Here it is sorry for the delay, so enjoy.
Chapter 4: It's what I go to school for
Mount Justice, 3.47 pm, Sunday
"Do I really have to do this?" Drake asked.
"It's not an option Drake, you're going back to school." Batman said.
"Ain't it too late for a guy like me?" Drake asked.
"Remember that test you took? It was designed to show if you were ready for this year and you passed easily so starting tomorrow you're attending Happy Harbour High School." Batman said as Drake could not believe it.
"Ok I'll go but can I avoid taking Math?" Drake asked as Batman just nodded his head in irritation.
0-0-0-0-0
Happy Harbour High School, 8.45 am, Monday
It was Drake's first day back in school and he was going in with both Conner and Megan.
"Don't worry Drake me and Conner will be here to help you fit in, it's scary at first but you'll get used to it as we did." Megan said assuring him.
Conner gave him a silent nod of agreement as Drake knew he could trust them.
"Okay my first day of being back in school…better not make a complete tool of myself." Drake said.
As then a boy and girl came up to them.
"Hey guys!" the boy said to them.
"Hey." Conner said.
"Megan, we've got practice later hope you revised the moves for the game in two weeks?" the girl asked.
As then both of them noticed Drake standing behind them.
"Hey who's this dude?" the boy asked.
"Hi I'm Drake Hawkins, I just started here." Drake introduced himself.
"Hi I'm Marvin." Marvin introduced himself. "And this is my sister Wendy." he introduced her to him.
"Hi Drake, nice to meet you." Wendy said.
"Thank you good to meet you both." Drake said.
"So you heard about the…" Marvin was cut off as approached a big guy.
"Kent…practice later, hope you washed our gear." he said in a very deep and intimidating voice.
Conner looked up at the big guy and gave him that stare. "Yeah…all done." he said.
Drake could see that both guys did not like one another as the big guy's eyes shifted over to him.
"Who's the new guy?" he asked.
"Oh Mal, this is Drake Hawkins he just started today." Marvin said introducing him.
"Hi nice to meet you." Drake said extending his hand out to him as he looked down on him and just walked off. "Uh okay guess I'll see you later." he said guessing he wasn't impressed.
"Hey Drake what class you got first?" Marvin asked him.
"World History." Drake said as he brought out his schedule and looked at it.
"You're with us for that, it should be good." Marvin said.
0-0-0-0-0
The day had gone okay without a hitch and Drake was liking school a little more than he used to but then again with his newfound friends by his side made it easier to adjust.
It was now lunchtime and they all sat together eating the day's special fish tacos.
"Man this is way better than eating out of the garbage!" Drake said as he turned everyone's heads at the table as he realised what he said. "Uh metaphorically speaking of course!" he said as they just shrugged at that and went back to eating.
Breathing a sigh of relief at that Drake went back to eating.
"Drake you have to be more careful to what you say to people, they could get suspicious about you." Megan said within his mind.
"Sorry mom." Drake said.
"Could be worse…he could've blurted out he was living in HQ." Conner said.
"Hey look I'm new to this cut me some slack here!" Drake complained.
"We know but you'll get used to it Drake." Megan said.
"So Drake where do you come from?" Wendy asked.
"I did live in Gotham but I moved out here with my relatives." Drake said as he had to get his new backstory right to every detail.
"What happened to your folks?" Marvin asked.
"They died when I was a baby, never knew them." Drake said as again he relayed what he was told to say about his past.
"I'm so sorry Drake, I mean that just sucks." Marvin said.
"Yeah but you get over it and move on." Drake said.
As then the conversation was interrupted by a commotion over at the jocks table and saw that some unfortunate sophomore had spilled drink on the meal of Mal Duncan as he then grabbed the young boy by the back of his shirt and lifted him up.
"What the hell do you think your doing? No one messes up my meal and gets away with it!" Mal said as he was about to pound the kid into next week.
Conner looking on wanted to throw Mal right through the wall as he knew he had to control his temper.
As then the face of Mal Duncan was covered in chocolate pudding and thoroughly humiliating the football ace as he wiped it off him he looked and saw the culprit in his sights.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!" Mal shouted across the hall.
As that was directed at Drake and he was like a deer caught in headlights.
"It slipped…out of my hand and onto your face." Drake said as he knew what was coming next.
"YOUR DEAD NEWBIE!" Mal shouted darting after him as Drake ran for the hills.
0-0-0-0-0
"Is your friend some mental patient that's on day release?" Marvin asked.
The group could not believe what had happened almost an hour now ago between Drake and Mal Duncan.
"I'm starting to think he is." Megan asked.
"Mal looked like a massive pudding gone wrong." Conner said concealing his smile.
"I don't know why but trouble seems to find you two all the time." Wendy said as then from around the corner was a panting Drake and it seemed he was still running from Mal.
"Drake…your still in one piece." Marvin said.
"Uh…I…I…gave…him…the…slip." Drake said in-between breaths.
"What possessed you to do something like that?" Megan asked.
"He was going to pound that freshman over nothing and I guessed I just wasn't thinking and I just threw my pudding cup at him and he focused his rage at me and…here we are." Drake said as they could see why he did what he did.
"That was noble…stupid but noble." Marvin said as it reminded him of the time Conner stood face to face with Mal on his first day.
"I guess I wasn't thinking on how it would turn out, so what class is next?" Drake asked.
"English, hope you know how to spell." Wendy said.
They walked on as he had a mental conversation with Conner and Megan.
"I know your trying to fit in here but that was really a silly thing to do, especially if it's making a huge guy like Mal Duncan mad at you." Megan said.
"His face covered in pudding…priceless." Conner said loving the fact his rival was humiliated by Drake.
"If you're going to do stuff like this at least be in costume…HELLO MEGAN!" Megan said having one of her moments of realisation.
"What?" Drake asked.
"You need a costume!" Megan said.
"Uh no offence Meg but as I said before I'm no hero…I'm a coward." Drake said once again admitting his cowardice.
"You just a took a bullet for a complete stranger not so long ago." Conner said.
"And didn't you kick both Conner and Artemis's butts in training?" Megan said reminding him of his abilities.
"Okay I did do those things but you guys are heroes…I was just in the wrong place, wrong time." Drake said as he thinks it was bad luck he got run over into this.
"Still I'd say it's destiny you were, you're meant to be a hero." Megan said trying to encourage him.
"Can we talk about this later, I'm still a bit tired from running from that gorilla." Drake said as Conner mentally chuckled to himself calling Mal that.
"Wonder if you'll get yourself a mentor?" Megan asked.
"Mentor?" Drake asked.
"You'll see soon." Conner said.
0-0-0-0-0
Mount Justice, 15.12 p.m. , three days later
The team were all training including Drake who was encouraged by his friends and their combat trainer as he was watching both Robin and Aqualad fight.
"So Drake got a hero name yet?" Wally asked as he was eating a candy bar.
"I thought I said I was no hero, I mean I don't have a costume or a cool hero to live up to like all of you do." Drake said.
"It's not about having just the costume or having a hero to live up to, it's about being the future protection of the world…no matter who you are." Megan said.
"Even it's being a homeless bum you could go and be their hero." Artemis said as he knew she was trying to insult him.
"Could do that Arty but it's no fun if it doesn't bug you, so maybe I should stick around longer." Drake said.
As then Wally noticed something underneath Drake's right sleeve of his shirt.
"Hey is that what I think it is?" Wally said pointing to it as he lifted it for a closer look.
"Wha- uh sorry what's so interesting that your taking my shirt off?" Drake asked.
"Oh my-is that a…yes it is." Artemis said also looking.
"What are you both looking-oh you have one of those things, hello Megan!" Megan said also noticing what it was.
Drake then remembered what was there and knew he had to tell them what was there and why.
"Okay before you ask all the questions I did it for some cash, these guys said if I got it they would pay me fifty bucks now with that kind of money I had food for the next few days so I said "why the hell not?" I mean whatever they want me to get couldn't be as bad as starving." Drake explained.
"But it's only a tattoo of some symbol." Wally said.
"Baywatch, it's Japanese and it's the symbol for "Senshi" which means "Warrior" in English." Artemis said as her knowledge in languages came into play.
"Really? Never knew what it meant but the thing is faded and it's not like I was planning on re-inking it." Drake said.
"Hawkins…word." Black Canary said as he went to see her.
He did that and saw that there was someone standing next to her.
"Drake meet your mentor…Ted Grant A.K.A Wildcat." she introduced him.
"Your serious about making me into a hero?" Drake asked still trying to think he wasn't hero material.
"Kid even though most of us have powers it don't take fancy powers to get the job done, these are better than any power." Wildcat said showing his fist.
"Ok I'm going to leave you in his hands, Ted try not to break him." Canary said as he smirked and she went back to training the team leaving them alone.
"So what do you have planned for me?" Drake asked.
"Let's just say games are over and time you did things my way." Wildcat said as he led him out of the lair.
0-0-0-0-0
They then arrived inside a telephone booth and both then walked to what he saw as a local gym as they then entered it and Drake saw it was an old boxing gym and the place had seen better days as Ted took Drake over to the training area.
"Ok kid, today is the day you become a Super Hero In Training." Ted said as he threw a pair of boxing gloves to him.
"Wait I'm an S…H…I…-
"DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY! No cussing in training." Ted said as Drake reluctantly dropped to the floor doing so.
"Oh…this really…hurts!" Drake said in between push ups.
What is it they see in this kid? He's a complainer, he don't look like much of a fighter and yet he don't want to be a hero…Who is this kid really?
Ted thought to himself as Drake after an hour finished his punishment and was wobbling back on his feet.
"Now with that done let's start this session with some striking." Ted said as he set up the huge punching bag.
Well whoever he is…I hope he's ready for it all.
Drake has a mentor in Wildcat, what can the senior hero teach him? Will Drake finally become a hero?
What do you think? Reviews please!