Altered History

Before entering the classroom, he poured a generous amount of water over his head to try and cool his body down a little. He hoped that a normal, uneventful class would eventually bring his fever down.

This thought was reinforced by the fact that the subject was Omega History, and with Millennyo's serene personality, things should be rather routine... or so Arthur initially thought.

"Oh, young Adams, you're a bit late. Please take a seat."

Upon entering, Arthur was greeted by a woman in a short, form-fitting dress with an abstract graphic print in shades of bright pink, black, and white. Her hair was a wild, wavy mane that gave her an almost animalistic appearance.

In addition, she wore opaque, tight black leggings under the dress. Black high-heeled ankle boots made her look like she was two meters tall. To complete the look, large, sparkling gold hoop earrings adorned her ears, along with colorful matching bracelets.

If it weren't for her calm voice, he would have thought she was an '80s pop star, but he was in the presence of Professor Millennyo. Such a radical change could only have one explanation for the bewildered young man.

« Oh crap, my power is affecting her quite a bit,» he thought as he tried to keep his glasses from falling off.

"Uh, yeah, I'll sit down now," the nerd muttered, shaking off his shock before heading to the back of the room.

“Wait, Mr. Adams, there’s no need to sit so far away. I think there’s a seat available up front.” With her arm extended, she gestured to a seat. “I reserved it for you myself. I hope you’ll like it.”

She wasn’t pointing to just any seat, but the one closest to her desk, a few feet away. A chill ran down the young man’s spine as he eyed her like an electric chair.

“Um…uh…thank you, but I wouldn’t like…”

“I insist, Mr. Adams. I believe that, given your recent incident, a more prominent seat would be more appropriate.” Without losing her composure, her tone shifted to a more insistent one.

"Okay, I'll do it."

As Arthur sat down, he noticed Millennyo's smug smile, happy to have won that little argument. Out of the corner of his eye, he also saw the usual fixed gazes on his every move.

Among them, Talon and Fang stood out, both girls waving to him, unable to control their frantic tails.

«This class is going to feel like it lasts forever. How am I ever going to have a damn normal life?»

"Well, yesterday we left off with the Omega Regulation, which, in 1984, legalized superhuman jobs. Before that, there were three women who, thanks to their selfless actions, helped push this law through. Can anyone tell me their names?"

Although the question was for the whole class, Professor Millennyo's gaze never left Arthur. Adding to that the fact that he had the attention of the rest of the girls was creating immense pressure for the boy to answer.

Despite the "special circumstances," Arthur felt relieved, as this was like a superpower.

"Hmm... well, they were Olivia Madison, aka Olympia, Hilda Hunter, aka Artemis, and Lauren Moon, aka Selene," the girls murmured excitedly.

The teacher's chest swelled for a moment before she gave him an approving smile.

"Not bad, young Adams. Together they were known as The Pioneers, achieving great feats." Then she changed her posture, leaning towards him without bothering to look anywhere else. "But could you tell me about some of those feats?"

Feeling a knot in his stomach, Arthur had no choice but to continue answering.

"Well... they managed to prevent the assassination of Ronald Reagan, defeated the Crimson Countess, and also neutralized the Fire Black terrorist group."

"Wonderful, I expected nothing less from you, young Adams."

Millennyo clapped several times, her enthusiasm contagious. The nerd shrugged at the praise, making him miss for a few seconds his days as the invisible Hollow.

The teacher continued narrating about the Pioneers with her usual composure. Aside from the murmurs and the occasional chuckle, things didn't escalate. Although, on a few occasions, the young man thought he saw the teacher wink at him.

"....these three women shaped the world of heroine as we know it. Their courage, sacrifice, and perseverance became a role model for subsequent generations, and even today their influence is still felt with Olympia's granddaughter as the current director. Well, that concludes for today. For next week, I want a report on the lives of the Pioneers."

The young man chose to leave in a hurry so as not to give any of the girls time to interact with him. He avoided one girl while pretending not to hear three more calling him, and he even thought he heard the teacher among them. Once outside, he didn't slow down, walking through the hallways like a marathon runner.

«It was difficult, but I did it... how great!»

He let out a great sigh of relief, thinking he had achieved his goal, when suddenly strong claws caught on his arm, and before he could turn around to see who it was, he was dragged into a classroom...