Age: Senior Student Archives

01: W. Joseph // Hunter

Power: Predator Senses

W. Joseph is the cousin of the siblings M. Joseph and T. Joseph. W. Joseph grew up in Eklutna, north of the city but not too far, as a true believer in an observant Russian Orthodox family. A born hunter, W. spent more time in the valleys and mountains of south-central Alaska than they did at home. A couple of perfunctory years at Chugiak High School sort of petered out, leaving more time for long trips into the wilderness. It was on such a solitary trip when the Mark emerged – W’s instincts seemed to merge with their prey, and their senses with those of a natural predator. When they are focused on the hunt, W. Joseph can smell their closest friends and their prey up to four kilometers away, and they can predict the behaviour of their targets with chilling accuracy. None of this helped when their family discovered the Mark. W. was shipped off to the village of Aniak for “exorcism”. They walked home – 600 km, through the heart of the Kichatna mountains – and went to stay in the city with their cousins. They haven’t spoken to their parents since. W. Joseph is a loner who craves connection, a restless hunter who wants to be still and secure, and a faithful person whose faith has abandoned them.

Content warnings: Religious extremism, family drama

01: W. Joseph // Hunter Read More »

02: M. Taylor // Underworld

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Body Snatchers, London, Training Team: Sunburst /

Power: Darkness

After giving up a life as a street hustler to put in work building up their home community, Taylor devoted everything to the development of the community center. The same charm and skill that was used to play cards on the streets was put to good use encouraging young people to better their lives and Taylor was left heartbroken when the center was closed down. Taylor spent weeks alone in their flat allowing the darkness to consume them, but when their landlord came to evict them, they were already gone. Walking the streets of London by night they watched the lost souls from the cover of darkness, taking small actions to help people’s lives. When Taylor found the vagrant Cole living in the ruins of the Old Cemetery they decided to turn it into a temporary refuge from the horrors of street life. But nothing lasts forever, and when Mistry Academy provided an opportunity for Taylor’s new friends to rebuild their lives and maybe finally give Taylor the opportunity to settle down that they have been seeking their whole lives, they took it.

02: M. Taylor // Underworld Read More »

03: E. Ocello // Hail Cannon

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Legacies, Brussels, Training Team: Sunburst /

Power: Weather Control

You are the youngest child in a long-standing family of Marked, hailing from southern Italy. The Ocello family is closely knit, loyal, loving and fiercely protective. They prepare their children for the Mark from childhood, with taxing field trips and a library of musty tomes. Your parents are members of the EUROPOL sub-branch EPIC and have a lot of expectations for you. Your were the leader of your Legacy peers, and lead with bravado.

Your Mark came late and caused a lot of sleepless nights to you and to your parents. What if your Mark was mediocre? But thankfully the Mark did come; it granted great abilities and the entire family rejoiced. Of course, that meant that you would need to work even harder to prove your worth. “This is not the time for distractions, such as frivolities and love. You are an Ocello. You need to prove that you are the best!” That’s what your parents tell you and what you keep telling yourself. But under all that facade of bravado and confidence, there is a lot of insecurity and nervousness. What if you are not good enough? What if you are not the best? Maybe at the Academy you will learn to accept the other students as peers. Or maybe, against all your parents stand for, you will realise that want something else for your life.

03: E. Ocello // Hail Cannon Read More »

07: J. Chandra // Diplo

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Frazer College, India, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Fear

The youngest child of a large extended family of businesspeople, Chandra at first saw Frazer College as an escape from the worries and pressures of home. Soon, though, they realised that the same anxieties and conflicts could be found there. When Chandra’s Mark arrived, they found they could do something about this: they could control fear, calming others and taking their worries away. What better role to play, in a conflict, than the one who spreads peace and harmony? Quickly, people started looking to Chandra as a leader. Yet, under the guise of the peacemaker, Chandra has a secret. They can increase fear as well as reduce it, stirring up people’s anxieties, playing on the things that lurk deep in their mind. And they know that, if war comes, the dark side of their power may be the weapon they need to win.

07: J. Chandra // Diplo Read More »

08: M. Beck // Ice Wall

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Salik's Boxing Club, Greenland, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Forcefields

Beck was born in Denmark and didn’t move to Greenland until they were 12 years old. Their parents loved their new country. They kept talking about how wonderful it was to be closer to nature and living in a small community, but they didn’t seem to notice how much Beck struggled to adjust. Beck, on the other hand, saw what the move did for their parents: how their mother didn’t eat two painkillers for breakfast every morning, how their father drank much less than he used to. So Beck kept their mouth shut about their own issues. Maybe there’s a reason their powers let them create a forcefield between themselves and the world. Beck was heartbroken when the boxing club fell apart. They are desperate to gather the old gang once more.

Content warning: Alcoholism

08: M. Beck // Ice Wall Read More »

09: M. Juarez // Crucible

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Noasha Outreach Laboratory, Berlin, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Metal Manipulation

Kicked out of their home at a young age due to their family’s fear of their Mark, Juarez developed several survival strategies. Their naturally fancy personality – foppish, femme, flamboyant – made them an unthreatening joke or weakling to most, and hid their ruthlessness until it became necessary to use. A near-deadly altercation that occured between Juarez and trigger-happy corporate security forces after Juarez snuck into a corporate R&D department brought them to the attention of Noasha Labs, and the Labs were intrigued by their power of control over metal and offered them a place to stay. Juarez viewed this as blatant mercenary attitude on the part of the scientists, but considered it a fair trade for meals, education, company and safety – until the lab got sabotaged, from the inside. With the one place they thought they could trust betrayed, Juarez retreated to the Mistry Academy they’d heard the researchers mention and tried to plot a grand plan for the safety of all Marked. The lab’s failure had already shown that thinking small was not enough…

Content warnings: Homelessness, abandonment and assault

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10: C. Honeythunder // Honeythunder

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Circus of Human Wonders, United States, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Bullet Time

Back in rural North Carolina, Honeythunder always thought they were slick. They used their Marked ability—a burst of accelerated perception and movement that made the world seem to slow around them—in small, reflexive ways. Leaping between the traincars that rattled past their bedroom at night. Dodging the college kids’ cars up in Chapel Hill. Shoplifting. They picked pockets as much for the challenge as the money. They were good at it, too, thanks to their Marked ability. But not so good that Cameron Redlaw didn’t catch them in the act. Cameron taught Honeythunder how to extend their their powers for longer and longer, showing them how juggle more and more balls. After Cameron’s death, Honeythunder toured with a celebrated artistic circus as a juggler, but soon realised they would not learn what they needed to know. Instead, they came to Mistry Academy. They arrived as a angry young person with a chip on their shoulder, but, in their time at Mistry with others like themselves, Honeythunder has mellowed.

10: C. Honeythunder // Honeythunder Read More »

11: A. Lee // Hush

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Sound Control

A. Lee grew up in Wonder Park with their mother, a sometimes-addict who ended her marriage to A. Lee’s father with what was locally referred to as a “Spenard divorce” – she shot him after a particularly brutal beating. For their part, A. learned early to keep their head down, to keep their door closed, and to keep their mouth shut. It was no surprise when their Mark arrived: it gave them power over sound, including, most preciously, the gentle gift of complete silence. A. Lee’s mom only saw dollar signs and effectively sold her child to the government after their gift manifested. By this time Lee had bonded with the other neighborhood Marked, and even done some vigilante crime-fighting. When A. was taken to a secure facility at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to await “testing”, they spectacularly broke Lee out. D. Rautenbach went to prison, their destructive hands positive proof of the earlier murder, the entire feckless Joseph clan went to ground in the wilderness, and A. bummed a ride Outside with a long-haul trucker. A. Lee overcompensates for their constant fear and anxiety. They know their power hasn’t been fully explored, and want to use it to make others like them safe, perhaps even if it means some collateral damage.

Content warnings: Domestic violence and abuse

11: A. Lee // Hush Read More »

12: E. Jordan // Inferno

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Body Snatchers, London, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Heat Control

Forced to leave Jamaica to avoid persecution, Jordan found themself just as vulnerable as a migrant in the UK. When Jordan’s papers were stolen, they had no evidence that they had any right to remain in the UK and fled onto the streets. With a vague promise of papers and threats of deportation, Jordan found themselves manipulated into working for a crime boss. Jordan tried to find a way out of the criminal life, but the threat of arrest was around every corner. When Jordan was sent to kill former street hustler, Taylor, they saw their opportunity to escape. Instead of burning the Old Chapel to the ground, Jordan agreed to help Taylor bring together the North London Marked and find a way to the Mistry Academy. Up until now fighting has been the only thing Jordan knows, but with a new start comes new possibilities and maybe fighting isn’t the only way.

Content warning: Persecution

12: E. Jordan // Inferno Read More »

13: A. Staicu // Rewind

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Legacies, Brussels, Training Team: Lightning /

Power: Time Rewind

Everyone else dreams of being as powerful as their parents; for you, that is your worst nightmare. In your family’s homeland, Romania, your father, Dumitru Staicu or Silverwing, was a national hero. That was until he betrayed the Marked Alliance and sided up with super-villain Deathray. He was arrested following investigation by EPIC investigators, led by the Ocello parents. Now Staicu, Sr. resides in a EUROPOL affiliated maximum security prison on the Swiss alps and you have to live with the stigma of his name. You still visit him, though; after all, you are all he’s got left. Before this, amongst your peers you had high status, then you got ousted. You found out who your true friends were.

You prayed that the Mark would skip a generation. Without powers, you would not have to worry whether you too would turn to evil, like your father. Without powers, you would not have to stick in a community where everyone knows who you are and judges you for it. In your final year at Mistry Academy, you want to find your place and be accepted as one of the good guys. But are you truly a good guy?

13: A. Staicu // Rewind Read More »

14: R. Müller // Backlash

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Marked in Space, Training Team: Lightning /

Power: Induce Emotions

Genius has always run in your family: you can trace a lineage of exceptional individuals all the way from the Age of Enlightenment to your parents who invented the teleporter that took you and them to space. You’ve been surrounded by marvels of technology for as long as you can remember and you want nothing more than to contribute your own advancement to galactic knowledge. But since your power developed, it’s become harder and harder for you to remain detached and focus on logic and reasoning like a true person of science ought to. Your power riles up your emotions and those of people around you. Eventually, though you didn’t want to leave your life at the heart of interstellar discovery, you agreed to return to Earth and your parents’ friend Dr Mistry to learn to control what you can do.

14: R. Müller // Backlash Read More »

15: R. Wojcik // Zap

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Operation V, Unknown Location, Training Team: Lightning /

Power: Microwave Manipulation

Wojcik had a family once, but they feel so very far away now. The soldiers at Operation V said that it was Wojcik’s duty to be there, and Wojcik believed them and tried to be a loyal Polish patriot because his comrades must be right, no? Wojcik’s power sometimes leaks out, and since an accident that lead to the death of a guard, they have to wear metallic clothing to keep it contained. Wojcik was always forced to train until their muscles are shaking, but they never understood why they were singled out for special treatment. When Marino set the lab on fire, Wojcik was secretly glad and silently let loose their power to help weaken the walls. And then they ran away – so much for their supposed duty and patriotism.

Note: Wojcik’s memories are not real. They were created in the lab and the memories were implanted.

Content warnings: Implanted false memories, false history, lab bred, accidental murder, isolation in a metallic suit

15: R. Wojcik // Zap Read More »

19: L. Kouma // Livewire [Reserved]

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Noasha Outreach Laboratory, Berlin, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Static Electricity

Inflicted by seemingly incurable and constant pain, Kouma’s Mark was both what paralysed them and unlocked a new life for them. That, and Noasha Outreach Laboratory. Kouma’s Mark generated immense amounts of static electricity that set their nervous system into painful lockdown. However, under Noasha’s careful attention, the excess electricity powered several cybernetic enhancements and replacement limbs that gave them freedom of movement and abilities even other Marked lacked,- though the problem of chronic pain and maintaining the prosthetics remain constant. With Noasha Labs shut down, they’re cut off from any backup for their high-tech body – but, lustful for freedom, Kouma now has no oversight that can tell them just how flesh or how machine they’re allowed to be, and they plan to take advantage of it.

Content warnings: Debilitating disability and significant body replacement/modification

19: L. Kouma // Livewire [Reserved] Read More »

20: D. Tox // Charmer

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Circus of Human Wonders, United States, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Repulse

Even as a child, D. Tox was always locked inside their own head. Already their Mark didn’t help, repulsing everyone who looked on them. Cameron Redlaw may have been the first person who looked upon them with any sort of kindness. Cameron taught them how to control the ebb and flow of their ability – which they are still not great at – and who discovered that reptiles reacted in an opposite way to mammals, being attracted rather than repulsed. Tox became the circus’s resident snake charmer, doing daring feats with their ever-growing collection of dangerous (to others) snakes. After Redlaw’s death, Tox traveled with Dedlock in a traveling tent revival, but left when they discovered they were trans. At Mistry, Tox has now settled comfortably in the gender they were always struggling to be, although they still feel more comfortable with the snakes in their dorm room than their fellow students.

Content warning: Transphobia

20: D. Tox // Charmer Read More »

25: S. Atkins // Flashback

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Operation V, Unknown Location, Training Team: Monsoon /

Power: Memory Manipulation

Atkins was a soldier once, a good soldier, loyal to a fault, before the Vengeance Lab’s experiments helped them to realise that there are far worse things than dying cleanly on a battlefield. In any war, even between the Marked and pure humans, both sides lose and all you are left with is scorched earth. Atkins will never forget this. But they can make other people forget things, and have done more than once – both Wojcik and Marino have been their victims, but of course they don’t remember. Atkins has even destroyed the memories of their own dying men, to save them from worse pain. But deep inside they feel that fundamentally their actions were still deeply wrong. Atkins never wants to do anything like that ever again. They want to build a world where they won’t have to.

Content warnings: Survivor’s guilt, PTSD, has done bad things for good reasons, I was only following orders

25: S. Atkins // Flashback Read More »

26: J. Park // Slipstream

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Renegades, New Jersey, Training Team: Monsoon /

Power: Psychic Dreamscapes

Park’s parents were cleaners, who saved meticulously to buy their house in New Jersey. They always said that, one day, Park would do something great. Park believed them. Even before getting the Mark, Park had visions, seeing how people lacked empathy for each other. That is Park’s gift: they can join people, anybody who is touching them, into one shared psychic world. Sometimes, this power has been tough, as Park bore the weight of other people’s hurt. Often, though, it was beautiful.

Having helped so many, Park knows that they can bring about a just world if they can bear the responsibility of making it happen. That is why they left Glen Park and the Heap for Mistry Academy. They loved The Heap, they loved the secrets, they loved their parents, but the world needed Slipstream. So, without telling anyone, they slipped away.

26: J. Park // Slipstream Read More »

27: H. Singh // Whisper

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Frazer College, India, Training Team: Monsoon /

Power: Psychic Suggestion

Singh came from a senior army family: their parents were posted to a series of camps and garrisons all around India. It meant never putting down roots; and, when they were old enough, being sent to boarding school. This seemed like a welcome stability, and the chance to make real friends for the first time. Singh measured and understood the way that Frazer College society worked: the hierarchies and alliances. Singh and their Marked friends were near the bottom, but that was OK, it could be fixed. It turned out that people would still make concessions, grant favours, and remit punishments, when Singh really wanted that to happen. It was only after some time that they realized this was actually the exercise of their powers. This brought a crisis of conscience. Was it right to benefit from the powers by manipulating people in this way?

27: H. Singh // Whisper Read More »

31: M. Joseph // Pika

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Pika Form

M. Joseph is the sibling of T. Joseph and the cousin of W. Joseph. They grew up in Mountain View and Wonder Park, two of the roughest neighbourhoods in Anchorage. Popular and a good student, M. Joseph was Bartlett High School’s Bear Paw Prince/Princess last year. As the big sibling, M. struggled to watch over T. and keep them out of trouble, with mixed results. Their Mark manifested early, before their sibling’s, and it is, in M’s opinion, utterly amazing. M. can transform into a collared pika, a nimble and resourceful rodent ubiquitous on mountainsides all over south-central Alaska. In pika form, M. is fast as lightning, small enough to be unnoticed and to slip through the smallest cracks, and has excellent night vision. Sometimes, other people think this power is a joke, but to M., it is an amazing gift, and they are both proud and humbled by it. They have solemnly pledged to use it only for good. M. Joseph is a genuinely kind person who sees themselves as the nurturing glue holding any team together.

Content warnings: Narcissism, delusional thinking

31: M. Joseph // Pika Read More »

32: A. Rodenbeck // Echo

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Body Snatchers, London, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Air Manipulation

Rodenbeck was a small-time shoplifter, living on the streets and snatching food to survive. Over time Rodenbeck had become adept at sneaking into places without being seen and had developed a genuine talent for trespassing. To pass the time Rodenbeck would walk along the railway tracks and add their tag to the walls and bridges. Sometimes, they stayed with the homeless runaways and Marked at the Old Chapel, bringing food in return for a safe place to stay. When Rodenbeck’s Mark came, it was devastatingly painful. For weeks, they stayed at the Old Chapel, the others protecting them as they gradually developed their powers. Sound would rebound back at them from every available surface, leaving them in a perpetual cacophony. The other Marked at the cemetery would cover them in blankets and insulating materials to help them get some sleep. This was enough for Taylor and the others to realise Rodenbeck needed help. Under the cover of darkness Rodenbeck, Taylor and Jordan travelled to the Mistry academy to find someone who could calm their powers.

32: A. Rodenbeck // Echo Read More »

33: J. Molnar // Microwave

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Legacies, Brussels, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Gentle Warming

Your French mother is a legendary vigilante turned EPIC member; your Hungarian father is a lobbyist for Marked rights. In theory, their combined powers passed down to their only child would produce a Mark of superior quality. But fate seemed to be laughing that day. Your Mark produces a laser beam that gives a pleasant warmth rather than devastating and fearsome destruction. Your parents felt a mixture of anger and guilt and could not accept that they would be the laughing stock of all of their friends. They tried to push you to overcome the limits of your power but to no avail. Before your power came in, your keen intellect and calculating mind meant you were the best of your peers at the challenges you faced. Now, the ones that mock you call you Microwave. You prefer simply Wave. You are tired of trying to prove yourself to your family, your friends, even the Academy. Perhaps all you really want is to accept your limits; accept yourself for who you are.

Content warnings: Family pressure and emotional abuse

33: J. Molnar // Microwave Read More »

37: F. Wadia // Fade

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Frazer College, India, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Age Others

Wadia was being groomed for a political career. Their family are a famous dynasty: sometimes loved, sometimes feared, always in power. Wadia had accepted this destiny and duty: what other option was there? Frazer College, with its mix of students and its complex social landscape to negotiate, was intended to be an important step in their political education. But then Wadia’s Mark came, followed by terrible powers. First, touching a friend, and seeing the awful ageing effects; then, realizing it was their fault; then, being persuaded to use the power as a threat, to ward off harassment. The destruction of the school meant a new start, but what has really changed? – how is life at Mistry Academy any better? Wadia feels like a monster: no more caresses, no more hugs. No chance of love.

37: F. Wadia // Fade Read More »

38: A. Peterson // Sialuk

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Salik's Boxing Club, Greenland, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Relieving Pain

Even before their powers emerged, Salik said that Peterson had a healing touch. Peterson is deeply empathetic, with an innate sense for what people need to feel better, whether it’s a hand on the shoulder, a tight hug, or – as is appropriate in a boxing club – a solid punch on the jaw. Preferring to spend as little time as possible with parents who fought constantly, the boxing club became Peterson’s true home. Arriving at Mistry Academy, they are desperately homesick. As hard as their life could be in Nuuk, they felt like they belonged. Carving out a place for themselves is proving harder than Peterson thought.

Content warning: Domestic abuse

38: A. Peterson // Sialuk Read More »

43: V. Mistry // Reverie

Age: Senior Student, Origin: The Legacies, Brussels, Training Team: Hurricane /

Power: Illusions

At an early age, Dr Mistry left you in the care of the Molnar family, who later told you Dr Mistry was your mother. Growing up, you only saw her rarely, although you did get the occasional visit and birthday present. It seems that Dr Mistry was excellent at tracking down and nurturing Marked children but, you always felt growing up, that you would just like to have a mother for yourself.

When your Mark manifested, you were home alone. Your illusions haunted you wherever you went and you were found hours later, inside a wardrobe. You attended Mistry Academy as a pupil and began to understand the nature of your powers.

At the Academy, your anger with your mother grew deeper and one day you and your mother had a big fight. You fled the Academy, determined to strike out on your own, free from the expectations of your mother’s name. That was the last time you ever saw her. She died and you never had the chance to make up with her, to tell her that you love her, that you need her. You are haunted by guilt and grief but you cannot find the strength to admit it.

Content warning: Parent death

43: V. Mistry // Reverie Read More »

44: F. Webb // Felstrike

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Marked in Space, Training Team: Hurricane /

Power: Lightning Reflexes

You were in a hot air balloon with your family above Buenos Aires when the air shimmered purple and you were thrust through a transdimensional portal to the other side of the galaxy. Unprotected from the vacuum of space, you only survived because a ship of Vallaq salvagers hauled you into their bay. It was too late for the rest of your family. The crew took you in, but the Vallaq’s life was not easy, struggling for freedom against the Krixzaran League’s expansion. You became caught up in their conflict, and when your Mark gave you lightning reflexes you became an invaluable asset to your crew – so much so that when the Vallaq were finally defeated, the Krixzarans insisted that you be sent back to Earth. Now you’re home, but you’ve once again found yourself fighting for your freedom, and you’re not sure if it’s worth it anymore.

Content warnings: War, child soldiers

44: F. Webb // Felstrike Read More »