81Hello Everyone,
Again, Apologizing for being late. This was supposed to be Monday's update and here it is on Saturday (For US readers that is.). Now, I have some very important news in the end of this chapter and I hope it works out all well.
Small note, in the last chapter, I had a accidental typo where I mentioned Alura. It was supposed to be Astra. Sorry about that.
Important thing… I have a facebook page that's solely dedicated to everything related to Karry. The page is called Karry Across Space and Time. Do check out the page by searching KarrySpaceAndTime on Facebook. It would be really amazing for the page and for me to get the support.
Please your thoughts and suggestions on the reviews. My beta, PhantomPrince has been working fabulously on the story. Please do show him some love in his story by checking it out nad maybe leave a review in his story, saying Aki sent you! xD
I hope you guys enjoy this update of Justice Academy. Enjoy!
Year One: Walk Along the History!
Justice Academy was almost never silent, as one would expect from an institution composed almost entirely of teenagers. There was always someone shouting, someone training, some guy with a guitar that thought he could play well. It was a given, a constant. Things were never quiet at Justice Academy. If it was, then something was about to go seriously wrong.
As to whether or not that was the case now depended on who you asked.
Every student enrolled at Justice Academy had been crammed into a large room, the sea of teenagers sitting silently in front of the Dias, where an equally somber panel of trainers and teachers were seated, waiting.
The only sound that pervaded the room was the steps of the Academy Head as she took her place in the middle of the Dias. "First things first," She began, "It is wonderful to see all of you gathered together, though I wish it was under better circumstances. While we will get to the main reason for our gathering in a moment, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the International Justice Tournament is going to be started in two weeks, with Justice Academy having the honor of hosting this year."
Most of the students relaxed, hoping that this was nothing more than a school assembly for the Tournament. It was one of the biggest events of the school year, with four academies each selecting two groups of students and having them compete in a Battle Royale of epic proportions. It was suspected that the televising of the event covered fully 50% of the expenses for each school, a truly outrageous sum.
But the Tournament wasn't just a big deal for the staff. The teams that won had their college expenditure completely managed by League members, and there were whispers that the Champions were put forward as possible candidates to joining the League itself.
"I expect all our participants to enroll themselves with their team name to our organizer by Monday. I intend to see us as the reigning Champions this year!"
The room practically exploded with joyous energy, and people were already moving for the exits, assuming the assembly to be over. "Do not leave." Courtney ordered, her voice becoming cold. The students immediately froze and moved to their seats, sensing the changing atmosphere, once again silent.
"We are here," Courtney began, "To deal with a violation of the rules by some of our students. As we are a place of fairness and justice, not just on the streets but in our rules as well, we will be exploring why they felt it necessary to break the rules, as well as hearing their request for the rule in question to be changed."
The spell of silence was broken by her words, and people began frantically whispering to one another, confused and questioning. The Head raised her hand, and silence once again reigned. She turned her head to Courtney and nodded. The other woman stepped up beside the Head and cleared her throat.
"We begin the procedure with the standard recounting of the violation committed." She said formally. "Teddy?"
The man in question stood and fished a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, taking a few awkward seconds to unfold it and smooth out the crinkled paper. "One week ago, after Ms. Kara Danvers was attacked by a Black Mercy, Mr. Bartholomew Allen showed up to her regiment and displayed intimate knowledge on Kryptonian physiology and history that was not deemed fit for public knowledge, and the two admitted to being in a romantic relationship, thus violating the third rule of Student Contact."
"And the charge against Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance?" Courtney prompted.
"While the incident was reported, Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance were spotted together in the ARGUS facility in Star City in a rather…compromising position. Further investigation led to the discovery that Mr. Queen had used his influence to have Ms. Lance enrolled here in the first place, thus violating many of the Academy rules."
No one dared laugh, even hearing the bluntly implied position that the famous Oliver Queen had been found in.
"Alright, we now begin the session. Call in Oliver Queen." Courtney continued.
The sounds of tires moving over the floor filled the room as Oliver Queen rolled himself up to the Dias in a wheelchair, head held high despite the various injuries that marred his face and probably made it difficult for him to move at all. He moved to the empty space designated for him and nodded both to the panel and the students.
"Good afternoon." He greeted casually.
Courtney nodded back at the archer. "Oliver, would you like to say anything before we proceed?"
"Yes, I would like to bring in my lawyer to represent me."
Now people laughed, and many comments were exchanged that Oliver must have been hit even harder than anyone had thought.
"Oliver," Courtney said hesitantly, "You do realize that this isn't an actual court. It's just the Academy deciding what to do about the rule violation."
Oliver nodded and leaned forward. "I know, ma'am, but…Laurel is studying law and she doesn't get much time to practice. I hope you don't mind."
Despite the fact that he was whispering, every student clearly managed to hear what he had said, and erupted in laughter for a different reason now, a crooked grin growing on Oliver's face at the noise.
Courtney sighed and muttered something she was glad the students couldn't hear. "Alright. You may have her be your…attorney."
Oliver's smile widened as Laurel marched up to the Dias, dressed as formally as anyone had ever seen her, even carrying a briefcase with her. She bowed to Courtney, then did the same to the panel, and finally stood beside Oliver after leaning down and pecking him on the cheek.
"Moving on. Mr. Queen, you do realize that you have been charged with having broken our Academy's rules and have gotten involved with one of your fellow students, correct?"
"That's right, ma'am." Oliver agreed diplomatically.
"And do you accept your guilt in the face of these charges?"
Laurel placed a supportive hand on Oliver's shoulder, and Oliver smiled gently. "If being with someone that makes me a better person is a crime, then yes, I'm guilty. And I don't mind being guilty."
The students became louder, even the trainers leaning over and whispering harshly to each other.
"Silence." Courtney ordered. She turned towards one of the trainers. "Ted, you are the supervisor for the boy's side. Tell me, what kind of student is Oliver?"
Ted grunted and shot Oliver an unreadable look, his face becoming blank. "Well, ma'am, we all know who put the whole school in danger." He said simply.
"Ted, no…" Sonia tried to whisper to him. Though people had not forgotten the tragedy, everyone also knew enough to not blame Oliver. But if Wildcat himself was blaming Oliver…
Oliver's expression went slack, and it was clear that Laurel was doing her best not to lash out against the man. In the crowd, Kara laid a calming hand on Barry's arm, seeing the agitation on his face.
"Ted, your judgement is biased." Courtney said firmly. "I am going to request a census from the tutors. A show of hands for anyone who thinks that Ted is being fair."
None of the tutors raised a hand. A few looked conflicted, a few concerned, but none moved to support Ted.
"I suppose that settles that." Courtney decided. She turned back to Oliver. "Now, you are calling for the Academy to revoke the third rule, is that right?"
"That is correct, ma'am." Oliver raised his chin confidently, fixing Ted with a look of utter disgust.
Courtney nodded. "Barry Allen and Kara Danvers, please join your friend."
The two could have been beside Oliver in an instant, but now was not the time for showing off. Murmers rippled around the crowd at the two slowly walked onto the Dias, their linked hands held casually between them for the rest of the school to see.
"Alright," Courtney continued. "Please elaborate on why you four feel the rule should be revoked."
There wasn't a moment of indecision between the four, and Kara separated from Barry to step forward. "Ma'am, I'm aware that these rules were established following a time of great hardship for our academy. But…forbidding people to show the most basic and human emotions goes against what this academy stands for. We are heroes, not soldiers." She turned to face the crowd of students. "And while we are here to become better heroes, I hope that we can also come out of this as better people. Part of being human to decide it's worth the risk to fall in love, and believe me, as someone who has tried every day to be more human, that is one of the biggest advantages."
Barry walked up beside her and took her hand again. "We know it's a risk, ma'am, but…aren't risks what make us strive to be better and better? Am I correct, Mr. Alan?"
Alan looked startled as everyone's gazes turned to him. Clearing his throat, he nodded slowly, a small smile on his face. "Mr. Allen is right. Risks make us strive to be better, both as people and as heroes." The trainers all nodded approvingly, but the scowl on Ted's face became more and more pronounced.
Barry tried his best to keep his face neutral, but couldn't quite suppress a smirk. "All we ask is…Is that rule in anyway necessary?"
Once again, whispers started up. Though none of the four being accused were particularly loved by the student populace, they made sense, and more than a few students hesitantly made their way closer to people they had been purposely avoiding all year.
"Silence." Courtney again ordered, a thoughtful look on her face. Seeing her opportunity to press the advantage, Laurel stepped forward.
"Ma'am, we have presented our arguments for you, and we believe in your judgement. Whatever you might decide, I firmly believe that it will be for the ultimate good of Justice Academy. I rest my case."
"Setting aside Ms. Lance's obsession with treating a disciplinary hearing as a court hearing…" Courtney stressed, making Laurel color slightly, "The defense did lay forth some interesting points.
The entire hall held their breathes as Courtney paused, likely just as much for dramatic effect as anything else. "Taking this into consideration…I hereby declare the rule against dating invalid. In all honesty, it was a stupid rule made out of fear and paranoia. We knew even as we made it that it would be questioned. The sad thing is…No one has had the guts to raise an argument against it for all these years, until now. I take the chance to applaud you four for taking the stance against it and standing firm."
The four exchanged excited glances, grins growing on their faces, while the trainers looked more bored than anything else. The only one upset was Ted, who was sulking off to the side, Sonia keeping an eye on him…just in case.
The student populace was completely silent, even without having to be ordered to be so. Heat simultaneously rushed to everyone's cheeks as they realized they had blindly been following a rule that even the administration admitted was stupid, all because they didn't have the courage to challenge them.
"Now, having said that…" Courtney continued. "Though rules can be stupid, they are still rules, and you four broke them. As such…" Courtney scribbled something on her notebook and signed it with a flourish. "In keeping with my responsibilities as the head of this Academy, I hereby rusticate the four of you. You have two weeks to finish your pending work and hand in any and all Academy property over to the administration. From here on out, you are banned from attending classes as well. Dismissed."
Gasps of outrage went through the crowd, and a spark of pleasure showed itself in Ted's eyes, though his face remained composed.
"That is so unfair!" Ray protested, looking ready to jump up on the stage, only to be restrained by Donna, who looked no less upset. Every trainer was equally shocked, so shocked that they didn't even chastise Ted for going into what looked like the beginnings of a victory dance.
"If you have a problem you can join them too." Courtney suggested mildly. "Frankly, I love writing rustication forms and am quite tempted."
"Ray, keep quiet." Oliver hissed, his face obscured behind his long hair.
"But…" Donna tried, words failing her.
Barry gave Ray a sharp look, and shook his head in a gesture so minute it would have taken a master of cold reading to notice it. Or have been Barry Allen's roommate for several weeks. Ray nodded back, a moment of understanding passing between them.
"If…If that's the judgement, then we accept." Kara said solemnly, her face stony
"Very well then." Courtney smirked slightly. "Court adjourned."
The room erupted in noise.
Sometime later, Office of Head of Justice Academy,
"Kara, is anyone around?" Barry asked, locking the door behind him. Kara briefly took off her glasses and ran her eyes around the room, face tight with concentration, then shaking her head.
"We're all clear. Courtney?"
"Everything went as discussed. Well done you four, you could have been actors." Courtney complimented. The four expelled students tried not to look embarrassed at the praise, and Oliver stood up, stretching and sighing in contentment.
"Man, that chair is not comfortable." He muttered, swiping his hair out of his face.
"I'm not sure we should be hiding this from everyone else." Barry brought up, face conflicted. "I mean…Stronger together, right?" He looked over at his girlfriend (still somewhat shocked that he could even call her that) and she nodded at him, a dopey smile on her face.
"That was so incredibly corny." Oliver muttered.
"I think it's sweet." Kara defended. "And this from Mr. 'Can-my-girlfriend-be-my-attorney'?"
"Getting back on topic," Courtney redirected firmly. "You don't need to worry, Mr. Allen. Once the time is right, we will let your friends know, and from there we will move ahead. Right now we have more pressing matters."
Everyone nodded, their faces becoming serious. "Right," Oliver continued. "My source told me that one of the opposing teams in the Tournament is a mole and are planning on eradicating every superhero."
"And now that we've been expelled, we can go into stealth mode." Kara would have grinned at any other point in time at finally getting to be sneaky, but the situation was too serious.
"I won't lie to you, this situation is dangerous." Courtney warned. "We will not be overviewing you, every move you make will be your own, and you will have to live with the consequences. When you see the slightest hint as to who the mole is or what their plan is, we need to move."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Kara finally grinned. "Baby steps…"
And that's all for Year One: Walk Along the History!
Now, I know this chapter is really short and doesn't have much content. But, this chapter is basically a holder chapter leading to the three chapter mega arc, Justice Tournament. And with that, The important announcement would be… The update schedule is updated. This change is to make sure that I can adjust to the schedule and make sure every chapter is worth your reading time.
The updated time would be, Upcoming Updates of Adventures of Justice Academy:
28th August 2017 – Year One: Justice Tournament! Part 1
11th September 2017 - Year One: Justice Tournament! Part 2
25th September 2017 - Year One: Justice Tournament! Part 3
9th October 2017 – Year One: Heroes Fall!
23rd October 2017 – Year One: Legends Rise!
6st November 2017 – Year One: Epilogue!
As you can see, the chapters are moved two weeks forward to make sure I make everything on time. Do let me know if this would be a good schedule in your opinion.
As for the Trivia Question, the previous question about the theories stays active. Well, as mentioned before, the prize would be one Original Character, fully made with your input, making a cameo. (Or an extended role if it's an intriguing character.)
For the conclusion…
Justice Tournament: Enter the Contenders - The International Justice Tournament Kicks off. The four main academies convene at Mount Justice as Kara and Gang prepare to take the final gamble to find out who the mole is and what their plan is. Will our heroes succeed in their mission, or will they lose everything they have while the whole world watches. Find out more in the next updated of Adventures of Jsutice Academy, Featuring Streaky, Fastest Hound Alive!
Until Next Time!