by Drew Hayes
“Shut up, Nick,” Vince and Alice said in unison.
26.
“Good afternoon, class; I trust everyone had a fun weekend,” Dean Blaine said he breezed into the classroom. It was Tuesday and all of the freshmen were gathered in his lecture hall for their first real session of Ethics of Heroism. Well, almost all of them. As Nick did his customary sweep of the room, he noticed three of the seats now stood out as empty. There had been two students in Monday’s gym who had broken down crying and one who had simply collapsed. As he stared at the cheap plastic chairs left vacant, the fact that there was no possibility these two things weren’t related gnawed at the back of his mind.
In fact, what were the odds that this lecture hall would have had precisely the correct number of seats for this class size? Nick realized these empty seats were meant to be noticed, meant to remind them that some of the class hadn’t been able to cut it. And if they were using a method like this, then it could only mean they expected many more chairs to be ownerless before the year was through.
“Now then, I’m sure some of you are wondering how we will be discussing such a complicated and tangled topic as ethics and how it pertains to Supers. We’re going to start by defining who Supers are. And that, my students, begins with an understanding of where they come from. Can anyone tell me who the first officially-documented Super is, and in what year they revealed themselves?”
Several hands shot up, and Dean Blaine pointed to a boy in the front. “Mr. Desoto, please enlighten us.”
“The first documented Super was Captain Starlight, a former World War Two pilot who approached the government about working with people like him, the so-called extraordinary individuals that would eventually be known as Supers. This took place in 1957, and was caused by Captain Starlight’s frustration with returning to civilian life after having achieved a sense of purpose defending his country during the war,” the boy in front said. Nick realized with a start that it was the other guy they had dealt with on Friday, Shane Desoto. His voice hadn’t sounded familiar; but then again, Shane hadn’t spoken once the entire night.
“You’re close, Shane. Speculations about motivations aside, it was indeed Captain Starlight who approached the government, but that took place in 1959,” Dean Blaine corrected.
“Actually, the government officially announced that the meeting took place then, but it really happened two years prior. It took two years of testing, trials, and Captain Starlight bringing in other Supers for them to see before the politicians were able to accept that there were such things as Supers. They changed the date because they felt taking two years to confirm things that could plainly be read as incompetence to the voters,” Shane corrected right back.
“An interesting hypothesis,” Dean Blaine said. “May I ask where you heard this theory?”
“My grandfather told me,” Shane replied.
“Wise as I’m sure your grandfather is, I’d wager he wasn’t necessarily privy to every detail of Captain Starlight’s life and rise to fame,” Dean Blaine said.
“Would you, now?” Shane said simply, crossing his arms.
“Thank you, Shane, let’s move on. Now, can anyone tell me what important events came about as a result of Captain Starlight’s revelation to the government?” Dena Blaine asked. This time he pointed at a hand in the air that was familiar to Nick.
“Because of Captain Starlight’s brave actions revealing the existence of Supers, the government made the rest of the country aware of them, setting up special laws to protect aspects of their lives, and ultimately set up the Hero Certification Program so that Supers who had undergone proper training and qualification would be able to protect our country without being held liable for incidental damages caused in the process,” Alice said rapidly.
“Very nice, Ms. Adair,” Dean Blaine complimented. “Those are all correct, though there were of course many more ramifications to Captain Starlight’s revelation than that; but we will get into those at a later date. For now, we know that Captain Starlight is the first officially documented Super. Does that mean he was the first in existence? Please tell us, Mr. Campbell.”
“No,” Nick responded immediately. The dean had been spamming his eyes across the class during the discussion thus far. Nick had noticed those eyes hesitate for an instant on him seconds before the question came, so he had been ready for it. Nick noted that he needed to look just a dash more interested in discussions. The goal was to draw no attention, neither from being too observant nor too apathetic. Clearly he had fumbled and fallen below the acceptable apathy line.
“How do you know that?” Dean Blaine continued pressing.
“I don’t,” Nick said honestly. “But nobody does. Since there are no records, we can’t really say for certain one way or the other if Captain Starlight was the first Super. The popular consensus leans toward the negative, though.”
“Correct, Mr. Campbell. Without documentation, no one can prove or disprove the existence of previous Supers,” Dean Blaine said. “Of course, the odds of an entire genetic offshoot beginning with one man and then continuing to appear at a steady rate for half a century afterwards are ludicrously low. This means that most likely Captain Starlight was nowhere near the first. Again, though, we don’t know, and this lack of knowledge has led to many controversies and theories. Who can name one?”
Dean Blaine pointed to a young man wearing glasses in the front row.
“My mom used to say that the stories of the Greek gods were really about Supers, the people just didn’t know it then.”
“A popular theory indeed,” Dean Blaine said. “And this led to one of the greatest controversies that our existence has caused in this century. Who would like to venture a guess on what that was? Mr. Reynolds, give it a go.”
“Religion,” Vince said awkwardly. It was an interesting paradox that Vince could be so self-assured and insecure simultaneously. Nick already had a few ideas at how that tendency could work in his own favor, though.
“Please elaborate,” Dean Blaine told him.
“People pretty much all agreed that the Greek gods were just Supers in disguise, so it was only a matter of time until they began speculating about whether other iconic figures from the past had really just been people with powers. The most obvious ones were all those tied to magical events. Prophets, saviors, warriors of their lord, everything was thrown into even more speculation that it had been,” Vince explained.
“Very good, Mr. Reynolds,” Dean Blaine said. “The addition of Supers to our world meant the opening of new possibilities. Events that had been mentioned in religious texts could now be challenged not only on historical accuracy, but also the possibility that even if they had occurred, then perhaps it wasn’t a divine hand that had guided them. Now the truly devout had to defend their faith on a whole other level, and it was not well-received. Now then: we know who the first Super was, can anyone tell me the name of the first documented Powered?”
“Who cares?” yelled out the braided blonde from the back. The rest of class laughed and echoed sentiment.
“I’d wager the Powereds care,” Dean Blaine said seriously.
“Yeah, but they don’t count. I mean, this is a class about heroism and Supers, not malfunctioning humans. Why would we need to know anything about the first of a thousand gears to break?” the girl shot back.
“You wouldn’t,” Dean Blaine said. “Unless you were the one trying to put the machine those gears had supported back together. I want you to think about that, because Powereds will be coming up over the course of this class. Their history and ours are more closely intertwined that you all might realize. Still, since no one seems to be informed enough to discuss their origins today, we can skip ahead to how Captain Starlight helped create special criminal classifications for Supers gone awry.”
Nick cursed under his breath. Dean Blaine’s eyes had hesitated on him again when he mentioned Powereds. Of course the dean of the college would know about him and the others, but little t
ics like that would give them away if anyone ever suspected. Nick took a deep breath. No one had any reason to think they were any different from every other Super in attendance. He just had to keep it that way.
27.
Roy was acclimating well to gym. After the first day of trying, Hershel had wimped out and left the physical exertion up to his bigger, stronger, better half. Hershel handled the ethics class, and then made the change before even setting foot in front of the coaches, all of which suited Roy just fine. Hershel got to sit through the boring stuff while Roy was free to show all these pansies what a real Super could do.
Roy lapped the majority of the freshman boys once again as he breezed past them on the track. While every day was sprinkled with different exercises, running was a constant. It seemed that whatever curriculum Coach George had in mind factored heavily on cardio and endurance. For most of the class it was a grueling daily struggle just to keep up and not give in. For Roy, and a few other notable adversaries, it was a time to get in a light jog and simmer in the envy of others. On that note, Roy noticed Vince giving him a dirty look as he breezed by. Vince had been cold to him since that night in the club. It probably hadn’t helped matters that Roy had shaken his dorm mates off and left Hershel alone to wake up in a downtown alleyway. Normally he and his fat body-based roommate shared a more cordial relationship, but Roy had felt the need to make a point.
A little fallout from a cohabitant didn’t even qualify as a blip on Roy’s radar. The idiot in sunglasses had been just as chatty since that night, and of course Alice was practically drooling every time he walked in a room, so that made Vince the only one with an open grudge against him. It was possible Mary didn’t like him either, but she seemed to always avoid him so who could tell? Besides, that one was off limits. He could push Fatty around a lot, but slipping the sausage to a chick he liked would be like declaring open war. Roy felt that would cut into a lot of his time and fun, so it was easier to give the chubby dipshit a little bit of accommodation.
“Time!” Coach George yelled from across the gym. “Line up!”
The boys and girls filtered from their opposite sides of the track to the center of the gym where George and Persephone stood waiting. The rule of staying on opposite sides had stayed in effect since day one, and though lapping was permitted, falling behind was never tolerated. So far every student who had fallen back into the other sex’s group had been taken out and not seen again. It seemed they were playing hardball. Roy was almost entertained.
“Well,” Coach George said once they had all fallen into line. “It seems you survived another day. I’m a touch surprised; I was sure we’d be kicking another couple of you out today.”
Panicked looks fleetingly leapt across the faces of some of the slower students. Personally, Roy felt it was warranted. Even Fatty had kept up with his group for one day. If he could do it then the only excuse for failing was laziness.
“I was wrong,” Coach George continued. “If I were you, I’d savor those words, because you won’t be hearing them very often. I’m a man, though, and I’ll own up to my mistakes. I was wrong, and today every one of you managed to keep up and stay in the program. So the question I find myself asking is this: are you all just much that better than I thought, or are you all so weak and worthless that it’s impossible to tell which piece of shit has sunk to the bottom of the toilet?”
No one said anything, the weaker students struck dumb with fear and the stronger ones arrogantly self-assured that this conversation wasn’t for them.
“I think it might be the latter,” Coach George said. “So I want you all to think about something. There are only so many spots for advancement out of this year into the next. Just passing isn’t enough; we’re only taking the best. Next time you’re slowing down to stay with your group instead of driving harder to leave them behind and knock some slow shit out of the running, I want you to think about that. Think real hard about whether you want to be a nice guy who helps everyone squeak by with mediocrity or if you want to be a Hero. Because I promise you, a mediocre Hero is just a corpse that’s a week behind schedule. Get out of my sight.”
The line broke and students began moving quickly toward the showers. Roy began swaggering but felt a firm hand grip him on the shoulder.
“Daniels,” Coach George said. “I think you and I need to talk for a minute.”
“Sure, Coach,” Roy said with his patented smile flashing. “Want me to run faster and drive a few more people out of the running?”
“Actually, Daniels, I’d like you to take note of something,” Coach George said.
“What’s that?” Roy asked.
“In this class there are several students with physical gifts well-suited to endurance or running. Yet you lap the other groups more times than anyone else,” Coach George explained. “Why do you think that is?”
“I guess I just want it more,” Roy replied, chuckling at his own wit.
“Try again, jackass. It’s because everyone else is taking this time and training seriously. Ms. Foster alone could have passed everyone several thousand times during that run. But she didn’t because she was running without using her abilities as much as possible,” Coach George said.
“Sounds pretty dumb to me,” Roy replied. “I mean, if she’s that good at running, then why practice it so much?”
“Because she wants to get stronger. As does Mr. Taylor, who shares your limitless endurance yet maintained a constant pace during today’s run,” Coach George said without an inkling of a smile in his eyes.
“You just told everyone to work harder in order to knock each other out, now you’re getting on my ass for doing well and applauding others for sandbagging it,” Roy said, shaking Coach George’s hand loose. The gym had emptied entirely by this point, only the two of them left in its large interior.
“I’m ‘getting on your ass’ because you accomplished nothing today, or yesterday, or really any day except the one you came in human form. This is training, Daniels, it’s designed to make you stronger, better, and more able to endure the toll that being a Hero will put on you. This is the foundation of being a Hero, and you’re pissing it away,” Coach George said.
“Thanks for the lecture,” Roy shot back. “But in case you forgot, I’m in the top five of this ‘hard-working class’ and I would have been number one if I hadn’t fought that stupid psychic guy.”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” Coach George said simply. “You’re the weakest of the strong, Daniels, and if you don’t start putting in the effort, you won’t even hold onto that title for more than a year.”
“Okay, how am I supposed to, then? I don’t get tired, I don’t get sore, I don’t even get short of breath,” Roy countered. “I’m super strong, super durable, and have super endurance. Now please tell me how to get any benefit out of lifting a few weights and jogging around a track.”
“Sorry, Daniels,” Coach George said with a shake of his head. “That’s not my job. Heroes are supposed to be creative and show ingenuity. If I were you, I’d get cracking on that, before the rest of the class leaves you behind.”
Roy scoffed. “It hasn’t even been a week yet.”
“Time flies, Daniels,” Coach George said as he turned and headed toward the exit. “And at this level, so will the progress of your competition.”
28.
As the days turned into weeks, Vince noticed a funny thing. He was getting used to his new life at Lander. He was slowly growing accustomed to sleeping in the same bed under the same roof every night. He was growing tolerant of Nick’s flapping gums and Roy’s douchebag demeanor. His body was even beginning to get used to the five-times-a-week workouts from hell. It was strange, but each day that passed found him more comfortable with his life here. He was beginning to feel like he might finally have a shred of normalcy in life, with his powers under control and his wandering suspended. On the day he truly he became certain of this, he reached an important decision.
“Sasha, would you lik
e to go out with me tonight?” Vince asked stiffly. It wasn’t that he wasn’t comfortable around his speedy friend, but the life he’d had before Lander had hardly equipped him with much experience in the realm of a social life. This deficiency was one of the reasons he was determined to stop dallying and make up for lost time.
“Sure,” Sasha replied offhandedly. The two were eating breakfast on this Friday morning as was their routine, so she sipped her orange juice before continuing. “I think Julia is going out tonight and the other two never stay in on a Friday, so we can hang out and watch a movie.”
“Yes... well, that does sound fun,” Vince fumbled. “But... you see, I meant would you join me tonight... in a romantic capacity. As in a date.”
“Yeah, I know,” Sasha said. “Took you long enough. Why do you think I invited you to come watch a movie in my empty dorm?”
“Oh,” Vince said. Then realization dawned. “Oooh. I was thinking something a bit more traditional for our first date.”
“You got a car?” Sasha interrupted.
“Um... no,” Vince admitted.
“Me neither, and while I can get anywhere in town in under ten seconds, it sort of takes the fun out if you can’t join me,” Sasha pointed out. “So our options are a romantic candlelit dinner in the dining hall or watching a movie.”
“How’s seven work for you?” Vince asked.
“Better make it seven thirty. We do still have to grab a shitty dinner here after all,” Sasha said.
“Point well made,” Vince agreed.
* * *
“I still can’t believe you finally grew a pair,” Nick commented as he reclined on the boys’ lounge couch and flipped through the television stations.
“I always had a pair,” Vince said defensively. “I was just getting settled in to my new surroundings. What do you think?”
“You look dumb,” Nick replied, barely glancing at Vince’s outfit.