:D :D :D You guys have absolutely no idea how happy you have made me. I freaking LOVE you guys! Thank you so much for the alerts, faves and most definetly the reviews! I can't believe that you guys liked my idea so much! :D I'm glad that I can create something different from all the other Static Shock fanfics on here. Hopefully I keep everyone happy from what I'm going to do.

Oh, and for those who are wondering when Francis/Hotstreak is coming in...It's sooner than you think! :D I think you guys will love my idea for Francis.

The title of this chapter was inspired by Scrubs. The theme song I believe is called "I'm no Superman". It suits this chapter very well...

Now, Enjoy the Chapter! This one will go further into Virgil and Gear's friendship. Also, Mr. Hawkins will appear!

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Chp. 2 I'm no Superman.

The summer was coming to an end as September was slowly easing into October. Classes had just finally started to become challenging as the second semester of the year came rolling by. Virgil was given homework almost every night and if it wasn't for Gear, he probably wouldn't have gotten such high scores. To think that his computer could be so useful! Gear always had information Virgil needed for his homework and everything the A.I. had produced was a 100% accurate. His homework was being finished in record time of just thirty minutes instead of four hours. Life was GOOD.

Tonight, he had finally had absolutely no homework from any of his classes. He had completed everything that was planned for the week in one single night. Usually on Sunday evenings after Family Night, Virgil would take out his planner and start doing his homework that the teachers had warned him in the previous week that was due the upcoming week. Gear had suggested the idea so that Virgil could be accustomed to a scheduled homework plan and become more disciplined. And of course, Gear was right, as always. Virgil had more time for his family and for himself, and he spent almost every night he could talking to the A.I. in his computer as he browsed the internet checking his Myspace and Facebook.

"So what is this...Myspace...?" Gear softly said as he watched Virgil click on old messages in his inbox through the screen next to him, "Is this a social network? I must say, this is filled with viruses..."

Virgil grinned as he watched Gear stare at the internet window with his Myspace page on it. "You wouldn't believe how many people have one, Gear." The darker male laughed as Gear watched as Virgil clicked on one of his friend's page. In a picture on his friends profile, a girl was wearing a white and black polka doted bikini. The paler of the two tilted his head and frowned, "It's a way to make new friends and to chat with old ones."

"This girl....She barely has clothes on...." Gear shook his head, "What in the world....Do normal human girls usually dress like this?"

"No...Not usually....Her name's Frieda, she's a classmate of is a picture of her at the beach. She just recently posted some of her pictures of her summer vacation. She hasn't had time to do it since shes been on the road so much..." The A.I.'s eyes widened as he learned a new piece of information and nodded. "You see, there are actually good kinds of girls out there...Girls that actually take care of themselves and uphold themselves as ladies. This chick here.... I've...Kinda got a thing for her...." Virgil logged off his Myspace, "But don't tell anyone that."

Gear stared up into Virgil's brown eyes in confusion, "Well, how come you don't tell her?"

Virgil smiled a little, "Because I'm not sure if she likes me back. I'm thinking about asking her to the movies this weekend possibly. Maybe I'll ask her to be my girlfriend if I'm lucky enough." Gear nodded and watched as Virgil logged onto his Facebook and started to talk to Frieda.

After a couple of minutes of sending back replies on his Facebook, Virgil logged off and closed out of the internet completely. He leaned back into his chair and stared at his A.I. with an amused look on his face, "So Gear, is there any girl A.I. you're interested in? Hm?" Virgil leaned down to get close to the screen, making Gear laugh while a perverted look crossed the human's face, "Does she talk nerdy to you and play techno music while trying to get some?"

A loud burst of laughter came from Virgil's computer. He grinned and leaned back as he watched Gear start dying out laughing. It took Gear almost five minutes to finally calm down and he stared up into his masters eyes and grinned, "Virgil, where did you get this ridiculous question from? The movies?"

Virgil shrugged, "...So...Can you guys really...?"

The A.I. sat down on the tool bar on the bottom of the screen, "Well...no...I mean we have the body parts and all, but there really isn't a need for use to...well...use them...So to speak. We cannot create life like humans can." Gear scratched the back of his head, "Normally, the only A.I.'s in Mr. Alva's computers are the C.P.U. A.I.'s such as myself. However, there have been some cases that there are others within the computer system."

This caught Virgil's interest and he leaned in once more, "So there are more of you in my computer?"

"Well...I guess...But I haven't met one yet...There are all kinds of A.I.'s. Certain programs can be A.I.'s such as the Internet can be an A.I." Virgil's eyes widened, "Also, viruses can be A.I.'s, but those are the most deadly. Usually the Firewall takes them out before they can reach any computer system."

Sitting back into his seat, Virgil crossed his arms and said, "What happens if one actually survived the Firewall?"

"It could mean a total and complete shut down of the computer and the death of it." Gear stated with an emotionless look on his face. The darker male was slightly disturbed by how calm Gear was by revealing this piece of information to him, but he supposed that his A.I. had complete confidence that he wasn't about to die any time soon from an A.I. Virus attack. "There's no problem, I'm safe and so is your computer. The Firewall just killed about twenty viruses that was trying to attack the computer."

Grinning, Virgil patted the top of his computer as if trying to pat Gear on the head, "Gear my man, you are some kind of awesome, you know that?"

Said A.I. blushed slightly at Virgil's kind words, "Thank you. You're really nice, Virgil."

"Anytime, Gear. I mean, you've helped me with so much. I don't know what I'd do without you. Seriously, I wish I could do something nice for you in return for all you've done."

Tapping his chin lightly in thought, Gear smiled and he tapped the screen at Virgil, "Oh! Did you buy the newest Plantman issue?" No sooner as Plantman had escaped Gear's lips, Virgil was looking through his shelf in the corner of the room for said issue. Seconds later he returned and he watched the A.I.'s whole being become lighter and happier. "Sweet! Can I read it Virgil? Can I?"

"Sure thing, buddy. Just tell me when to flip the page and I'll do so." Virgil opened the comic book and he heard a cheerful "Yay" escaped through the screen as he pressed the comic book's first two pages against it.

Virgil had learned over the past couple of weeks that his A.I. was a comic book geek just like himself. He had learned this valuable piece of information while reading Plantman issue number thirty two after his homework one night. Gear was running a scan of the computer and was watching Virgil reading it intently and had asked what his user was reading so enthusiastically. The human showed the A.I. what he was was reading and ever since then, Gear had taken a huge interest in comic book heroes.

He was glad that he had someone else to share his love of comic books. It wasn't like Virgil didn't have any other friends, it's just that none of them were into the stories and heroes as much as Virgil. There was one hero that he absolutely worshiped, and that was the Green Latern. No one, in Virgil's book, could compare to his hero, not even Plantman. The young man had dreamed ever since he was little that he would become a hero just like his one day.

"Oh...I love how creative you humans can be! This is wonderful!" Gear excitedly exclaimed as Virgil flipped to the last pages finally. Once Gear had finished reading them, Virgil closed the comic and placed it beside the keyboard on the desk. He watched as his A.I. swayed slightly with a sincere happy look on his face. "I love how the artwork just pops out and reaches for your attention...And the story! Oh, it's to die for!"

"You love comics, don't you?" A chuckle escaped the human's lips as Gear jumped slightly and scratched the back of his head softly.

"Y-Yes...I do..They're...They're awesome...Tell me, Virgil...Are there super heroes in the real world?" The A.I.'s eyes stared deeply into the human's, hopeful and full of child like wonder.

Heroes...He wished there were actual heroes. The world would be in a better place if there was someone to protect it. Like the Green Lantern, or Superman, hell, even Batman... But they weren't real, they were fake, they were fictional. There was no one in the world gifted with special powers. There was no one gifted with the power to swoop in and save the day and save lives. Sure there was the police and the fire department and they saved plenty of lives...But they couldn't save some...

They couldn't save his own mother....

He felt a pressure rise into his throat and Virgil smiled, pain was present in it, however, Gear couldn't quite pinpoint what the strange emotion in Virgil's smile was. He suppose that he could say something to Gear that would give him some hope that the outside world, the human world, was somewhat good. After all, Gear wasn't real, it didn't matter if he told one white lie.

One lie couldn't hurt.

"Sure Gear, there's plenty of heroes. They keep the streets protected and keep the bad guys in jail, like Plantman." Gear seemed satisfied with his answer and smiled brightly.

The A.I. looked down and smiled, "You know...If I was ever real, I would be a super hero." Virgil looked somewhat confused as Gear grinned up at him, "I would save the world with my intelligence. I wouldn't need super strength or anything like that."

Dark lips parted as a laugh escaped, "I always wanted to be a super hero." Virgil curled up his fists and grinned, "I'd always imagined that I'd swoop in, take out the bad guy, save the girl and live in infamy." He flexed his arms and strikes a pose which earned a hearty laugh from Gear. When he was done flexing, he closed in on the screen and stared at Gear's small form through the screen. "We could be a tag team. You and me. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"It's an excellent idea." Both of the males grinned and laughed once more.

The next day Virgil awoke to the smell of Sharon's "special breakfast suprise" and the sound of the television downstairs. The youngest of the Hawkins had spent most of the night talking to Gear about heroes and life in general and didn't get to sleep till three in the morning. If it hadn't been for Sharon, Virgil still would've been awake and talking to the A.I. He slowly rose from his bed, stretched, and yawned at the same time.

Today he had to run some errands for his pops and help out at the center. He enjoyed working with his dad and helping out the kids that often visited there. Virgil was proud to have such a positive role model as a father and he wouldn't trade him for the world. He loved his family over his own life and even though he wished he could trade Sharon for a new sister (he really wished he could), Virgil knew he wouldn't because he knew deep down she geniunely cared for him.

As he made his way downstairs, the smell of Sharon's "special breakfast surprise" got the best of him and he started to gag. Sharon glared fiercely at him as he sat at the table, covering his nose and wincing as his older sister threw out a burnt egg. Virgil looked over towards a pile of food, which looked strangely green for some odd reason...

"Sharon, what in the heck is that?" Brown eyes widened as witness the food slightly moving, "And did it just move!?"

Slamming the frying pan down, Sharon turned her heel and glared into Virgil's playful stare, "Virgil, that is breakfast. It's edible, now shut up and eat." She hissed as she forcibly grabbed the plate with the weird green food and placed it infront of Virgil on the table. She crossed her arms and watched as her younger brother take a long gulp.

"Y-You sure....? M-Maybe you should save this for Adam when he comes over today..."

Sometimes, Virgil hated his sister, no, despised his sister. An evil smirk graced her lips as she placed her hands on her hips, "No, I made this just for you baby brother. Now eat up! You wouldn't want to waste your big sister's slaving---"

God bless him his pops! The older Hawkins had overheard the conversation and intervened right on cue, "Virgil, son, I need you to help me with something."

"OH THANK GOD!" Virgil exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat and rushed towards the entrance of the kitchen to where his dad was. Sharon looked absolutely PISSED that she wasn't granted to torture Virgil. The two men left her alone and she stood there silently fuming. Up above, she heard Virgil cry out, "GIVE IT TO ADAM, HE'LL APPRECIATE IT MORE!"

Grinding her teeth, she grabbed the plate and walked towards the sink. She opened the cabinet beneath the sink where the trash can was and started to scrape the "food" off it into the can. "I'll get you next time..." She evilly grinned. Oh how big sisters are cruel!

Meanwhile upstairs, Mr. Hawkins watched as Virgil turned on his computer for his dad. The older male actually had something legitimate to ask Virgil and that was to check his stocks on the stock market. As the computer came to life, Gear came onto the screen and a smile graced his lips as he greeted both the males.

"Good morning how may I assist you?" Gear said to Mr. Hawkins.

Mr. Hawkins looked deeply impressed and he looked at Virgil with an approving nod, "I still can't get over how impressed I am of your computer, Virgil." Mr. Hawkins said as he watched Gear watch them, "It amazes me that technology now a days has advanced to this level. You should be proud of yourself son, you worked hard and this is what you get."

The youngest Hawkins had a proud smirk on his lips, "What can I say? You inspired me pops."

"You know I would've bought you a computer as a graduation present. You didn't have to pay for this out of your own pocket--"

Virgil cut him off quickly, "It's fine dad. I just wanted to save you an extra bill that's all. Seriously, all the hard work was worth it."

Happiness filled Mr. Hawkins as he stared deep into Gear's eyes. Gear patiently waited for him to give a command and finally he spoke, "Gear, could you please look up the information on the stock GOOG?" His eyes widened as Gear opened small windows around him and started to punch in the information presented to him. After a couple of seconds a large window with a line chart and statics appeared.

"The stock GOOG has increased +10.50 this month. It has increased +2.90%. Anything else I can help you with Mr. Hawkins?"

"See? I told you pops, it was totally worth it. Gear's a miracle!" Mr. Hawkins agreed with him and thanked Gear as he clicked out of the window.

The older male turned to face his son and patted him on the shoulder, "You did a fine job picking out a computer. A real fine job. He'll make our lives easier that's for sure." They were both alarmed when Gear gasped. The two humans turned to see Gear clicking and looking at the minature screens surrounding him.

"Gear, what's wrong?" Virgil said worriedly.

The A.I. frantically finished examining the windows and closed them. He looked up at the two users and nodded, "I'm sorry, but something has happened to the Firewall. I must attend to it immediately. Please keep the computer going, I shall be back shortly." A strange, circular vortex appeared behind Gear. It was completely black with neon green spirals and it seemed to suck Gear in and teleported him to some destination.

The Hawkins stared at each other in confusion, neither one of them spoke as Gear left the desktop. Whatever was wrong with the problem, it had worried the A.I. enough to leave. Virgil frowned as Mr. Hawkins started to ask more questions about Gear and the computer. He answered every single one, but for some odd reason, he felt distracted, slightly scared for Gear. He hoped there was nothing wrong...

Hopefully, whatever the problem was, it wasn't that bad.

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I wonder what could've happened to the Firewall? What do you think? Well, you're going to have to stay tuned! Please review! Critique if you will, NO FLAMES PLEASE. If you have a question, I will answer in the next chapter! :D