Age: Junior Student Archives

04: L. Karimov

Power: Vibration

You were just ten years old when you came across an alien spaceship, and as a restless spirit who had spent your whole life looking to the stars, there was nothing that could have stopped you from exploring it. It was only once the ship took off with you aboard that you realised you might never be able to go home. Rampaging around the galaxy from one questionably lawful venture to another has been a wild ride that you’ve loved every minute of, but you’ve also known loneliness without your old friends and family, seldom meeting anyone like yourself. Now you’re excited about coming back to Earth, and though you know you’ll miss your adventures, you can’t wait to be around other human beings again, to find friends like yourself, and maybe something more.

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05: W. Klein

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Operation V, Unknown Location, Training Team: Sunburst /

Power: Energy Vampirism

Klein was dying from a degenerative disorder but their father, a powerful politician, found out about the V-Serum and stole some hoping to save Klein’s life. But he misunderstood what it would do: the serum painfully brought Klein’s Mark to the surface rather than healing them. Luckily, it still kind of worked. Klein is no longer dying, but only as long as they continue to use their power. Operation V was most interested in this success and had them kidnapped – Klein was tested in every physical and mental challenge they could devise, sometimes to the brink of death. Klein isn’t sheltered anymore, instead they have felt more pain than anyone. They have become suspicious and paranoid. Even Marino, who stood between Klein and the doctors, is still treated warily. At their heart, Klein doesn’t believe that their life is worth the energy they steal from other people to survive, but they can’t make themselves stop.

Content warnings: Degenerative disease, dying young, isolated Childhood, kidnapping, torture, suicidal thoughts

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06: E. Sola

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Renegades, New Jersey, Training Team: Sunburst /

Power: Cold Breath

When Sola’s parents were convicted of financial fraud, they moved to Glen Rock to escape the papers, the protestors, and most, but not all of, the paparazzi. Sola feels their parents only thought of themselves, never understanding how tough the move was for Sola. When Sola started manifesting their powers, it was a release. They started small, creating ice sculptures. Now, then can create huge walls, even throwing icicles.

Sola wants to be a superhero, someone who makes the world better. They have been practicing their hero voice and thinking a lot about names and outfits. They want to erase their parents’ legacy and make one of their own.

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16: L. Acosta

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Renegades, New Jersey, Training Team: Lightning /

Power: Reshape Molecular Bonds

From the moment Acosta first got Marked, their parents were scared of them. Thinking back, Acosta fears their parents were right. Acosta’s powers are scary. When Acosta focusses, they feel the bonds that join everything together. Their science teacher would call it molecules, but it feels something more fundamental, more different. All Acosta knows is that they can reshape things when they use their powers.

They are scared of what they can do. They have tried to warp and remake objects, but it easily goes wrong: once, while practising in their bedroom, they watched their arm starting to disintegrate and had to spend the rest of the night remaking it. Then there was the time that Acosta tried to protect those who protested against the Mayor, but couldn’t stop the police arresting the protesters. For the moment, Acosta keeps their powers tightly in check, but wonders what would happen if they let loose with their full potential.

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17: D. Khan

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Frazer College, India, Training Team: Lightning /

Power: Absorb and Re-emit Energy

Khan was a mathematical prodigy – born into a poor community in the city, fortunate to find a teacher who believed in their talent. Or maybe not so fortunate: they were awarded a scholarship to Frazer College, and taken away from everyone who they knew and who cared about them, into a new world of privilege, with fresh and unknown monsters hiding in plain sight. Khan has been easily led – passively doing what they were told, wanting only to escape into the world of thought, where everything makes sense and behaves as it should. The bullying they experienced was as incomprehensible as it was unfair: all Khan ever wanted to do was to be helpful and inconspicuous. They were horrified that the first exercise of their powers caused the destruction of the school. But if all they can do is reflect and feed back what others around them are feeling, can they really be held responsible for the effects?

Content warning: Bullying

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18: N. Christiansen

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Salik's Boxing Club, Greenland, Training Team: Lightning /

Power: Boost Powers

The only place Christiansen felt like they truly excelled was the boxing club. They were fiercely proud of their accomplishments. Salik said they might be able to compete in tournaments one day, but then he died, and once again Christiansen is a nobody. They long to reconnect with their old friends, but they struggle with reaching out. Forced to learn how to fend for themselves from a young age, they greatly value independence and are endlessly frustrated by the nature of their powers. They feel useless, unable to do anything but boost others. Can they learn again the pride that they had at the boxing club?

Content warning: Suicide

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21: T. Joseph [Reserved]

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Wolf Form

T. Joseph is the sibling of M. Joseph and the cousin of W. Joseph. They grew up in Mountain View and Wonder Park, two of the roughest neighbourhoods in Anchorage. School was difficult to begin with due to learning differences, and having a sibling who was a star in the popular firmament didn’t help. While M. was winning spelling bees, T. was surviving relentless bullying by running, hiding and occasionally taking a beating. It was a full-time job, but it all changed when their Mark developed. In the Mark lottery, T. Joseph hit the jackpot. In contrast to their sibling (the were-hamster) and their cousin (wolf-in-nose-only), T. can transform at will into an actual, fearsome wolf. They are a werewolf, and the tables turned overnight. T. relished tormenting their tormentors, perhaps a little too much. They like the pack, the camaraderie, the ability to quietly command a loyal member. They feel more comfortable in wolf form, where no one judges their ability to parse numbers and letters, and wonder whether being human at all is worth the effort.

Content warnings: Bullying, learning differences

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22: J. Cole

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Body Snatchers, London, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Plant Growth

Abandoned when they were very young, Cole found that the city always looked after them in ways it didn’t look after others. Food was never a problem and neither was shelter as they lived deep in the thorny bushes of public parks. As long as Cole could spend time in the sun, grow their plants and chill all day they were happy just getting by. During the winter months Cole would go dormant and hide in cemeteries pretending to be dead, only to come back to life again in spring. Cole saw themselves as part of the cycle of life and death, a creature of the streets, until some criminal elements started using the young vagrant to grow drugs. Where they used to help grow the flowers people left in the cemetery, the criminals started planting narcotics, and with Cole around the plants thrived. Cole watched powerlessly as criminals took and sold the plants they had meant as a gift for this place and the people who visited it peacefully. The criminals wanted Cole to stay awake throughout the winter to keep the drugs growing, and that’s when they knew they needed to leave. Hunted by the criminals, Cole found sanctuary in an Old Chapel, and now maybe true safety in Mistry Academy.

Content warning: Drug use

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23: M. Livanou [Reserved]

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Legacies, Brussels, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Healing

You were conceived through in vitro fertilisation and selected by your Greek-born mother as a match for for your elder sister, Lydia, who had leukemia. The process was successful at first but Lydia deteriorated and in her twelfth year, she died. For you, it seemed as if you had failed in your life’s purpose. More worryingly, although you missed your sister your feelings towards others were numbed. You enjoy people’s company but cannot feel a strong emotional bond with others. You worry that you may not be normal; that others may see you as a freak. After her death, Lydia’s peers took you in, treating you as their mascot, but not taking you seriously.

When your Mark kicked in, you gained a new purpose in your power to heal. But sometimes you wonder how it would be to have something just for yourself. You insisted on coming to Mistry Academy, so that you could make a new start and see whether you are worth more than just spare parts for a dead sibling.

Content warnings: Cancer, illness and death of a child

Please note that Livanou in Greek is the feminine style of surname. The masculine surname would be Livanos.

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24: X. Zian [Reserved]

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Marked in Space, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Disappearance

You’re literally part alien, strange even to people living with the reality of superpowers. Six of your parental donors are renowned members of the Krixzaran League whose illustrious footsteps you were being brought up to follow in, but the last was a human, Dr Anya Mistry. Her genetic strain has always made you unusual among your peers, but perhaps you wouldn’t begrudge her so much if she’d just been around to explain how you were different when you were growing up. When your Mark appeared, the rest of your parental hept decided to send you to Earth so she could guide you through the development of your powers. You didn’t want to leave the only home you’ve ever known. Now, you’re terrified that you’re going to stand out more than ever when you’re surrounded by humans.

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28: M. Mikkelsen

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Salik's Boxing Club, Greenland, Training Team: Monsoon /

Power: Pheromone Control

As a child, Mikkelsen felt quite content; their home life wasn’t without its problems, but all in all things were good. Then the Mark showed up. When Mikkelsen’s power to control the emotions of those around them exploded and created mass hysteria, their mother promptly threw Mikkelsen out. Mikkelsen found themselves left to figure out on their own how to navigate a future they never wanted. They’re angry and frustrated with a world that seems to snuff out their dreams as soon as they appear. Can they find a new family at Mistry Academy?

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29: C. Barrow

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Noasha Outreach Laboratory, Berlin, Training Team: Monsoon /

Power: Biological Manipulation

The protegée of the head researcher of Noasha lab, Barrow’s life could be described in the phrase ‘laboratory conditions’: up until now, they’ve only operated in controlled, sterile environments. They grew up with trusting parents who encouraged their Mark and sent them to prim and proper private schools. Their parents also inducted them into Noasha Laboratory where they learned of the sheer potential of their power and how they could best use it for the good of all humankind. Their ability to alter and control biology could cure all diseases just as much as it could wreck the human body. But when the lab was sabotaged and the group forced to Ministry Academy for their safety, Barrow is left in a dangerous new world where they’ve had to learn very quickly how to gain some field experience. They know they have the power to change the world – they just need to work out the what and the how…

Content warning: Body modification

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30: R. Aguilera

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Circus of Human Wonders, United States, Training Team: Monsoon /

Power: Mind-reading

Growing up in Tampa, Aguilera was a weak child, taunted by their schoolmates. When their Mark emerged, they found they could hear their bullies’ thoughts: frightened and angry and nervous. Terrified of the voices, they ran away from home, but they couldn’t escape their emerging telepathy. They were constantly surrounded by the worst of people’s thoughts, and whenever people discovered Aguilera’s Mark those thoughts became harsher still, often accompanied by physical violence. Aguilera’s knowledge of the depths of people’s hatred wore away all trust and compassion they’d had for pure humans. Cameron Redlaw seemed the only one who saw them without hatred or mistrust. After the attack, though, Aguilera heard the voices of others in the circus, who blamed the Marked for the attack and wanted them gone. Perhaps, Aguilera thought, war against the pure humans was inevitable. From now on, they are determined not to be weak any more.

Content warning: Bullying

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34: T. Malik

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Noasha Outreach Laboratory, Berlin, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Electricity (Power Broken)

Some Marked get to be superpowered supermodels. Malik wasn’t so lucky. An avid martial artist until their Mark activated, Malik was hoping that they’d still be able to follow their Olympic dreams – and then it turned out that they shocked themselves whenever they touched someone too hard, so that became a no-go. Their condition was of interest to Noasha Labs, which was working with a similar power with Kouma. The lab promised to make a cure for Malik. Malik agreed, joined the lab and spent their time there trying to make up for their lost passion with new ones, gaining quite an aptitude with the high-tech items lying around the lab and becoming an accomplished technician, but it wasn’t the same. There’s not much hope in Malik that Mistry Academy can cure what the Labs couldn’t, and they’re trying to face up to living the rest of their life with this condition.

Content warning: Malik’s powers are a disadvantage to them

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35: L. Varga

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Operation V, Unknown Location, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Mind Melding

Varga was born in Budapest, and grew up as a petty thief – all the while looking to get themselves and their mother out of the slums. When they were in juvenile detention, they were ‘disappeared’ because Operation V wanted to try their serum out on a person already Marked. Varga didn’t die, their powers actually increased, but at the expense of their body. They are physically weak now, no stamina at all, but they can sink into the mind of anyone they touch and read everything. That terrified the doctors at the Lab who kept Varga isolated in solitary confinement – which nearly sent them mad. When the Lab burned, Varga ran, because anything was better than that, even dying alone in the mountains when their body betrayed them. Luckily, Atkins rescued them but now Varga knows their secrets too…

Content warnings: Solitary confinement, isolation, physical weakness, homesickness

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36: W. Mendel

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Renegades, New Jersey, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Incredibly Strong When Unobserved

Even as a child, Mendel felt invisible. At school, Mendel always had a crush on someone older or beautiful or rebellious, who walked past without noticing. When their Mark emerged, they were excited that they would get extraordinary powers. But, for a long time, no powers came. Despondent, they started going for long walks on the edge of town. Then they discovered their power: they were extraordinarily strong, but only when no-one was looking.

While walking, Mendel discovered the Heap. Mendel even showed their powers there: everyone would look away, while Mendel moved something massive. Then someone accidentally left a smartphone recording, which, when the video was posted online, clearly showed Mendel pushing over a house. Nevertheless, Mendel is proud of their powers and wants to learn more about them at Mistry.

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39: V. Cloudburst

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Noasha Outreach Laboratory, Berlin, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Water Control

The hydrokinetic Cloudburst comes from a insular little Marked community that lived in peace along the coastline of Britain. There, Marked chose their name after their powers revealed themselves, an occasion which Cloudburst also used to come out as transgender. They lived happily there, occasionally trading their services with the nearby pure human communities. These trades caught the attention of Noasha Labs, who thought that Cloudburst’s water-manipulation powers had great potential for global benefits, and convinced Cloudburst to sign up as a show of goodwill from the community. After the collapse of Noasha Labs the community is being picketed by hateful Beacons of Purity supporters. Cloudburst, who is very used to living alongside like-minded individuals, is been kept at Mistry Academy for their safety. They’re worried about these strangers, even worried about the lab, and most of all they’re worried about home…

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40: S. Dedlock

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Circus of Human Wonders, United States, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Stone Form

S. Dedlock came from a God-fearing family, deep in the Alabama backwoods. Though middle-class, Dedlock’s parents were keenly aware of how recently the family had lived in poverty. They never let their children forget it, always watching for any backwards slide into “trash” behavior. Religion was the main method of control for the Dedlock family, and S. treasured the Bible so much, they wanted to be a priest. Nevertheless, though, there was a longing within them that they didn’t quite understand, and Cameron Redlaw saw it in them. Dedlock learned how to transform their body into living rock, performing strong-man stunts. After leaving the circus, Dedlock gave up on that life, joining a traveling tent revival with Tox as snake handlers and hiding their abilities. Tox soon left and, on their own, Dedlock felt that familiar undefined longing rise up again. Now at Mistry Academy, they feel they are called to a higher purpose, but wonder what it could be.

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41: D. Rautenbach

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Crushing Grip

In Wonder Park, D. Rautenbach was the last Mark to manifest, late to the party as always. D. Rautenbach is a military brat, their parents both working at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, flying jets and doing… military stuff. Compared to their friends, they had a stable, happy life. Rautenbach was a well-regarded multi-sport athlete for the Bartlett High Golden Bears, a decent student, and an aspiring musician. All that came crashing down with the arrival of their Mark. Rautenbach’s Mark manifests in the form of a crushing grip; something that can only be controlled with supreme effort. A typical casual grip exerts 10,000 Newtons of pressure but no upper limit has been found; with extreme effort D. Rautenbach has exerted ten million Newtons of crushing force. It was this grip, at the urging of T. Joseph and the others, which spectacularly killed a man. It was this grip that put D. Rautenbach in prison. They will never play guitar again; they will never touch a lover. When Mistry’s legal team got them quietly released on an age-related technicality, they weren’t sure they deserved it. Rautenbach still isn’t. They want love and affirmation and forgiveness.

Content warnings: Murder, guilt

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42: A. King

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Body Snatchers, London, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Taking Harm For Others

King has an addictive personality – the things they love, they love fiercely, whether that’s gambling, alcohol, parties, or even other people. Just about any activity that can be engaged in results in King wanting more and more of it until it makes them sick. Abandoned by their parents when they were young King has been told their whole life that they are spoiled, greedy and immature. When King ran away from home they decided to own this criticism and took this self indulgent lifestyle to an extreme. An endless procession of drinks, parties, addictions and problems all paid for with the kindness and gullibility of strangers. A new start at the Mistry Academy could change all that. This could be the opportunity to put the past behind them and start again afresh. King thinks this could be the time to find a way to give something back or maybe appreciate just how much they already really give.

Content warning: Addiction

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45: M. Marino

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Operation V, Unknown Location, Training Team: Hurricane /

Power: Eye Fire Rays

Marino grew up poor, angry and ignored but they were determined to get out of the Neapolitan slums and make a name for themselves – they nearly succeeded when their talent for boxing lead to some lucrative cage fight offers. Unfortunately, when their Mark came in, the fight promoters were too afraid of Marino and the offers all fell through – except one. The crime syndicate the Camorra offered Marino a fight, but something went wrong – they don’t remember clearly but they know their power was set loose on the crowd somehow and people died. They went to jail until Operation V offered them a deal. Marino knows they deserved their torture there, but there were innocents that did not. One day they lost their temper and set fire to the Lab to protect Klein, who they pulled out of the conflagration. Marino is still angry and doesn’t know if they can trust themselves. But they know they can’t trust the unmarked.

Note: Marino let loose their heat rays on a crowd, manipulated with drugs and goaded by the Camorra, to kill their rivals. Their memory of the incident has been suppressed by Atkins.

Content warnings: Murder, torture

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46: K. Gill

Age: Junior Student, Origin: The Renegades, New Jersey, Training Team: Hurricane /

Power: Sense Lies

In the cheap end of Glen Park, Gill’s parents argued endlessly. As objects smashed on walls, Gill hid in the basement. This has filled Gill with bitterness, suspicion and mistrust: people were friends one day, enemies the next. One night, Gill’s powers manifested, allowing them to spot lies. Gill confronted their parents, calling out every lie they heard. Gill’s father began to weep and their mother went ashen.

From then on, Gill spent more and more time at the Heap. But Gill’s powers were torture: every time somebody lied, their voice became a screech. Gill decided they could no longer be silent, telling people every time they lied, and arguments flared more than ever. Now at Mistry, Gill tries to control their powers with meditation and iron self-discipline. Perhaps, here, Gill can finally find people they trust.

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47: K. Woodley

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Frazer College, India, Training Team: Hurricane /

Power: Gravity Control

Woodley’s family comes from the UK, but the family was too compromised by the corruptions and luxuries of the colonial era to want to return there after India’s independence. Woodley was brought up to believe that they were better – smarter, sharper – than native Indians, although they never admit this belief publicly. At Frazer College, for the first time meeting people who they could trust, Woodley realized the lies – the false picture of the world – that they had been fed. Now, they have a thirst for justice, a burning anger, and a desire to shake the foundations. Realizing that they were Marked changed everything – made everything possible. Including the destruction of Frazer College.

Content warning: Racial prejudice

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48: I. Josefsen

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Salik's Boxing Club, Greenland, Training Team: Hurricane /

Power: Absorb Physical Force

Josefsen was the first to leave the boxing club, even before Salik died. It was after Josefsen’s power, a curious ability to absorb physical force, emerged, and their father jumped at the chance to send Josefsen to a boarding school in Denmark. There, Josefsen always found themselves the odd one out, the poor kid from Greenland with a Mark, and felt completely alone. Now at Mistry Academy, Josefsen is extremely excited to have the gang back together, although they didn’t see how the relationships changed after Salik was gone. Maybe, while Josefsen was away, some things have been broken beyond repair.

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