Super Hero Academy

by Simon Archer

  I tried asking my brother, but he didn’t want to hear it.

  We didn’t talk much anymore.

  It was a quiet summer day. Judgment had placed a heavy steel rod in front of Matt and then demanded that he make it float. For the next four hours, I watched Matt strain himself as he tried over and over again to follow that order by tapping into my own abilities. We could only share each other’s powers when we were both close by, and so I was forced to remain in the gym while he failed repeatedly.

  I’d already mastered controlling Matt’s shifting a week prior, and because of it, I was far more durable than I had been at the start of the year. I could even fully transform if I wanted which was something even Matt hadn’t been able to do himself. Instead of taking the time to praise me for the progress and encourage Matt on his path to do the same, Judgment had used my advancement to ridicule my brother until he went pretty much insane.

  Most of the subtext went unspoken, but everyone could hear it clearly: ‘Even a girl is better than you, Matt.’ I was better at Matt in most things and always had been, and Matt had hardly cared before. But now...

  “He should take a break,” I said to Judgment who sat nearby in a chair while glaring at my brother’s lack of progress. “This is getting ridiculous.”

  “He will continue until he succeeds,” Judgment insisted.

  “He’s not making any progress!” I countered. “He’s just going to hurt himself—”

  “He will continue until he succeeds,” Judgment repeated, sending a glare my way.

  I glared right back but said nothing. I wasn’t intimidated. I already had a father figure, and I didn’t need to impress him either. As I watched Matt continue to struggle, a bitter thought kept crossing my mind over and over again.

  He should be here. Not in the Arctic, avoiding the world. Here. With his children.

  I wanted to make it stop, but Judgment was a dark presence who refused to budge on anything. The problem was that insecurity had dealt Matt a blow, and he was too much of a brute these days. He attacked everything with his claws first, unable to see the world clearly anymore. Bending metal took finesse. If I tried to explain that, I might as well be speaking French.

  So I watched quietly and waited.

  Until Valcav, Matt and I shared everything, abilities and training included. We didn’t have secrets and could spend hours in each other’s company without notice. When we were both very young, we’d also shared each other’s thoughts. Even now, I always knew if my brother was happy or upset. I always felt when he was in pain.

  But that was before Valcav. Before Judgment had taken over everything, really.

  “You have a lot of iron in your system,” I said idly to the old man. “You should get that straightened out.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Judgment lifted a cool brow, and I seriously considered the ramifications of getting expelled from this stupid fucking academy for attacking a teacher. It would mean freedom for me to go wherever I wanted once the jail time was over, but it would also leave Matt alone to Judgment’s madness in the aftermath. Matt would never leave Judgment, not even for me. He needed daddy’s approval too much, and the first version had been completely useless in that regard.

  This was the only reason I didn’t pull at the iron I felt thrumming through the old man’s veins. For Matt. For Matt, I’d suffer this.

  “Nothing.” I sighed bitterly, glaring out at the steel my brother still hadn’t been able to move. If I could just reach out and move it for him... but no. Judgment would notice. He always noticed.

  “You’re a very unhappy girl, aren’t you?” Judgment’s tone was condescending, but for the sake of Matt, I continued to ignore it.

  “I might be,” I admitted. “You’re a bad influence.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes,” I growled. “This bullshit has nothing to do with Nick, you do realize that? He’s not his father. Anyone can see it. This is about you and your ego.”

  Judgment rose to his feet, and black smoke curled around his legs. “How dare—” He looked ready to kill.

  Matt faltered, his eyes wide.

  I stood up as well and met the immortal man face to face. I didn’t fear him. What was he going to do? If he harmed me, I’d get him fired and maybe we’d find a real tutor. Either way, I was golden.

  From off to our right, we both heard Matt’s plea. “Guys, whatever it is, I’m—”

  “Quiet,” Judgment hissed.

  I smiled at that. “You don’t like to hear the fear in his voice, do you? That’s pretty telling. It’s probably the same tone of fear Inferno had for you. Am I right?”

  Judgment drew even closer, and the world around him shifted into darkness. “You presume—”

  “You keep abusing my brother,” I interrupted him, “and maybe I’ll take care of that iron issue for you.”

  “You dare threaten a member of staff?”

  “It wasn’t a threat.”

  Instead of appealing to Judgment’s growing intimidation tactics, I spun on my heel and marched toward Matt. I snatched his hand, and he helplessly followed as I dragged him toward the gym doors.

  Judgment teleported through the shadows and reappeared before us as a towering menace to blocked our escape with crossed arms. Matt immediately cowered and tried to pull away from me, but I held my ground and then glared upward at the man who had inspired that fear in the first place.

  “We’re going to eat dinner now,” I said calmly. “Then he’s going to rest, and maybe tomorrow if he’s feeling better, we’ll try this again. Understand?”

  I wasn’t sure if Judgment would relent, because he hadn’t for as long as I’d known him... but if he struck me, I won. If he refused to move, I won. After a tense moment, he stepped aside and dropped his arms.

  I won.

  Chapter 21

  Many worked to restore the beach after Fulgurite’s sudden attack a week prior, but the hurricane-force winds had caused significant damage, and even after all this time, debris was still scattered about the place. There was an army’s worth of work left to be done, an army’s worth of work for ordinary people, anyway.

  Triton had asked me to meet him on the beach for our first private lesson, and Eric had tagged along on the suspicion that I would be asked to help with the cleaning efforts. We weren’t out the door before Adelaide joined us as well, her hair tied up in a tight bun, clad in jeans and work boots. She was holding a big duffle bag of supplies.

  “Eric, honey,” she exclaimed as she came over to us. “I am so excited that you invited me.”

  Eric looped an arm around Adelaide's elbow, and the two skipped beside me like Dorothy off to the Emerald City.

  “Of course,” Eric reassured her. He giggled like a schoolboy, still skipping down the sidewalk with her. “I can’t go to the beach without my favorite auntie, can I? Did you pack our lunch?”

  That caused me to stop in my tracks, and I lifted a brow at him. “Wait, you two are related?”

  Eric shook his head, and Adelaide chuckled like the very notion was utterly silly. They kept on walking, and I jogged a little to keep up with them.

  “Of course not, sugar! I’m just good family friends with the Meyers household,” Adelaide cooed. “We’re very proud of our dear Eric, aren’t we?”

  “She and my mom used to be coworkers,” Eric explained with a chuckle. He quirked a silent brow to Adelaide, who nodded in assent and handed over her duffle bag.

  He slung it easily over his shoulder, apparently much stronger than he looked. I was happy to notice it because it was likely due to all the strength training we’d been working on together in the evenings. When we’d started, he could barely lift a wooden chair.

  I thought back to all the times when Eric seemed to know a lot more than he should have.

  “Adelaide’s your source,” I said, wide-eyed. “That makes so much sense, now. She told you about Aylin’s arrival?”

  “Well, duh.” Eric rolled his e
yes at me. “Isn’t it obvious? Although...” He paused and granted me an apologetic look. “I suppose it wouldn’t be, now that I think about it. We worked hard to keep it on the down-low.”

  “I’m a professional, sweetpea,” Adelaide admonished while wagging a finger at him. “I can’t be seen with a bias, even if you are my favorite little bias.”

  Eric chuckled again. It was so odd to see them so content with each other’s company. Five minutes prior, I had no idea they were even traversing first name territory, and now they were apparently family friends.

  “Well, I’m glad for the help,” I said, smiling at the two of them. “Apparently, the beach is still in some rough shape.”

  “Yeah, like, actual cars in the bay,” Eric muttered. “And that poor snow cone stand! I loved that stand!”

  “Me too, sugar.” Adelaide frowned. “Me too.”

  “Yeah, it was run by this swell guy named Roger,” Eric said knowingly. “He used to be friends with Ice Bringer. Roger’s a psychic, and apparently, he predicted the Titans winning the Super Bowl last year! How cool is that? When I talked to him, he said that I was gonna grow up to be an action star. Which is, you know, amazing, because I love action movies, but naturally, I haven’t acted a day in my life, and—”

  “Eric, buddy, please breathe.” I clapped him on the back with a light chuckle. “Anyway, are you sure he’s a psychic? That sounds a little fishy to me.”

  “Yeah, Roger’s the best! Why would he lie about something like that? Jeeze, Nick.” Eric rolled his eyes, apparently unimpressed with my logic. “So I also asked him about Andie, and he said that Andie’s gonna be a rock star. I told her that she should work on her guitar riffs to speed things along, and she said that she’s already a painter and that I was being ridiculous. And I’m like, ‘yeah, but what about a rock star who paints, that sounds awesome!’ She wasn’t convinced. I mean, she could have this whole routine where she paints on stage while singing a rock song, it could be badass! You should convince her, Nick.”

  “Yeah, I’ll work on that,” I said with a chuckle.

  Eric and Adelaide went on about further prophecies Roger foretold, including one involving Judgement developing actual vampirism. Again, I doubted that vampirism actually existed, but Eric was convinced that Roger knew his stuff.

  “I’m telling you, they’re out there in the forests, Nick. Lurking and doing vampire things!”

  “Vampire things, huh?” I was sold on the idea. It sounded amazing. “Out in the forest. Got it.” So maybe not that sold. Eric was a dork, and I loved him regardless.

  “You doubt me, but it’s true,” he chided. “They’re out there, you know, like... lurking.” He struggled to maintain the point, unsure what it was that vampires would actually do in a forest. “Ugh, I swear, if you wake up one day with a few holes in your jugular, don’t come crying to me. I’ll just tell you that I told you so.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “It’s true, Nick!”

  “I believe you,” I said, doing anything but.

  When we finally arrived on the beach, I was surprised at how much devastation was actually still apparent. Triton waited quietly by an overturned pickup truck and admired the view of the bay. He wore casual clothes and a light jacket and was busy scribbling notes onto a clipboard.

  Most of the debris along the beach was stray wood and metal, but there were vehicles in the chaos, as well as various broken stands and trash strewn all over the place. I was certain our poor towels were also here somewhere, having been long abandoned in the chaos.

  Eric and Adelaide settled not too far from Triton and sat their duffle on the ground to browse various tools for the job at hand. Adelaide’s duffle produced gloves, two shovels, two trash bags, and a candy bar for Eric, who squealed with shameless joy.

  When Adelaide noticed my attention, she waved and cried out, “You’ll get yours after the lesson, dear!”

  I waved back, then met Triton with a careful smile. “Sir?”

  When I approached, he gave me a solemn eye and gestured at the overturned pickup truck.

  “Good morning, Mr. Gateon,” he greeted with a slight bow. He only looked up from his clipboard for a moment, too distracted by the words written there. “To begin our training, let us start with something simple. How much can you lift?”

  “Unpowered, you mean?”

  “Yes, Mr. Gateon.”

  Eric and I did strength exercises nearly every night. I suspected Triton somehow knew because he wasn’t surprised when I immediately answered, “About two hundred pounds on a deadlift, give or take.”

  Triton scribbled this information down on his pad with a slow nod. “I see. Very impressive, given your slim build. And how many pushups can you manage in sixty seconds?”

  “My record is thirty,” I said, “but I think I can go faster with practice.”

  “Would you mind if I timed you now before we properly start?”

  Finding a clear spot in the sand, I dropped down to my knees with a nod. Triton slipped the clipboard underneath one arm and then pulled out a stopwatch from his pocket with the other.

  “Go.”

  Immediately, I began a flurry of quick pushups. I was eager to please Triton, a hero I emulated more than most. Though my muscles burned in protest, I managed to break my record with thirty-six and felt the glow of satisfaction when he smiled in response.

  “Very nice,” Triton remarked and recorded it on his clipboard for later. “Rest a moment.”

  I did so with panting breaths, already recovering from the exertion.

  “Do you think you could do the same while powered, Mr. Gateon? I’m afraid you’ll have to count them, as I can’t track super speed with my natural senses.”

  “Oh yeah,” I grinned. “Two hundred easy.”

  “Do you know that for certain?”

  “Uh, no,” I admitted, blushing a little. “I’ve never exercised while powered. I never saw the point.”

  “Time to start, then.” Triton’s smile was mysterious when he added, “Would you power up for me, please?”

  I released a slow breath which sharpened back inward when I let the power flow through me. It jolted up my spine and spread throughout my body in a rush. Triton noticed the change with a lifted brow as he pressed the button on the watch to start a timer again. I ducked my head a little, embarrassed for a reason I couldn’t quite pin down.

  He tsked and leaned against the overturned truck. The stopwatch went back into his pocket, and he clapped a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  “That is quite the rush,” he said, his tone a little amused.

  “Aylin says that she can see it. She says that I glow.” I felt a blush coming on, and the feeling of unlimited potential coursing through me did nothing to stop it.

  “Very likely.” Triton wrote something down on his clipboard and nodded slowly. “Sahanans can see far beyond the visual spectrum of an ordinary human being, after all.”

  “She says she can’t see an end to it,” I told him. I leaned back on the truck and glanced out towards the bay. My father’s island was a sinister black dot on the horizon. “I haven’t found a limit yet.”

  “Aside from the timing.” Triton smiled. He fished the stopwatch out of his pocket again and noted the current time. “It takes you a full day to recharge?”

  “More or less.” I nodded. “After it goes, I’m... really, really drained. I get weaker, it’s harder to concentrate. I’m pretty vulnerable afterward.”

  “Interesting.” Triton marked down something else on his board, and I didn’t bother to look. He pulled out the stopwatch again and set a second timer. “Now, if you would please perform the push-ups.”

  In sixty seconds, I managed a whopping four hundred, and even I was impressed. Not tired at all, I stood up and announced, “It was really hard to count that, it was so fast.”

  “Impressive indeed,” Triton noted. “That’s a huge margin, Mr. Gateon. Do you think you could do more?”

  “Possi
bly,” I admitted. “I’m not sure.”

  “We’ll have to continue that test some other time. For now, I would like you to clean the beach for me. This truck behind me could use the restoration power of a good hero.” Triton checked his watch and tsked. “It seems you have about seven minutes before your power leaves you. I would get going.”

  Behind me, I heard Eric shout for joy as he found our towels. Two different Adelaides congratulated him, and a third went to retrieve them. I chuckled and nodded to Triton with a bright, beaming grin.

  “I can finish the job in five, sir.” I glanced around again, noting all the debris, and amended, “Six.”

  “We’ll see,” he said and merely waited for me to start.

  In a flurry of super speed, I raced up and down the beach. I sorted the chaos into various piles. There was the woodpile, the metal pile, the trash pile, and the car pile. The latter was the most ridiculous. Now that we were focusing on exactly how my power worked, it was strange to think that a few minutes ago the idea of lifting a car was insane, but while powered, I could do it one-handed. Probably even with my pinky.

  At that thought, I tested the notion with a small van and realized the only thing stopping me was leverage. With a sigh, I picked up the truck and set it on its wheels, then did the same to another car, and several bikes. By the time five minutes had passed by, the vehicles were resting back in the parking lot, the wood and metal piles held the majority of their wares, and the trash pile only needed bagging. Eric and Adelaide whistled in approval and took their bags to the trash pile. I sorted the drinks stand behind them, then did the same to many others toppled in the chaos.

  I even found the sign for the snow cone stand and dropped it at Eric’s feet. He cheered for joy and pressed the sign against his chest like it were some precious relic of history. The prophecies of Roger came up again, and both he and two Adelaides were deep in discussion by the time I returned to Triton. There were several more versions of her scattered along the beach, still picking up debris.