by Hayes, Drew
Hershel started to reach forward, but hesitated. At his side, Mary took his free hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Under different circumstances, she’d have had a stack of her own, and she’d be radiating as much tension as her friends. Not all of them had specific letters they were hoping for, but the prospect of having to hunt for a good mentor was still a daunting thought. If there wasn’t someone who felt like a good fit in the offers, it would add more stress to the already daunting task of making it through their final semester.
Eventually, Hershel moved his hand the rest of the way forward and took the pile of envelopes bearing the initials “R.D.” into his arms.
The others followed suite: first Alice, then Vince, and finally Chad, whose pile was easily the largest of the lot. Alice held up a hand before anyone could tear in, forcing everyone to pause. “Is there some sort of ceremony or toast for this kind of thing? It feels like a moment where we should do something, you know?”
“How about wishing everyone good luck,” Vince suggested.
“Or we could just bring them to Nick’s and make sure we’ve got luck on our side,” Hershel countered. “But maybe that wouldn’t work, since the contents of the envelopes are already printed. One day, I’ve really got to sit down with Nick and figure out exactly what that power of his can do.”
“I think you’ve got better chances of getting an internship offer from Captain Starlight.” Alice barely suppressed a snicker at the idea of getting a straight answer from the mouth of Nicholas Campbell.
The sound of tearing paper filled the air; all eyes moved to Chad as he carefully peeled open the first of his envelopes. After a few seconds, he noticed the stares and looked up. “I’m sorry, I thought we were done with the toasting part after you all slipped into small talk. And, if I’m honest, I’m quite interested to see who is reaching out to me.”
“Chad’s right, no more stalling.” Vince ripped into one of his envelopes as well, albeit with far less delicacy than Chad. “Let’s see what we’re working with.”
Speech fell away as the sound of tearing and unfolding paper filled the air, each student meticulously going through their offers one by one. Some of the names rang quite familiar; others they could scarcely recall from the mixers. A few were complete mysteries, but they had been told not every Hero who might want an intern enjoyed mingling at the post-trial events.
Alice was the one who broke the silence this time, letting out a deep sigh of relief as she perused one of the last letters in her pile.
“Looks like Gale from Elemental Fury wasn’t just blowing smoke. She sent me an official offer letter.” Alice held it up for the room to see, as if she was afraid they wouldn’t believe her.
“Gale isn’t a Subtlety Hero though, is she?” Hershel asked.
“No, but she’s the leader of long-standing team, plus Elemental Fury has a Subtlety Hero I can learn from. I’ve always been about half-Control and half-Subtlety anyway, so I think this will be a good fit for my kind of education. Plus, I like the idea of learning from the head of a team; it’s a position I might want to fill myself one day.”
“Well, you might have some company.” Hershel flipped his own letter around to show the word “Granite” near the top in bold print. “Looks like Elemental Fury’s strongman is interested in Roy and me.”
“They are a good team with a strong reputation. I would encourage both of you to consider those options seriously.” Chad was going through his letters, popping each open, reading it, and then setting it aside without so much as a flicker in expression. “I have a few excellent options as well, although I’d like to speak with Shane and compare our offers before making any firm decisions. I think it would be preferable to go into my internship with a friend in the same city, if possible.”
“Huh, that’s more sentimental than I was expecting from you,” Alice said.
Chad nodded, as if to say he understood. “New Heroes are especially prone to making mistakes, even with the supervision of more experienced Heroes watching over them. I think there is something to be said for having a friend you trust and whose capabilities you know watching your back, and vice versa.”
It was the sort of logical, pragmatic decision process they expected from Chad, which was why it caught everyone by surprise when he kept talking. “Beyond the safety issue, however, I simply like the idea of being with my best friend after college. I am… not the best at connecting with other people, so I greatly prize the connections I do manage to make. Should things work out well, perhaps we can even work in Port Valins, near Angela. I must confess, the challenge of such a city appeals to me.”
“Given the pile of offers you’ve got, I’m betting you can find a place anywhere you want to go.” Vince was finishing up the last of his offers, this one from a respectable energy blaster he’d met a few months back. His options had been strong, even if he didn’t especially feel a strong connection with any of them. The truth of the matter was that Vince hadn’t met any Hero who felt like a perfect fit yet, and he was resigned to that. As the son of Globe, the fact that he was getting offers at all was miraculous, and Vince was well aware of that. So long as he found someone trustworthy and committed to doing the job well, that would be enough for him.
With all of the letters opened, the mood in the room had lightened considerably, save for Hershel. He was still digging through his letters, rereading them as if he’d missed something. While most of the others could guess what he was looking for, no one said anything about it.
After all, it would have been in poor taste to point out that he was clearly looking for a nonexistent offer letter from Titan.
179.
“Lastly, filling the final spot, the students have selected Vince Reynolds.” Dean Blaine watched the projected faces of his fellow HCP deans at the announcement, ready for any semblance of pushback. Even if they didn’t know the truth about Globe, these were educators who should realize that the sins of the parents were not their children’s to atone for. Still, Dean Blaine had been around long enough to be surprised by people, and he found it useful to be aware of opposition as soon as possible.
There was only one negative reaction to the news. Dean Jackson frowned at the announcement, his weathered face creasing visibly. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
“Really? I was sort of hoping I’d get to see the kid with so much hoopla around him,” Dean Fox replied.
“I’m sure Mr. Reynolds will put on an excellent show, but I was looking forward to seeing what the son of Titan could accomplish. Since I wasn’t selected to train him, I’d at least expected to be able to appraise his skill with my own eyes.” Dean Jackson considered the point for a moment longer. “Then again, I suppose this might be a blessing. If your students had decided to send Titan’s boy, I might have had to give up hope on taking the top position this year. Good thing they didn’t see his potential.”
“Trust me, Herbert. My kids picked a powerful lineup. I won’t say Roy Daniels wouldn’t have made a fine addition to the team, but the four we’re putting in are already a daunting challenge of their own.” Dean Blaine wasn’t a fan of pointless bragging; however, he didn’t see anything wrong with setting realistic expectations.
Dean Bishop was looking over her notes, carefully logging the students each dean had submitted for Intramurals. “You’re sure the kids made these picks, Blaine? I can’t help but notice that we’ve got the children of two guys from your class, Intra and Globe, the daughter of The Alchemist, and the grandson of Captain Starlight. That’s a lot of Supers with strong pedigrees being put up for the fight.”
“And every one of them has fought tooth and nail to earn their place,” Dean Blaine said, not an ounce of hesitation in his voice. He’d been prepared for someone to bring this point up, but he wasn’t going to tolerate it for a moment. The origins of his students were irrelevant; they’d made it to Intramurals with their own strength, not their relatives’. “Trust me: these kids are a fine representation of Lander. I look forwa
rd to showing you that firsthand. And Dean Jackson, if you ever want to see Roy Daniels fight then come to one of the trials. I’m sure he’ll put on a show worth seeing.”
“If we have testing days that don’t overlap, I may take you up on that.” Dean Jackson checked his own pages, on which he’d written nothing yet still seemed to be reading. “Anyway, with Lander locked in, that takes care of the submissions for Intramurals. Next up is the obvious issue we tackle every meeting: security. The DVA has approved funding for all the extra security measures we’ve proposed so far, but we’ve still got no idea what the Sons of Progress are planning, if anything.”
“Do they even have the structure to still be a threat?” Dean Silva asked. “I thought after Lander the Heroes had more or less decimated their ranks.”
“In terms of money and influence, they’ve been almost decimated by all accounts,” Dean Jackson confirmed. “But Crispin is still dangerous on his own. The level of amplification he seems capable of imparting can turn any Super who hates us into a high-level threat. With a handful of zealots he can create a strike force of considerable danger.”
No one spoke to—or even looked toward—Dean Blaine as Dean Jackson spoke, not that they would have seen anything if they had. He was well-aware of the assessments on Crispin’s power—in fact, much of that information had come from Dean Blaine as he helped determine the baseline abilities of the Supers who had attacked his campus. Once Crispin was gone and the effects of his power had faded, a team of DVA agents and Heroes had carefully figured out what the attacking Supers’ initial abilities had been. Seeing how weak they were compared to what they’d been capable of with augmentation had both terrified and infuriated Dean Blaine. That Crispin could amplify Supers to such a degree, and to think of what he could do with that power on a Hero team, made it all the more appalling that he was using his skill to hurt people.
But no matter how much he could amplify, no matter how many Supers he surrounded himself with, it wouldn’t stop Dean Blaine. Every morning before work, he made a trip down to the lowest level of the HCP, where a large wall filled with names resided. He’d look at them all, taking in the sacrifice of those who came ahead of him, before turning to stare at one name in particular. Crispin had killed one of Dean Blaine’s students. For that, and so many other lives lost, he was going to be held accountable. If Blaine had to don the Zero costume and hunt for him in the streets, he would. Some crimes had to be answered for.
That would come later, once he’d seen things through with the students still counting on him. For now, he had to concern himself with things like Globe, a dream-walker spouting a pretty unbelievable story, and Intramurals.
“With no army, I doubt Crispin will be crazy enough to try attacking a campus again,” Dean Blaine said. “It’s possible, certainly, but given how well-thought out their first assault was, I don’t take Crispin as a man to do things without proper preparation. Your campuses, on the other hand, might be in danger. With the deans gone, it puts any school not hosting at extra risk. We need to mitigate that danger.”
“We could bring all of our kids to Intramurals,” Dean Bishop suggested. “Every HCP Super on one campus would make for a hell of a tough target to attack.”
“But if Crispin did come after one of our schools, we’d have left the humans defenseless,” Dean Fox pointed out. “It makes more sense to reach out to some graduates and see if they’re willing to come hang out on campus for a few days. We can make it an event for the students, sort of a consolation prize since they didn’t make Intramurals, and we’d have the peace of mind of knowing that trained Heroes are on the scene if anything goes wrong.”
“The DVA would have to give the Heroes clearance to go inactive for that long. Given the public outcry after Lander, though, I doubt we’d have any issue getting them to sign off.” Dean Jackson stared down at his pages, contemplating the proposal. “We could probably also get a few to hang around during Intramurals themselves. I know several will come to watch, but it never hurts to have some on duty, just in case.”
“If the group wishes to get extra protection, I won’t fight it, but I don’t think it’s strictly necessary.” Dean Blaine kept his expression placid, controlled, a habit he was falling back into with increasing regularity. “Between five deans, an audience of Heroes, and the best Supers our classes have to offer, it’s hard to imagine any sort of threat Crispin could pose to the event.”
Dean Fox let out a soft whistle. “Wow, someone feels like tempting fate today.”
“I assure you, Wesley, if I thought it would get Crispin in my grasp I would tempt fate at every opportunity.” Despite his control, Dean Blaine’s hands tightened into fists. “I greatly look forward to the day he and I finally meet face to face.”
180.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Hershel looked up from his laptop to find Mary standing nearby. They were the only ones in the common area this morning, the rest of the group off training, working, or filling their time with other distractions. For his part, Hershel had been meticulously researching the Heroes who’d offered him and Roy internships, seeing if any of them made a bigger impression with their public record than they had in person. He didn’t need to ask what she was talking about; why would he? Hershel was well aware of the nagging thought that had been eating at his mind since they opened their letters.
“I thought you made a point not to listen to my thoughts.” Hershel closed the laptop, giving her his full attention. It was the polite thing to do; plus, they’d been together long enough for him to tell when she wanted to have a serious discussion.
Mary made her way over and took a seat next to Hershel on the couch. “I still try not to snoop, but Roy is another matter. And despite what you might believe, the two of you aren’t all that different. I’m not prying if you want to let it lie; I just wanted to give you the chance to talk in case you wanted to.” Her hand wrapped around his as best it could with her diminutive fingers.
There was a split second where Hershel almost declined the opportunity before chiding himself for such an impulse. He and Roy had both come so far in the last four years; they’d grown both on their own and together in countless ways, but there were still some areas where they felt like confused children trying to untangle emotions that were too complex. He wouldn’t turn from them anymore, though. It was the strategy both brothers had tried for years, and it hadn’t made things better. Only the few occasions where they’d faced things head-on had yielded improvement.
“It’s... it’s not that I think it would be a good idea to intern under him. Even without all of our baggage—and that’s not a thing to ignore—our relationship could cause him to go easy on me, or make bad choices in the heat of the moment to protect me. In my heart, I know that it would have been a bad fit. Still, I thought Roy and I would have the chance to make that decision. I mean, he’s our dad, and Titan didn’t even offer to be our mentor? That feels a little messed up.”
“Maybe he saw those same conflicts as you and didn’t want to take the chance that you two would make the wrong call,” Mary suggested. “Or maybe he’s scared.”
Hershel snorted in reflex, then immediately turned sheepish. “Sorry, that was rude. I understand our dad is more than muscles and punching; he’s a real person with real feelings. It’s just hard to picture him being scared of anything, no matter how hard I try.”
The room grew silent as Mary stared at him, her gaze deep and thorough. She was searching his eyes, perhaps his mind as well, for something. Hershel had no idea what, but he didn’t mind. They’d long ago passed the point of trust where he believed she’d do whatever she genuinely believed was right—for him, and for them as a couple.
“I’m going to break a rule,” Mary said finally, her eyes unwavering from Hershel’s. “I don’t do this sort of thing lightly, you know. Don’t ask me to do it again unless there’s good reason. In this case, however, I think it might be necessary. Hershel, I’m going to tell yo
u some of what I’ve gotten from Titan’s thoughts. And the first thing is that he is terrified where you and Roy are concerned.”
“Terrified?” Hershel had a hard time swallowing that, even if it was coming from someone he trusted as much as Mary.
“If anything, I’m understating it.” The grip of her hand tightened on his, her slender fingers much stronger than they appeared. “Titan loves you both very much. He’s deeply sorry for the choices he made way back when, and now that your relationship is finally starting to get the slightest bit better, he is scared beyond measure that he’s going to say or do the wrong thing to drive you both off again. Every time he sees you, it’s nearly all he can think about. He’s gotten his sons back a fraction of a percent, and the idea of messing that up is more than he can handle. I don’t know exactly why he didn’t send you the invite to intern under him, but I’d bet my trailer it has something to do with him worrying about how you’d take the gesture.”
“Those are very sweet things to hear, and I believe you,” Hershel told her. “But it doesn’t mean the same coming from your mouth. If Titan wanted me to know all this, he should tell me himself.”
“I think he truly wants to. Again, though, he’s scared. That doesn’t make it okay; it just means he’s not holding out because of something as stupid as pride.” Mary leaned in and kissed Hershel gently on the cheek. “Now, it’s time to pay up. I want a secret, mister.”
Hershel pulled back slightly, enough to see the mischievous grin on Mary’s face. It wasn’t an expression she’d often let the others see—generally, she tried to keep her den-mother aura untarnished—but Hershel knew her better than they did. Better than anyone ever had, really. And, if he was honest with himself, she probably knew him better than anyone else too, telepathy or no.