by R. J. Ross
“That’s not how he tells it,” Jack says. “He says you got stuck in timeout until Nico built you a new body, and Pan took you in as his kid. You almost fried Cubby.”
“Oh… right,” I say, pouting because he just made me look like a failure. Before they can look at me, though, Jack holds out his hands to the left and the right, and I feel myself start to float slightly. “AWESOME!” I say, until he looks at me and I drop down again. “Not awesome,” I complain.
All around us are strange popping noises, and one particularly crushed robot floats in the air, being rebuilt before our eyes. I stare in wonder—until I hear our teacher make a little gasping noise.
“What’s wrong, Miss Ashlynn?” I ask.
“You said… you wanted to be a hero, right, Robo?” she asks. “I just… I’m not sure… no, you’ll be a wonderful hero.”
I bite my bottom lip, because I see her point, even though she tried to cover it up. Exceeeeeppppt… “But he’s Jack,” I say, waving at him.
Jack starts laughing. “He’s right,” he says, grinning. “I’m the guy that comes over every Wednesday for dinner and video games, right, Robo? Besides, Nico OR Zoe could do the exact same thing to me, if they wanted. It’s no big deal, as long as it’s not shown in public. Now, we’re done here. Anyone wanna see something before you go back to class?”
“We wanna see the kid robots!” Hana says, grabbing his hand and tugging. “Can you make them work?”
“I can show you ONE with one of Nico’s programs,” he says, heading over. Soon everyone but me, the teacher, and the janitor are watching a robot girl dance.
“It’s okay,” I say, patting her arm. “By the time I’m a hero, he won’t be able to make me float anymore.”
She looks at me and then smiles and pats my head. “You’re right,” she says. “I’m sure things will be just fine.”
***
*The Panterus House*
“Miss Ashlynn’s worried about me,” I brag as we cut out cookies for dessert. “She thinks Jack could hurt me if I fought him.”
Papa looks at me seriously for a moment before a little smile pulls at his lips. “It’s very important to know your weaknesses, Robo,” he says. “If there is one super that can do it, there are always chances that another one can, as well.”
“Oh, sure,” I say, “Nico could, Zoe could, but he added a firewall to keep Bear and Jules and Jules’ brother from doing it, and then there’s that Herold guy, right? But I was thinking that we could use something OTHER than metal for my body and we’d take out half of the problem!”
“That is a very interesting suggestion,” Papa says, looking intrigued. “We’ll see what we can come up with as you grow.”
I beam at him as Mama comes over, kissing me on the cheek. “That’s my smart little boy,” she praises me. “Well, one of them,” she adds with a wink for Cubby. Cubby is too busy building a cat out of cookie dough to mind, though.
“I’m gonna be a villain,” Cubby says. “I don’t gotta worry about Jack.”
“This Miss Ashlynn,” Papa says, “what do you think of her?”
“I like her!” I say, grinning widely.
“She’s scared,” Cubby says, “she thinks we’re in danger.”
Pan’s eyebrow rises, and he looks over at Mama and Adanna, who are getting dinner ready. “Adanna?” he asks.
“She’s a norm,” Adanna explains. “She’s still not used to how we do things. I don’t think she’s a bad person, though. If she were, they wouldn’t let her work there.”
“I see,” Papa says. “Well, your teacher might not understand how super operate. We don’t do things how normal people do. The idea of being good friends with someone you might battle in the future seems a bit… strange to them.”
“But that’s how you do the best fights,” I say, since their common sense makes no sense to me. “You can practice all your moves! We got to watch Jack and Trent fighting!”
“They goof off too much,” Cubby says.
“You are exactly right,” Adanna agrees.
“I like their fights!” I say. “It’s all BOOM! BAM! WHOOSH!”
“It’s fitting that they are showy,” Papa says. “We will teach you two how to fight in a similar manner, if need be.”
And the conversation is over, we all know it. Norms will never understand the super world, I mean, look at me. If they knew I was a highly developed A.I. they would either freak out and think robots are trying to take over the world, or wonder why they’re using so much high tech just to dress in tights (and a cape! I haven’t given up on my cape!) and play fight with super villains.
That’s another reason I need to find something other than metal, maybe the MAIN reason. I don’t want any risk of having to give up my future cape! I’m going to be a superhero!
*Several zeroes and ones flash before a sign pops up saying, “And now, back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.”*
CHAPTER THREE
*A Few Months Later*
“Okay, boys and girls,” Ashlynn says as she steps in front of the class. “Today we’re going to have a very important talk.”
“She’s gonna tell us to not wear plaids with spots,” Hana whispers loudly. The entire group just stares at her. “I don’t agree, of course,” Hana says, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I think you can get away with it if you do it right. I even put together an outfit that my MOM liked!” She just turned six, Ashlynn thinks silently, staring at the girl before shaking it off.
“No, I’m not going to tell you about dressing a certain way,” Ashlynn says dryly. “Clothing is a wonderful way to express yourself, and you should do it how you like—as long as it’s appropriate for the situation. So no wearing swimsuits in a snowstorm, okay? What I want to talk about is bullying.”
“I bet Nico could do it,” Robo says after thinking seriously for a long moment.
“Bully?” Ashlynn asks, shocked.
“No, wear a swimsuit to a snowstorm.”
“Carla does it! And so does Malina!” Hana says, waving a hand in the air. “They were swimming yesterday and it was FREEZING!”
“But it wasn’t a snowstorm,” Cubby points out.
“I bet that big guy would do it,” Evie says, shyly.
“You mean Kaden, right?” Robo asks, tapping on the table and bringing up a picture of the large Polynesian boy. “He NEVER wears a shirt!” he says.
“Hey, hey! Can you do that to everybody?”
The door of the guinea pig cage over the desk swings open and Clinky drops onto the table, dancing around excitedly. Soon a video of teenagers swimming outdoors while it’s snowing starts playing as a hologram in front of them. “ALL OF THEM DO IT!” the kids say, bursting into laughter.
Ashlynn fights the urge to groan and run a hand over her face. This is something she’s run into several times in her lessons. Super teenagers defy logic. She had thought she was getting used to that idea, but it DOES make teaching common sense lessons to her students more difficult, and more important. Someday they’re going to have to pretend to operate according to society’s standards.
There’s a knock at the door and Carla peeks in with a wide grin. “Hi! Today’s my day to work as assistant teacher!”
“We’re talking about swimming in snowstorms!” Evie tells her, excitedly.
“Not until you’ve come into all of your powers!” Carla lectures them, not even missing a beat. “And even then, you should keep a fire type super nearby in case you start getting cold. That’s why we have Vinny and Flame!”
“That… I really doubt that’s why the two of them are here,” Ashlynn says.
“Well, yeah, okay, that’s just a side benefit,” Carla admits. “So everybody agrees, right? Oh, unless you’re at an indoor pool, then you can go swimming in a snowstorm, except one time we WENT to an indoor pool and Mega fell through the ceiling, so it sort of ruined it.”
“Actually, we were supposed to be speaking about bullying,” Ashlynn says
, aiming to get the subject back on track. Carla goes still, looking surprised.
“If we’re talking bullying… can I bring some friends in?” she asks.
“Well… I don’t see why not,” Ashlynn says, although she looks confused. Carla runs off, and comes back with a small group of kids trailing behind her. Trent, THE Kid Liberty, is right in the front. It makes absolutely no sense to Ashlynn.
“Hey, everyone,” Trent says. “We’re here for the bullying talk. This is Bobby, he’s a super, too.” He grins at the stocky looking teen who moves to his side. Ashlynn blinks, wondering exactly what Bobby’s powers are. He looks perfectly normal. Before she can ask, Ace steps into the room, decked out in black leather and even wearing the illusion of a dragon’s head. The two boys of the class go crazy at the sight of him, jumping up and racing over to climb him. He lets out a laugh, the dragon head disappearing.
“Miss Ashlynn? Would you like to continue?” Trent asks her.
“Um, yes, of course,” Ashlynn says as the group drops down on the floor next to the table and the kids move closer and closer. “Bullying is any action that deliberately aims to hurt someone. It can be either physical—such as hitting or shoving, or with words. Has anyone ever had someone say something that hurts your feelings?”
The older kids are the first to raise their hands, much to her shock. Carla hesitates before lifting a hand, as well. The little ones look at the teens, and then Evie reaches up and pats Dragon’s face. “It’s okay,” she says seriously.
“Thank you,” he says somberly.
“Can I ask… how could someone bully a professional super villain?” Ashlynn asks, more out of fascination than because it’s a lesson.
“I wasn’t always Dragon,” Ace says. “Can I be honest?” he asks, but it’s not Ashlynn he’s looking at, it’s Trent.
“As long as it can be seen on a kid’s show,” Trent replies, making Ace laugh.
“Okay, kids, let’s learn something that you’re going to pick up on as you get older,” Ace says, waving a hand. A group of people looking at their phones or talking on them appear to the side of Ashlynn, much to her surprise. “These represent normal people,” Ace says.
He waves his hand again, and an illusion of him appears next to the group. His illusion moves closer and the norms start looking up from their phones, or moving away, daring to glance up from the corner of their eyes. “They know we’re different.”
“You sure it’s not because of the outfit?” Bobby asks with a hint of amusement.
“Okay, YOU tell it,” Ace says, snorting and waving a hand. The illusions disappear.
Bobby stands, looking around, and then stands in front of the little ones. “Hi, everybody,” he says, lifting a hand in greeting. “My name’s Bobby. I’m a healer. Healers don’t tend to stick out, we’re built that way. But I was bullied. Alyssa was bullied, too, actually, but we figured her story is better left for when you’re older.” He hesitates, and she can see him thinking through his next words.
“There are people out there that aren’t happy with things. Sometimes when someone isn’t happy, they want others to be unhappy, as well. They can say mean things, they can use violence, or sometimes they just ignore people, and pretend they don’t exist. It can hurt a lot being left out of everything. But…” he looks over at Ashlynn, hesitating. “Sometimes we need to remind people that it isn’t that they have no friends… it’s just that they haven’t met them, yet.”
“I… I went to the playground once,” Hana says, looking down. She only looks up as Trent pulls her up onto his leg, showing just how big the teen is, and how tiny she is. “They wouldn’t play with me. They even threw… they threw sand at me.” Her eyes are full with tears, and she starts bawling as he gently pulls her into a hug, whispering something in her ear.
“Hana,” Evie says, crawling over to the other girl and hugging her from behind. “I’m your friend.”
Hana looks over and then hugs the other girl. They’re soon joined by Cubby and Robo, for a group hug. “Bullying isn’t good,” Trent says, loosely wrapping his arms around all four of them. “But that just means we need to be even nicer to others. We need to set a good example.”
The little ones look up at him, and then promptly jump him, trying to knock him over. He doesn’t budge for a good few moments before he deliberately falls back to make them feel accomplished. Soon even Clinky is climbing over the up-and-coming superhero, squeaking excitedly as he pretends to struggle.
“Kid Liberty—um, Trent,” Ashlynn says, not wanting it to get off topic too much. She would lecture the kids on ganging up on someone, but she’s seen this teen get hit with a bus and shake it off, and she’s positive they have, as well. “Can you tell us your experiences?”
Trent sits up, bringing all of the kids with him, even Evie, who’s somehow managed to climb onto his head. He reaches up, gently pulling her off of him and she giggles. “I’m a lot like Ace, now,” he admits. “I get people instinctively glancing at me, moving out of the way, that sort of thing, but back when I was in norm school, I was only just coming into my powers.” The kids move to the ground, watching him—save for Hana, who’s still keeping her spot on his lap, and Evie, who climbs up next to her. “I wanted to play sports so bad. Football, soccer, basketball, even baseball. I love sports, you know? But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even join in during gym class; I had to sit on the bleachers.”
“But you’d be good at it,” Cubby says.
“Actually,” Trent says, “I’d be TERRIBLE at it.” He laughs as they start protesting, and holds up his hands. “Hear me out, now, what happens if you hit a baseball so hard that it flies into outer space?”
They look at each other, getting excited. “LET’S DO IT!” Robo shouts, jumping to his feet.
“What happens if there’s a plane flying overhead?” Trent asks, rather than agreeing. “Or a bird? Or if it DOES get into space, a satellite?”
“But you play sports here!” Evie says. Ashlynn watches her daughter, still feeling stunned and joyful at how she’s participating in this school—and climbing all over the teen like he’s more trusted than Santa.
“And the security field fries all the sports equipment before it can down a plane,” Bobby points out. “Which is a good thing, because we’ve seen some REALLY hard hits.”
“But we’re getting distracted,” Trent says, although he looks amused. “People picked on me for not doing anything sports related. They thought I was a coward, or a cheater who just wanted to get out of working hard. And if anyone shoved me, or talked down to me, I couldn’t do anything. Do you know why?”
The entire group stares at him. “Because hurting people hurts?” Hana asks softly.
“That, too,” Trent says, patting her head again, “and also because I couldn’t stand out. If I went to the teachers, it would bring in my parents and their parents and—well, it wouldn’t be fun for anyone.”
“We stand out,” Cubby whispers. “People stare.”
“They stare at you because your mom is gorgeous, and you two are pretty freaking adorable,” Ace says. “At this point they probably won’t notice what you are, but… all of you,” he tells them, looking from one kid to the next, “will start to have the same problem we do.”
“I won’t!” Hana brags, only to look down as they just look at her. “Okay… maybe,” she admits.
Ashlynn is DYING to know why Hana would stand out. The little girl is adorable and a little fussy, but still seems normal to her. The older kids look at her and grin slightly, as if reading her mind.
“Hana comes from a line of very powerful material manipulators,” Trent explains, reminding her of what Nico had once told her. “Her mother is the most valued tailor in the Hall, and her grandfather’s work costs more than some small governments can pay. She might seem tiny and adorable, and you are,” he assures the little girl, “but you’re also going to grow up to be really powerful, in your own way.”
“But… but I want to go
to the playground,” she whispers.
“And you should be able to,” Trent says, touching her chin and looking her in the eyes. “In fact, we’ll let you go tomorrow, okay?”
She nods, but she still looks close to tears. “Will they throw sand at me?”
“Nobody will dare,” he promises.
“I wanna have a TEA PARTY!” she says, cheering up at his promise.
Trent looks at the others, grinning slightly. “You’ve heard the lady,” he says. “We need to have a tea party.”
***
And Now Cape High Productions Brings You:
Hana Time!
“And then Trent said we’re going to go to the playground today!” I tell my mama, for probably the twentieth time. I don’t want her to back out, and I can see by the look on her face that she’s hesitating. Last time I’d gone to the park she looked away for just a moment and I had started sobbing because of the sand throwers. They had been big boys that did it, too! They were bigger than Cubby and Robo! Not as big as Trent, though. I don’t know any big kids bigger than Trent except for Jack, I think Jack’s as big as Trent! Oh! And Kaden! Kaden is HUGE!
“Hana, you do know it’s the weekend, right?” Mama asks, in her gentle voice that means she’s trying to figure out how to tell me ‘no’ without me throwing a fit.
“I want to have a tea party with Trent!” I say, stomping my foot. I’ve accepted all the ‘no’s about going to the playground since the ‘terrible ordeal’ because—because it was scary. In fact I’d stopped asking entirely since she said no the first time, but—but—
My bottom lip starts to tremble. “I have to go, Mama, I HAVE TO. It’s a PARTY!”
“Okay, okay, I can tell you’re intent on this. But if you see the mean boys that threw the sand, I want you to tell me, okay?” Mama says, giving up on the fight. “No throwing a fit like you did last time. The rubber still has tiny little boil marks where you stomped your feet,” she adds, shaking her head.