Story Title: Hero

Chapter Title: A New Dawn

Author: NightRider9

Summary: Connor is finally deemed stable enough to attend high school with the rest of the Zenith Team, but he soon finds out that high school isn't what it used to be. Story better than summary! Rated T for possible later chapters. Connor/OC

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Columbia Pictures and to the writers and producers and whoever else I may have forgotten to mention. The only things I claim to own are my own characters and the plot of this story.

The red alarm clock on the table beside the bed seemed stuck on 6:25. Five minutes before he would have to get up and get dressed. Five minutes before he would have to double check his bag to make sure Jack hadn't slipped something in while he wasn't looking. Five minutes before he would have to get on a bus with the rest of the team and leave the safety of Jack's house.

Today would have been like any other day, except for the fact that Connor Shepard would be starting high school halfway through what would be his junior year, a little under two hours from the very moment the clock turned to 6:30.

But, until those few moments passed, Connor was content to lie in his bed and stare at the ceiling, thoughts bouncing around in his head. He had been up most of the night, tossing and turning to try and get comfortable. But after nearly three hours, he decided it wasn't worth it to try and force himself to sleep. It just wasn't going to happen. Instead, he found himself wondering what modern day high schools were like. He had only attended public school for a couple of years before he and Jack had been selected for the Zenith Project. And then, as Jack liked to say, the rest was history.

Connor didn't think he could dread anything more than when he had to face General Larraby and Dr. Grant after thirty years and everything he had done. At least until Marsha pronounced that he was cleared psychologically to attend school with the rest of the team.

"Connor!" he winced as he heard Marsha's shrill voice calling for him from the hallway. He was in the cafeteria searching for a snack. "Oh, there you are! I have some great news!"

"You found that comic book you wanted me to sign?" He said dully, not even bothering to look at her.

It still amazed him some that she was so fascinated by what had happened thirty years ago. He'd signed most of her comic books already, carefully scribbling his chicken scratch signature next to his brother's. "Well, yes," she had sheepishly told him. "But I have something even better than that. Three guesses, kay?"

Connor sighed. "You and Jack are getting married?"

Marsha paid no attention, instead ignoring his next two tries and blurting out her news as Connor took a sip of a Coca-Cola he'd found. "You get to go to high school!"

Coke splattered all over Marsha's white lab coat as Connor spit it out. "What?" he managed as he wiped his arm across his chin to wipe off some of the drink.

"You get to go to school! Your psych evals cleared, and you'll start in a couple of weeks, as soon as you take your placement exams!"

His eyes flew open and he sat up. Must have dozed off, he thought as he glanced over at the glowing red numbers that read 6:29. Hmm, maybe it's frozen- his thought was interrupted by a loud blaring BEEP!

His fist slammed down on the off button much harder than he meant for it to. The alarm abruptly cut off as the plastic housing of the clock cracked. Sometimes he hated just how powerful he actually was. Even without his powers he was pretty strong. After a moment, he ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

I really need to get a haircut, Connor thought as he stood. The clothes Summer and Dylan had picked out for him the night before were laid over the back of his desk chair. The t-shirt shirt was red with a black stripe across the front, and he quickly slid it on over his muscular torso. His two "fashion experts" had lectured him for nearly an hour about how to dress right. Shirt untucked, hair unbrushed and messy, and blue jeans sagging much more than he would have liked, Connor grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Jack quipped as his little brother arrived in the kitchen. "You ready for your first day of school?"

"No," Connor replied as he slid into his seat at the table. Jack set a fresh plate of mostly unburnt pancakes in front of the younger boy, then took a seat across from him.

"Can't go to school on an empty stomach. Come on, eat up. I made sure not to catch the pan on fire this time," he said.

Connor laughed at that. It was definitely true, his brother's bachelor days had definitely not helped his cooking. At least his brother had gotten up early. Usually Jack slept in when the team was in school. He picked up the fork Jack handed him and slowly began to eat his breakfast. But after just a few bites, Connor knew he wouldn't be able to finish it. His stomach churned every time he thought of the day ahead.

Suddenly Jack's phone buzzed and he flipped it open. "Bus'll be here in t-minus five minutes," he told Connor. "Better finish up."

"I'm done," Connor replied as he pushed his plate away.

"Well, I'm not going to let all of this delicious food go to waste," Jack said as he pulled the plate of half-eaten pancakes toward him and dug in.

Connor stood up and grabbed his bag up off the floor. "I'm going to go wait outside," he said.

It was beginning to get way too hot in that tiny kitchen for him. Jack nodded, mouth full of flapjacks. Connor rolled his eyes and opened the opened the front door. The morning air was at least ten degrees cooler than it had been inside the house, and there was a fresh breeze blowing. A few puffy clouds scurried across the blue sky. Connor took a deep breath and sat of the front steps to wait nervously.

It didn't take long for the big yellow school bus to pull up to the end of the front walk. Fortunately, Connor was one of the first people it picked up so it was mostly empty. When he stepped up, the bus driver gave him a friendly smile. "I think a few of your friends are excited that you're riding today," the old man told Connor.

"Connor!" he heard Cindy's shout and turned to look for her.

Her bright blonde hair just barely peeked over the top of one of the seats in the back. Behind her he could see Dylan and Summer sitting in the same seat, heads bent over something. Tucker sat in the seat across from them. "Connor, Connor, Connor!" Cindy said as she bounced up and down in the seat. "You can come sit by me!"

He carefully made his way through the rows of seats to where his friends were seated. There were only a few other people on the bus besides the rest of the team so there were plenty of empty seats. He took the one across from Cindy and in front of Tucker and set his bag beside him. "Connor! Are you ready for your first day of school?" Cindy asked as she sat on her knees in her seat and stared at him.

"I guess," he replied. "What's it like?"

"Awful," Dylan said over the back of the seat.

"It's not that bad!" Summer said. "He's just trying to make you nervous. Ignore him."

The bus lurched forward, and Connor, unprepared, flew into the seat ahead of him. Cindy giggled as he picked his bag up and slid back up into the seat. "Some warning would have been nice," he told her.

"Oh, this is Dahlia and Allison's house," Tucker said as he stuck his head up over the seat back. "They're in the same grade as you."

"Twins?"

"No, cousins. I think they're like three months apart or something. But during the winter, Allison's moves in with Dahlia's family so she can go to a city school. They usually sit back here with us."

"They're really nice," Cindy added.

Connor watched as a girl his age stepped onto the bus. She made her way to the very back and sat down. Still the bus didn't move. "She's on her way," the girl in the back called, annoyed.

At that moment, the door of the house opened and another girl flew out. In one hand, she was carrying her open backpack, stuffed to the brim with stuff. In the other she held a pair of old brown boots. Her brown hair was braided back and flew out behind her as she raced down the walk and onto the bus. "Sorry, Mr. Flannigan!" she apologized as she made it up the steps. "Couldn't find my boots."

As the bus began to move again, the girl made her way down the aisle and took the seat right behind Summer and Dylan. The bag and boots sat beside her on the seat. "Allie, why do you have to set those things on the seat? They smell awful!"

Connor turned to look at the two newcomers. "I'm sorry they don't come with air fresheners, Lia. They're work boots, not fashion boots," the brown haired girl replied as she wrinkled her nose at the other girl.

Cindy was sitting halfway out in the aisle, eyes fixed on the boots. "Are those real cowboy boots, Allie?" she asked.

The brown haired girl, who Connor took to be Allie, nodded. "Yep. My dad bought them for me when I went back home last summer. You wanna see them?"

Cindy was up off her seat in a flash. She threw her backpack at Connor as she passed, the force of the throw forcing him back against the window. He threw the bag off and set it next to his own bag before poking his head above the seat. Cindy had her little feet stuck in the boots, which looked absolutely ginormous on her. "I don't think they fit all the great," she said as she slid them off. Allie laughed.

"Well, maybe you can get a smaller pair and be a little cowgirl," she said smiling.

"Oh, I have a cowgirl outfit. It has a hat and a white shirt with pink pockets and pink fringe on the sleeves. And I have pink pants that go with it too! And pink boots with sparkles on them!" Cindy told the older girl. "I wore it for Halloween last year. And Christmas. I just really like to wear it, right Connor?"

She turned to him, seeking confirmation of how often she wore her pink cowgirl costume. It was obviously her favorite thing to wear, because she had worn it nearly everywhere but to school. He nodded slowly and cautiously met Allie's curious gaze. "Who's this Cindy?" she asked after a moment.

The little girl smile grew bigger. "This is Connor! Come on, I'll introduce you!" She grabbed the other girl's wrist and dragged her off her seat. Then she shoved the two backpacks next to Connor into the floor and sat Allie down next to him. "Allie, this is my friend Connor. Connor, this is Allie. She's a real live cowgirl!"

"Uh, hi?" he said as an embarrassed heat crept into his cheeks.

Allie, thankfully, looked just as embarrassed. "Hi," she replied as she gently rubbed her wrist where Cindy had grabbed it. "Nice to meet you. I, uh, take it you're new, huh?"

Before Connor could reply, Cindy blurted, "Yeah! He was stuck in some sort of alternate dimension for like thirty years and before that he was really bad but now he's all good and he's on the Zenith team with me and Dylan and Tucker and Summer!"

Tucker snickered from his seat as Connor stared speechless at Cindy. Allie was obviously searching for words to say as well. Finally, Dylan stuck his head back over the seat. "It's not as bad as she makes it sound. He's really cool. And he's in the same grade as you."

Connor could see that the new topic was something she could relate to. "Really? Do you have your class schedule yet?"

"Uh, yeah, actually I do. Summer picked it up for me yesterday. Let's see," he replied, picking his bag up off the floor and digging through it until he found his schedule. He handed it to her.

"Hey, we both have Kilby for Physics first period! Cool!" she said instantly. "And uh, oh! You'll have third lunch since you have Campbell for fifth, that's the same lunch I'm in. But you'll probably want to hang with Dylan and Summer, understandable. And we have the last two periods together, Bryant for Pre-Calc and Hayes for Ag Science."

She glanced up at him after reading that. "You're taking Ag Science? In those tennis shoes? Maybe I should let you borrow my boots. We're working with the cows today. And you probably don't want to get your sneakers dirty."

From the back of the bus, Lia's voice called, "Allie, I am not letting you bring another dirty pair of shoes into my parent's house! Cow crap stinks!"

Allie laughed a little and smiled at him. "Okay, fair warning, it does stink a bit. Maybe worse if you're not used to it. But you'll get through it. Don't worry. And if you need any help, I'll be right there. Don't forget, it's Monday, so there's no homeroom today. We'll go straight to first period. Oh, hey, we're here."

Connor whipped around to see the tall brick building that was Hoover Central High School. 'How had the drive been so short?' he wondered as he zipped his bag and stood up.

Allie had retrieved her bag and boots and was motioning him ahead of her in the aisle. As they stepped off the bus onto the pavement, Dylan patted him on the back.

"Welcome to high school. Good luck."

Author's Note: Hey! The first chapter rewritten that has been sitting on my computer for a while is finally finished! This revision gives me somewhere to go for the next chapter, which I am already working on, I promise! Hopefully my next update won't take quite as long… But anywho, Reviews are greatly appreciated (especially positive ones!) and feel free to drop me a message to make me feel guilty if I take too long on getting another chapter up. Thanks to everyone who has reviews and followed and favorited so far! -NightRider