket.

“Wind…” Ivy whispered. “This should be easy…”

Mr. Randals heard her and smiled at her wickedly. “You try first then.”