By the time Oliver arrived at Caliban Hall with his luggage.
Ajax Petropolus had apparently been the only available person nearby when someone asked for help showing the new student around, so now he stood beside Oliver while pushing open the dorm room door.
“So this is your room,” Ajax said while stepping aside slightly.
“And the dining hall is downstairs if you want food later.”
Oliver nodded before walking inside.
The room itself was fairly large compared to normal dormitories, though the first thing he noticed immediately was the number of beds.
Three.
Which meant he would be sharing space with two other teenage boys currently living at the peak of hormonal stupidity.
Amazing.
He honestly just hoped they were the quiet type.
“Well, thank you,” Oliver said while placing his luggage beside one of the empty beds.
Ajax nodded casually, though Oliver quickly noticed the guy repeatedly glancing toward his hair like he was trying very hard not to ask something awkward.
Honestly, Oliver was already exhausted from this exact situation.
“If it’s about my hair color,” Oliver said before Ajax could speak, “yeah, it’s natural.”
Ajax blinked slightly.
“Oh. Really?” He looked at the black-and-silver strands again before trying to phrase his thoughts carefully.
“Then your hair looks really good….”
He stopped midway after noticing Oliver staring at him with a completely deadpan expression.
“…You can just say it looks weird,” Oliver replied flatly.
“There’s no need to professionally calculate the safest compliment possible.”
Ajax rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I wasn’t trying to make it weird.”
“You paused like you were negotiating with yourself internally.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to sound rude.”
Oliver sighed.
“People have been reacting to my hair like this for two straight days. At this point, I can practically predict the conversation.”
Ajax laughed awkwardly before glancing at him again.
“Then welcome to Nevermore,” he said before finally leaving the room. Get faster updates on g.com.
Once the door closed behind him, Oliver looked around the dorm quietly before choosing one of the empty beds near the window.
He pushed his trolley underneath it before sitting down heavily with a long sigh.
Honestly, he never expected to end up studying again.
Most adults who finished school or university would rather willingly fight wild animals than return to academic life.
The moment people escaped exams, assignments, and group projects, they usually spent the rest of their lives avoiding those things permanently.
Oliver was no different.
Seriously, who voluntarily wanted to return to school unless they were some kind of academic masochist?
Thankfully, he stopped that train of thought before he irritated himself further.
As Oliver leaned back slightly, his hand accidentally bent part of the metal bed frame.
He immediately paused.
“…Right.”
He still had not fully adjusted to his new strength yet.
It had only been two days since he modified himself with the bloodline of a Kryptonian soldier, but even within that short time his body had already changed noticeably.
The constant exposure to sunlight seemed to slowly strengthen him every hour.
Right now, the only major ability he had clearly awakened was super strength.
Which honestly was not surprising.
Unlike Clark Kent himself, normal Kryptonian soldiers did not possess absurd limitless growth.
From what Oliver remembered about Kryptonian lore, their society genetically engineered most of their population before birth.
Limits were intentionally built into ordinary Kryptonians, making extreme evolution far harder compared to Superman himself.
Kal-El was basically an exception among exceptions.
Still, Oliver honestly was not dissatisfied.
This was the world of Wednesday, not some universe filled with planet-destroying monsters.
He did not need to become overwhelmingly powerful overnight.
At least…
That was what he thought until a faint buzzing sound suddenly echoed inside his ears.
Oliver immediately frowned.
The sound was distant but sharp, almost like dozens of overlapping voices trying to force themselves into his hearing all at once.
He instinctively covered one ear. This story is hosted at g.com.
“…Fuck.”
The buzzing disappeared a second later.
But the brief moment was enough.
Oliver slowly lowered his hand while looking slightly concerned.
“Did my super hearing just start activating?”
That was going to be annoying.
If his super hearing fully awakened, there was no way he could tolerate the constant noise inside Nevermore Academy.
Dorms, crowded hallways, students screaming for no reason — eventually it would become unbearable.
He definitely needed noise-cancelling headphones.
After thinking about it, Oliver decided he would go to Jericho later and buy some along with whatever else he needed.
With that in mind, he left Caliban Hall and headed outside.
As soon as he stepped down the stairs, he noticed Wednesday Addams standing near the entrance.
She was watching a black car disappear down the road leading away from the academy.
Her parents had just left.
Then Wednesday turned slightly and saw Oliver approaching.
The annoyance on her face became more obvious immediately.
Honestly, Oliver could not even blame her.
Getting abandoned at a gothic boarding school against your will probably ruined anyone’s mood.
“So, classmate,” Oliver said while stopping in front of her.
Wednesday stared at him silently.
Oliver extended his hand.
“Oliver Lopez.”
Wednesday looked at the offered hand like it personally offended her existence.
“The only hand I intend to hold from you,” she said calmly, “is a severed one.”
Oliver slowly lowered his arm.
“…Right.”