Super Powereds: Year 3

by Drew Hayes

  Dean Blaine halted unintentionally for a moment. He’d been waiting for Stella Hawkins’s voice to ring out, asking a question despite the fact that he had yet to call on her. It only took a heartbeat of silence for him to remember that she was no longer in the program. His next words came quickly, hoping to cover the gap of speech before anyone realized what had happened.

  “Today’s guest speaker is a working Hero named Shutterbug. She is a graduate from the Hero Certification Program at Korman University in New York, and has been active in the field for over eight years. I expect you to keep your questions on topic and show our guest the respect she is due. Shutterbug, please take it away.” Dean Blaine took a step back, and the Hero at his side came forward.

  Her outfit was done in a color scheme of bright greens and shiny blacks, the patterning clearly meant to evoke the idea of designs on an insect’s shell, if not stolen directly from one. She had mousy brown hair that was cut short and flared out, along with a pair of green eyes that nearly matched her costume. Her mask obscured most of her features, though, if one were attentive, they would notice her small, sharp chin and button nose.

  “Hey there, future Heroes,” Shutterbug greeted, her voice more forceful than one might have presumed from her adorable appearance. “As the dean said, my name is Shutterbug, and I’m an active Hero. Some of you might have seen me before, but I’ll give you some basic information just in case. I currently work on a team called The Arc Alliance in Atlanta, and my ability is that I can freeze time in certain areas.”

  Without warning, she raised her right hand and a flash of light burst from it, engulfing half of the half-circle. Those not hit felt normal, but when they glanced over, it was clear their fellow students were suspended in time: unmoving, unbreathing, and unblinking.

  Shutterbug snapped her fingers, and suddenly everything was back to normal. Before anyone could say a word, she raised her left hand and repeated the process on the other half of the students. Once she’d unfrozen them, she continued speaking.

  “Though I’m limited to a certain area and range, it’s still a darn useful ability, especially since I can freeze a part of something if the whole of it is too big to get with my field. Watching a giant robot try and free its hand from a suspended time field is damn funny, let me tell you.” She actually giggled a bit, then realized no one else was doing so, and composed herself. “Anyway, that’s a little background about me, now, on to the actual work of being a Hero. I’ll keep this short and sweet, because, unlike the other careers you’ll be introduced to, this is the one I’m sure you already know a lot about. If your time in the HCP is anything like mine was, then you’ve already been informed about the hard choices and constant dangers inherent to this line of work. I’ll tell you a few things I wish I’d known going in, though.”

  Shutterbug paused, mentally recalling the list she’d been compiling since Dean Blaine had asked her to speak. At one time, it had numbered well over a dozen points; however, she’d gradually been weeding it down to the elements that seemed both important and unlikely to get covered during their education.

  “First off, most of you will be on teams. That’s part of the Hero world, and even if you are strong enough to be solo, you’re still better off getting your feet wet with people watching your back. It’s going to be natural for you to want to be with other people from your class, but try to keep an open mind. I know that you’re familiar with and trust these people; however, the Hero world is a bigger one than many people realize. Put your team together based on powers and personalities that work well together, not just ones that you’re familiar with. In the long run, you’ll be happier and get injured less.

  “Secondly, don’t underestimate the Subtlety majors. I know it’s always tempting to think that having more firepower means a better team, but that is generally not true. I’ve been on teams with and without a Subtlety Hero, and the difference is tremendous. The ones without nearly always ended in slug outs, often in populated areas, where people got hurt. The team where I had a Subtlety Hero, the team I’m still on, has allowed us to neutralize a great deal of threats without a single punch thrown. Not saying the brawls don’t still happen, but it’s far less common. Remember, no matter how dangerous an enemy is, they still have to sleep, and a good Subtlety Hero can find out where and when. Something to keep in mind.”

  A few eyes darted in the direction of Will Murray, eyes he politely pretended not to notice.

  “Lastly, get an agent,” Shutter said. “Officially speaking, the HCP doesn’t promote them much, which is why you’ll only meet one or two during your time here. They’ll come up to you after graduation, and many of you will dismiss them as charlatans. Some of them are, some are not. Ask other Heroes. They’ll steer you in the right direction. As much as it might seem like a useless job, agents are important because of how much they take off your plate. When you have one, you know someone is always minding your image, making sure things are running smoothly, and handling any issues that might arise. An agent allows you to focus on what you should be doing, which is stopping criminals.”

  Shutterbug let out a small sigh of relief as her speech concluded. Though unflinching in the face of danger, she wasn’t big on public speaking. Now that the hard part was over, she allowed herself to relax slightly.

  “Okay, I think that takes care of all the stuff I felt you should know; now, it’s your turn. Any questions?”

  Immediately, a flurry of hands rose, as though she’d just asked who wanted free shots at a kegger. The mild wave of relaxation instantly turned into anxiety as Shutterbug realized the hard part was just beginning.

  36.

  “Okay, um, you,” Shutterbug said, pointing to the nearest hand she saw.

  “I was wondering what you can tell us about the process after graduation,” Thomas asked, lowering his hand as he spoke. “Some of the older students have mentioned interning, but that process has yet to be fully explained to us.”

  Shutterbug looked over at Dean Blaine and raised an eyebrow.

  “We’d planned to cover that later in the year, closer to when an initial meet and greet could be arranged,” Dean Blaine replied to her unasked query.

  Shutterbug gave a small nod. “I won’t go too in-depth then. But, to lay out some basics, over the course of the tail end of this year and most of next, the staff will bring in Heroes qualified to have interns. You’ll meet, shake hands, do small talk, and generally kiss ass. If the Hero is interested in you, they’ll review your tapes and maybe watch your final trial. If they still think you’ve got talent, then they offer to mentor you for two years after graduation. This is where you get on-the-job training that no amount of school can replicate. Think of it as your Hero learner’s permit.”

  More hands were immediately raised, but Shutterbug didn’t call on anyone. Instead, she kept talking.

  “And I already know what your next question is, because I asked the same thing: what happens if no Hero offers to mentor you? Don’t worry, the HCP isn’t going to leave you hanging like that. There are Heroes who don’t do the selection process because they feel it’s elitist. Those Heroes are always willing to take any interns that don’t get offers, up to the maximum three they are permitted to have. I’m sure some of you assume these are the less-than-stellar Heroes, the second-rate ones you’re forced to fall back on, but understand this—not every Hero can mentor. It takes ten years on the job, and a slew of other qualifications. There is no such thing as a second-rate Hero mentor.”

  This time, Shutterbug looked around a little more carefully, choosing a smaller girl whose hand was almost obscured by the taller people around her.

  “Yes, you, the small one.” Only after she’d said it did it occur to Shutterbug that her word choice might have been a bit offensive. If it was, the girl didn’t show any signs of being upset.

  “I was wondering how teams are formed,” Camille asked. “Do you apply for existing ones, form your own, or is there some sort of procedure?”
<
br />   “Sure is,” Shutterbug told her. “Honestly, both options are perfectly viable. Teams are fluid things—people move on or change cities, which mean constant openings. Technically, there’s no limit on size, but anything over eight gets cumbersome to manage. Some handle this by having sub-teams with different purposes, but that’s off-topic. Lots of Heroes form their own teams after their internships, and plenty try to get on with existing teams. Part of your intern years is getting plugged into the Hero community and expanding your social circles, so that, when you’re done, you have options lined up.”

  With a quick sweep of the room, she selected a new question asker. “You, whatcha got?”

  “I wanted to know how Heroes make money,” Allen said. “Clearly they do, I’ve just never totally gotten how.”

  “Ah yes, this one is a bit of a sticky area,” Shutterbug said. “Officially speaking, we’re a branch of emergency response and law enforcement, so we’re paid a modest salary just like any other government worker. Good health plan, too. However, each Hero owns the rights to his or her image, meaning, if they want to license it for merchandising, that’s within their rights. By tradition and public expectation, a sizable cut of that money is given to charity, but being a popular Hero can still be a pretty big supplement to your income. That’s part of why an agent is useful.”

  “As a note,” Dean Blaine interjected, “even after retiring from the Hero field, a well-managed image can continue to make money, and there are always a plethora of jobs for Heroes who have solid skills and experience.”

  “That’s right,” Shutterbug agreed. “Some of us teach, others become agents themselves, and of course, you can always do a stint in the SAA to make some serious cash.”

  “Yes, but we have another speaker who will go over that topic,” Dean Blaine cautioned.

  “Oh, sorry,” Shutterbug apologized. “Let’s see, next question then. You.”

  “I wanted to know what it’s like fighting criminal Supers,” Violet asked. “Is it like training, or what?”

  “Yes and no,” Shutterbug told her. “Your training is preparing you for death at every turn. Not all criminals are out for blood, though. A good portion are just people who made bad choices and got caught up in stupid circumstances. In those cases, it’s better, because if you’re really lucky, then you can stop them without throwing a punch, and maybe even get them on a better path. The rest of the time, well, some Supers become convinced that their power means they can do what they want and no one can stop them. In those cases, it’s definitely worse, especially when they’ve got a power set that prohibits peaceful capture.”

  “What does that mean?” Violet inquired, though deep down, she was already suspicious she knew the answer.

  Shutterbug’s eyes flicked to Dean Blaine, who gave a subtle nod. He didn’t call Heroes here to fill his students’ heads with lies and fluff. They deserved to know what they were walking into.

  “It’s the unhappy truth that there are Supers who are dangerous and have to be stopped, or innocent people will die. If you can’t take them to jail, then you stop them the other way, by permanently neutralizing them. Most of us don’t like it, but make no mistake, it is part of the job.”

  “On that note,” Dean Blaine interjected, “I think we have time for one more question.”

  “My, how the time flies,” Shutterbug said. “The last question will come from the girl with the pink streaks in her hair.”

  “Thank you,” Sasha replied. “I was wondering how long the average Hero stays in the game, so to speak. I mean, how many years of that work do most people do?”

  “Well, that falls into four categories. First, there are the people who die on the job, which, for purposes of this discussion, we won’t really count, since I think you’re asking about the ones who retire. There are three types of those. You have people whose bodies decay at a normal rate, which inhibits them. Examples would be people with abilities that let them excel at physical combat, but don’t directly make them less resilient to the ravages of time. Your dean, actually, is a prime example of this. These people can usually make it into their forties, but Hero work is incredibly physically demanding. Even with healers and the like on staff, a body just can’t hold up to that much wear and tear after a certain point, especially when you’re fighting people who are looking to capitalize on any weakness.”

  Dean Blaine politely pretended not to notice all the glances the students were trying to covertly give him.

  “The next set of folks would be the ones who still age normally, but whose usefulness isn’t affected. People like advanced minds, healers, and me fall into this area. Our body weakening doesn’t mean much, because we weren’t really relying on it to start. Most of this category can go into their sixties and hit a proper retirement age, though some just get weary of the work and stop before then. The last group are people with physical abilities that are unaffected by getting older. You see a few strongmen in this category, as well as some energy shifters. Basically, these people could fight until old age took them and never slow down. They tend to vary on career length, since it really is just a matter of them doing it until they decide they’re done.”

  “Very well said,” Dean Blaine agreed. “Now, please thank Shutterbug for her time and sharing her knowledge.” The class complied, giving applause that was more enthusiastic than mere obligatory clapping.

  “It was my pleasure,” she said, giving the class a smile and a theatrical bow.

  37.

  Though fliers for Friday’s match would have been a bit excessive, one had to wonder if such circulars had indeed been disseminated to the junior class of the HCP. Nearly every student was in attendance to watch the battle between the top combatant of their class and the senior queen of the hill. Word had actually spread, not through advertisement, but rather by simple word of mouth. Shane DeSoto had been particularly talkative, making sure every acquaintance he had, regardless how casual, was there to see the spectacle. Chad had taken the whole ordeal with his usual level of detachment, giving nods of understanding to those wishing him luck, but otherwise ignoring the fact that other people seemed so interested in his match.

  Angela, on the other hand, had taken to it with relish, high-fiving everyone and practicing her victory poses. No one who knew her was particularly surprised, either by the confidence or the antics. As the moment drew near, and the juniors stared down at her from the viewing area, she hardly seemed like she was about to go into a fight at all. While Chad was stretching and limbering up, she was blowing kisses to the crowd. The few seniors who were scattered among the juniors in the viewing area understood what their younger classmates did not: Angela was not someone whose demeanor was an indicator of how seriously she took something. She hadn’t risen to the top of their class through charm or trickery. She’d done it by being undeniably strong.

  “This will be a good one,” Violet said, nose all but pressed against the glass. She, Thomas, Vince, Alex, and Will were all bunched together in a space near the south side of the window. This was a room designed to accommodate large groups, so the viewing pane ran the entire length of the ceiling, each wall topped off by a sheet of reinforced, clear material that allowed people to peer in. These five had arrived together due to fortuitous scheduling and had grabbed a spacious section in which to camp before the crush of people arrived. Normally, Camille would have been with them; however, she’d been tasked as the on-site healer, and so was looking on from some unseen location below, in case she was needed in a hurry.

  “I’m inclined to agree,” Thomas said. “Though I know of Angela’s reputation, I’ve never actually seen her ability in use. Or, at all, come to think of it.”

  “It’s not like we have classes with her or anything,” Vince pointed out.

  “Maybe there’s still time to find Shane and ask what it is?” Alex suggested.

  “Screw that,” Violet said. “I’d rather just wait and see it in action. Must be something really awesome to have made
her number one for all four years. Maybe she grows really tall.”

  “I think that would just give Chad the advantage of speed and maneuverability,” Vince said. “I’d wager it’s closer to something like yours, something that allows for an extremely powerful defense, but also has a versatile offense.”

  “Mine doesn’t stack up well against Chad; making myself ultra-dense slows me too much to hit him. Thomas’s power would have a better shot,” Violet said.

  “I confess, I have wanted to test myself against him, now that my own skills have matured,” Thomas admitted. “But I think this will be illuminating to see both of them in action. Chad’s fights usually resolve very quickly. Watching him in a protracted battle will be interesting.”

  This same conversation, or at least reasonable facsimiles of it, echoed throughout the room as each clustered group discussed the merits of what they knew about each fighter, and how they believed they’d stack up in pitted combat. Such interest was not due to overactive self-involvement, rather, it was an unnoticed side effect of years in the HCP. These students were beginning to see everything in terms of a trial, and how they would overcome it. That very mindset was part of why these students still wore the HCP uniform, while others had returned to normal clothes.

  Amidst the chatter and speculation, few noticed when Angela switched over to waving and Chad finished his stretches. The two took ready stances on opposite sides of the room, waiting for the signal to begin tearing one another apart.

  * * *

  “I hope you wore your big girl panties, because, when I’m done with you, you’ll have shit all over them.”

  Chad was surprised, though not truly taken aback, by the sudden words.

  “Pardon?”

  Angela let out a long, protracted sigh. “It’s trash-talk. You know, running your mouth, talking shit, getting in the other guy’s head.”