The kids were sitting together and talking. They had been playing soccer not long ago, taking a break now. Sportacus hadn't played with them, having to go and save someone, probably the mayor or the kitten. But now, the children had gotten to an interesting topic.
They didn't often talk about Sportacus, at least not about anything but his heroism. But Stephanie had asked about the hero before him, the one with the number 9 her uncle had mentioned the first they she had been here and gotten Sportacus here.
The kids couldn't really remember him, so they began to theorize. If the town was many hundred years old, then there surely had been some more heroes here! Maybe there once had been a number 1 at some point as well! Thinking about the history book the mayor had sometimes read within for them, they remembered the story with the pirate. There had been a hero who defeated the evil pirate! Maybe that had been such a hero with a number too!
Sportacus found his way back to the kids soon enough, and was almost immediately bombarded with questions. He surely knew some things after all! He had to! But first they needed to calm down and get their questions sorted out, because the hero couldn't understand anything with all of them talking at once.
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"Sportacus, can you tell us more about heroes?", Stephanie asked, once they were all settled and had calmed down. Now they all just really wanted to know as much as possible!
"Well, us heroes each got a crystal. It tells us if there is trouble and if someone is in danger! It does that not only with beeping, but also with other tricks. Each crystal is different in how it tells its hero where there is danger or how", Sportacus began explaining, not really minding at all. It was good to be curious!
"Can I become a hero like you?", Ziggy asked, wanting nothing more than to become a superhero like Sportacus! Or well, a slightly-above-average-hero.
Sportacus chuckled, loving Ziggy's enthusiasm as always. "You could become a hero! But it is not easy to become one. I'm sure one day you will be a great hero nonetheless though". Sportacus would always support the little guy and his dream to become a hero. And it made Ziggy extremely happy as well.
"What happened to the other heroes?", Pixel was the one to ask this time. If there had been nine heroes before Sportacus, something must have happened to them!
"Some heroes settled down when the kids they protected grew up and no hero was needed anymore. Some started their own families. I believe some aren't with us any longer", Sportacus was obviously thinking, unsure about most of the other heroes.
"Are heroes normal humans? Do you have superpowers?", Trixie asked then, curious if Sportacus may have some cool superpowers he hadn't told them about.
"Well, heroes live a lot longer than you. It has to do with our crystals as well, they are magic after all", Sportacus answered with a smile. "Heroes don't have something like superpowers though", it wasn't a lie, just because you were a hero, doesn't mean you have some special powers. But you don't have to be a human to become a hero.
"Are all heroes active like you are?", Stephanie asked then. Sportacus was great at sports and acrobatics, he only eats sportscandy and lives so healthy! It made her wonder if other heroes were like that as well.
"Heroes usually are really strong, but some are more intelligent than strong. Using your brain can get you further than only using muscles", Sportacus chuckled lightly, seeing how Stephanie's face brightened. She was more of a smartie than a muscle woman after all.
"So Sportacus", Stingy spoke up this time. "Will you leave us eventually too?". Hearing about the other heroes eventually leaving one way or another, he didn't want him to go. He was his superhero!
The other kids looked a little panicked, imagining Sportacus would leave them sometime as well. Instantly pleas were heard for him not to go, not to leave them ever.
Sportacus chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Didn't plan on leaving you any time soon! I'll stay with you as long as I'm needed, kids". Relief washed over them. Now their minds wandered away from the topic at hand and they pulled Sportacus with them to go and play again.