"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
There had been three older couples, an eccentric author and Hero's family living along that street when the Wilsons had purchased a house and moved in. Ronald Wilson was an only child of fourteen and had two super-powered beings for parents. Ron had no super powers and I scarcely need to tell you that he was extremely lonely most of the time. So it wasn't much of a surprise that when Hero had come bounding across his lawn to introduce herself as his next-door neighbor, he had found himself both excited and embarrassed.
She was a year younger, and a foot shorter than Ron, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and skin the shade of the black coffee that Ron's dad liked to drink. Of course far above this, in importance to Ron, was the fact that she was absolutely normal. No shrinking ability, no strangely colored eyes, no spandex clad parents. When Ron was with her in the treehouse she called a hideaway or swimming in the neighborhood pool, he felt normal too. It was no wonder that they spent the whole summer together.
Then came the school year, and Ron being forced to attend Sky High. He didn't want to go to a school filled with people who had special abilities but his dad insisted and his mother said she still hoped he was just a late-bloomer. So he acquiesced, waved goodbye to Hero that morning and boarded the bus to the private institution. He couldn't help but think, that first day, that he'd feel so much better if Hero was with him. She'd fill up his ears with chatter about how stupid the whole sidekick/hero system was or mock the senior all-star Steve Stronghold.
Soon homework and strenuous power-revealing exercises that his dad insisted he do would take up more and more of Ron's time. When Hero came around to hang out, Ron's mom would make up some excuse, and then justify herself by saying that "those black people" wouldn't be a good influence on her son. Ron tried to protest, but he wanted so badly to please his parents and somewhere, a small part of him hoped he might get some sort of power after all. Anything would be better than the strange normalcy he suffered.
They still waved at each other in passing and sometimes Hero would even stop and try to start a conversation, but a quick glance from Mrs. Wilson would send Ron scurrying for an excuse to end the talk. It wasn't surprising that within a few months their friendship born in a hot summer, died in a cold winter. By the end of the school year, Ron was almost able to go through a day without thinking about what it might be like at Sky High with Hero by his side…almost.
It was late spring when the Save-the-Citizen finals began. Ron watched with the rest, cheered on his favorites and tried not to be jealous of their powers. Because, in the end, Ron was a nice kid and not much would stifle that. On the last day of finals the gym teacher rose to her feet to announce that the last round would be something very special. The two teams would each be composed of a reigning senior and a freshman sidekick. To top it off, this contest would be waged for a real, breathing citizen. Maybe it was the gladiator-esque moods that prevailed among the students, but not one seemed to be appalled by this new facet of the game. It was only Ron Wilson, who upon seeing the citizen in question, gasped loudly.
Hero looked dazed and confused when she was lowered from the ceiling with ropes holding her arms securely to her sides. Her hair was frizzing out from its ponytail in puffy strands. She blinked in the brightly lit room and tried to turn her head. Ron just sat in his seat, staring up at her and hoping for all the world that she wouldn't see him. That hope was completely and utterly shattered when Ms. Cravitz, the gym teacher, called his name.
Ron didn't watch to see Hero's head snap towards the woman at the mention of him; or her eyes following his path from the bleachers to the wood floor. He concentrated on the unearthly pounding in his head and the suddenly heavy hand of Steve Stronghold on his shoulder.
"You alright?" the senior asked, his blue eyes showing concern that Ron hadn't guessed he possessed.
"Yeah…yeah I'm fine."
"Great, we're the heroes, and don't worry, I've got a lot of experience with this game," he paused, "Just try not to get hurt."
Ron nodded, barely listening, with his eyes finally going up to meet Hero's. She stared back at him and then looked down as the whirring blades of the chopper began their motion. No words were needed to convey that message. Hero needed a hero.
The match began in a moment that Ron missed by blinking. Steve was in instant motion. He darted past the fiery projectiles sent by Baron Battle on the other side. The other sidekick, a girl who could blow bubbles from her ears, began running towards Ron, looking almost as unconfident as Hero herself. Ron began running as well, though he didn't know why. In his mind, one fact was always infinitely clear, he had no value as a superhero.
Hero's faint cry of "Watch out Ron," was lost as a fireball hit the powerless boy's armored chest and sent him reeling backwards onto the ground.
Baron's poorly aimed attack had succeeded in knocking the sidekick to his feet but Steve was still coming at him with determination. Ron watched through swimming vision as the super-strong senior jumped into the air and came down with a smashing fist to the ground. The pyro and bubble-girl were knocked to their feet. Ron rose shakily and looked at the whirring machine that threatened Hero's life. All around the stadium, excited yells had begun. They weren't concerned about her life, they were only concerned for their silly game.
Ron Wilson was not an angry person. But the only adequate description of what he was feeling right then was righteous rage. His eyes turned to Hero and fixed there with unwavering determination. He felt his feet moving without command and began marching doggedly towards the whirring blades of the machine with no plan as to how he would actually save her. As he reached the edge of the trap he pushed himself up and found to his amazement that he was flying towards her at an alarming speed.
One might have thought he would have been excited by this sudden new development of powers. However, there were no glorious exultations in his mind, only one word Hero. And that was when Ron Wilson, future bus driver, realized that he loved Hero. Despite his secrets, despite his parents, despite his aspirations…he loved Hero and always would.
They fell to the floor, limbs tangled and the sound of the buzzer ringing in their ears. Ron pushed himself up and began working at the knots that bound his friend. Hero looked up at him with amazement. He looked to meet her eyes and realized the dark gaze wasn't directed at him but at someone standing above. The roar of the cheers only registered then and Ron suddenly realized why he had been able to "fly". Steve smiled down at them with a flash of white teeth.
"Sorry about that Miss," Stronghold's voice could not help but drip heroism, "I hope you weren't too frightened."
"No," Hero managed, finally finding her tongue, "I wasn't frightened. After all," she looked at Ron and Steve looked away to wave at the cheering students, "Hero's hero was here." And she smiled at Ron.
A shadow fell across them and the science teacher pointed a blaster at Hero's head and pulled the trigger. Her dark face fell sideways, eyes closed and memory now efficiently wiped. Ron didn't know what to think as two adults carried her away to be safely transported home. It was all over, and despite Hero's words…she would remember nothing about what had happened.
Ron pulled at the abandoned rope with a frustrated scowl. His fingers played with the burned end, the place where the rope had torn free from the ceiling. His features froze for a moment and he looked for Baron. The senior was walking towards the shower room his face impassive. A burned end of rope…he could have been firing at Steve and missed but Ron knew it wasn't so. For his own reasons Baron had done as much to free Hero as Steve had. Stronghold was not the only hero today. Ron silently saluted Baron's back and smiled.
A week later, Ron could be found nervously raising a hand to knock at Hero's door. Mrs. Wilson scowled angrily from a window across the street.
AN: So this is my entry for the challenge. I had a lot of fun writing about Ron as his character is often under-valued.