On the way home I contemplated my situation. I now have superpowers and I just met a potential ally or a villain. I had to be careful and I needed to get answers. This 'Chiron' might know what the spear is or how it gave me powers. I had to go.

I arrived a bit before five on high alert. I found an empty bench and sat patiently. I held my walking cane tightly and also held a small knife in my jacket pocket.

"Hello."

I nearly jumped out of my seat. It was just Mr. Cook or Chiron.

" I guess I should explain." He sighed.

"You should," I said.

"Well, how do I explain this? It sounded a lot better in my head." He mused aloud. "I'm guessing based on the book you were reading in class that you know about myths? Right?"

"Yep, I know some Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse myths."

"Splendid. I am the centaur Chiron."

"No way. He can't be. It's not possible."

The voices had told me myths but they told them like they were stories. Like they happened. Since I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating that night, there is a possibility. It was almost too good to be true.

"You really are Chiron. The one who trained Achilles, Jason, and Hercules." I breathed "You didn't die from that arrow?"

"Did you think that a poison arrow could kill someone as proficient in medicine as me?" Chiron chuckled.

"No offense but why are you in a wheelchair?" I politely asked.

"It's a good disguise."

I was sitting next to an immortal. Someone who lived in ancient civilizations. Why wasn't I asking more questions?

"If you're real Chiron, are there other centaurs as well?" I asked, eager to learn more.

"Yes, and Satyrs, Nymphs, Harpies and Sirens. Those are just the people from Greek mythology." Chiron explained.

He had to be kidding. The myths are real!

"Are the Greek Gods and Goddesses real?"

"They are not. They might have been at some point. The Greeks just correlated us with their gods."

I thought aloud"The ancient people were not dumb. We today just have a better understanding of the world. The gods had to be influenced by something."

"You are on the right path," Chiron confirmed what I had said. " Two years ago Thor came to Earth and just last year his brother Loki."

"There are other mythical people out there, why haven't I heard about them?" I questioned.

"Great question," Chiron said. "Around the time of the Greek Dark Ages, many leaders from different races held a secret meeting. Elves, Dwarves, Nymphs, Satyrs, and many more came. Humanity was evolving. They were growing stronger and they saw us as monsters. We were already a small group and we didn't want to be erased from existence. So, we planned to disappear. Over time we became stories. Stories became legend and legend became myth."

"Oh wow."

"We are still here Joy." Chiron continued. "We have used our magic to protect ourselves to hide. Entire kingdoms."

I could tell that Chiron was going on a history rant and I was listening to every word.

Chiron still had more to say"But we still felt like we should help the humans. So, we have been. In architecture, in symbols, in literature, in song. Magic is everywhere. That is your first lesson."

"Lesson?!" I was confused.

"Yes, lesson." He said matter of factly "You are to be my newest student."

"ME?!" I exclaimed "I'm eleven and I'm blind. I can't-"

"Oh, nonsense!" Chiron interrupted. "Achilles started training when he was nine."

"That's because the life expectancy was short!"

"No, no. Come tomorrow bring your spear."

I was just about to ask him when, where, and how but he had already vanished.

"Great," I muttered.

When I got home I was in a jumble of excitement and worry. Was what Chiron said true? If it is, what does this mean for my future? What would happen if he was lying? I was too excited to think very much about the latter one.

I didn't know what to think. The stories I love are true. I couldn't express how I felt. Beyond words and excitement.

I skipped to the display hallway and right to the case with the spear. I went to open the case but found a piece of paper taped to it. It had braille on it. I smiled as I read it. Chiron was tricky. The note had an address and a time on it. Now I just had to figure out how I was supposed to transport a gold spear that's taller than me around. An idea popped into my head and I ran off to go find that one closet that's filled with boxes. You know. After some digging, I found a box the right size. I set the box out where I would find it and got ready for bed. Just as I closed my eyes I realized that I didn't know how to get to that address.

I would have to ask for directions.

My stomach tied itself into a knot. I despise talking to people. Especially strangers.

I woke up to the annoying screaming of my alarm clock. I sighed as I smacked the off button. I pulled off the covers and headed to get breakfast. I tripped over the box that I forgot I put in the doorway. I grumbled to myself as I got cereal. I had to be at the address by 9:00 am. It was six right now. I had plenty of time. I was completely ready by 7:30. New York is big and it takes a while to travel on foot, I hoped that I could get there on time.

I nervously went out onto the streets to ask for directions. I felt nauseous just by thinking about talking to a stranger and the noise of the city didn't help. I started asking and most people didn't hear me or didn't care. Luckily a nice lady asked me if I was lost. I told her the address I had to get to. She offered to take me there since she was going the same way. She didn't talk to me, just led me to my spot. Once we got there I thanked her and she left. I was early by just a few minutes. I waited by the building for any sign of Chiron.

"Hello again." Said a voice right next to me.

My head snapped over toward the voice. "Hello, Chiron."

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"We are in the middle of the street." I pointed out.

He laughed. "I've bought an old warehouse that's not too far away. That's where you'll be training."

I followed him down the street.

"In the meantime, is there anything you would like to ask me?"

I grinned. I had already spent some time last night making a mental list.

"What species are there?"

"Ah, Nymphs are the most common as well as satyrs. You might have met one and never known." Chiron explained.

"Really?"

"Yes. Centaurs tend to stick to secluded places in forests like Elves. Dwarves are deep in the mountains. Harpies and Sirens live on deserted uncharted islands. There aren't as many Dragons, knights are to blame."

"There are dragons?" I said in disbelief.

"Yes." He confirmed. "They are very dangerous as well as other species and creatures. Goblins, Orcs, hydras. The creatures you do not want to find."

"Oh."

"Don't worry." Chiron comforted me. "We track the big ones."

I sighed internally. Some of those mythological monsters are terrifying and hard to kill.

"Any other questions?"

"Yes, how do you hide things?" I asked.

"Magic."

I nearly tripped over my own feet. "Did he just really say magic?"

I was slightly skeptical."Really? Because unfortunately, the last time I checked-"

Chiron started laughing. "Magic is science we don't understand."

"So, magic is science and science is magic." I was quiet for a moment. "Can I learn magic?"

"You could. Mythological magic runs in bloodlines. There are sorcerers and covens but learning their magic takes entire lifetimes to master."He explained.

"There are sorcerers!"

"Yes, we usually don't bug them and they don't bug us."

I nodded in understanding.

Earth has magic. I was beyond giddy. It sounded like there was more than one kind of magic. I wanted to learn everything. We continued in silence, the sounds of traffic and general city noise were getting softer.

"Alright we are here," Chiron announced.

The air still had that city smell to it. Multiple odors that you might not want to know what it is. The place had this dampness to it that you only get when you're close to the water.

The city sounds were still muffled. My head snapped to my right when I heard a train horn.

I guessed we were close to the waterway that separates New York From New Jersey.

"Can you get the door, please?" Chiron asked.

"Oh, sorry," I said, going around him to open the door.

"It's fine. I need to get out of this anyway. My hindquarters have fallen asleep." He continued as I gritted my teeth when the old metal door made a horrible screeching noise.

"Thank you." I held the door open for him. "I bought this place a while ago. Not sure why."

His voice suddenly had an echo as he moved into the building. I followed him in the door swinging closed.

My first impression of the building was that it was big. My footsteps echoed. It smelled quite damp, dusty, and old.

"What is this place?" I thought aloud.

"This used to be a warehouse. Now it's abandoned." Chiron explained. "What do you need to do to get the layout of a building?"

I was slightly shocked by this question. I never was asked this question. Either I learned it over time or when I was little, my mom made me do it.

"Oh, I just need to figure out where walls and doors are," I answered.

"You go do that. I'm going to set up."

I didn't know what he needed to set up but I started my routine of figuring out a building.

Before I could start Chiron offered. "I can take your box for you if you like."

I handed it to him a little warily. The spear was in that box and it was the only weapon I had. Even though he seemed trusting I wasn't quite sure.

I decided that I was going to trust him right now and whatever happened later I would have to deal with it.

I found the wall and put my free hand on it. The wall was made out of brick. On my other hand, I had my walking cane. I started walking alongside the wall. This is usually one of the first things I do when I know I'm going to spend a lot of time in one area. I memorize every little detail.

I continued and found out that this warehouse is just one big room. I did find some stairs that went down to a basement. I decided to investigate the basement later.

I headed back to where Chiron was.

"Ah, all done?"

I stepped back. His voice was coming from higher up than before. He was really tall.

He noticed this." Oh. I'm sorry I didn't mention it beforehand. Centaur form. I'm about seven feet tall."

He chuckled as I stood there shocked.

"He wasn't kidding. He is Chiron. Everything he's said is true." I thought.

"Let's get started. Do you know how to punch?"

I blinked after he said this, waking up from my thought rant. "No."

"That's fine."

He then proceeded to teach me how to punch. It was a lot trickier than I originally thought. He told me the correct stance and how to use momentum to get a better swing.

He told me that I wasn't going to be punching a punching bag until I could do it correctly and safely. I would have to do this with every move I learned so I don't get hurt and so we can adapt anything as we move along.

I appreciated this. I now knew how we were going to approach everything.

After learning that he had me sit down in a chair.

"Now I want to teach you the Language of The Birds."

"What is that?" I asked.

"The Language of The Birds is in many myths and believed to be a perfect language that birds used to communicate."

"So, you're going to teach me how to speak bird."

"It's more than that. It's the nymph's common language. Almost every species can speak it. "

"That's the only language they can speak?" I questioned.

"Oh no, they usually learn the language that humans speak in the area. If you come across one. They will speak English." He explained.

"Ah."

He then started talking in a completely different language. It was a fast-paced language. Like Japanese and Spanish. This language sounded suspicious like birds chirping.

"I'm guessing that was the Language of the Birds."

"Yes."

He then started teaching me the language. I didn't learn any words, we just worked on sounds. It was fascinating.

After a while, he said "It's getting late. I should lead you back home."

"Okay," I said wondering where the time went.

"First I want you to tell me about how you got your powers."

I took the spear out of its box and proceeded to tell him the events of Sunday evening. Chiron listened intently.

"May I see it?" He asked when I finished talking.

Before I could hand the spear to him I heard a familiar whisper.

"The voices are back." I blurted.

Chiron was silent as I listened to what they were saying. It was instructions. I didn't understand what they wanted me to do but, part of me did apparently.

The same feeling of power ran through me for a moment. During that, something else happened. There was another presence.

It was fire and flame. Life and death. Then it was gone.

"What just happened?" I tentatively asked.

"I believe you just summoned a phoenix," Chiron said uneasily like he wasn't even sure. "Can you try that again?"

I focused on what I had felt. That presence, the feeling of power. Then it happened again. After it disappeared I felt very tired and drained as if I had just run a long time without eating for a while.

Chiron must have noticed this. "Let's put the spear back in the box. I'll disguise myself and I'll take you home. We will figure this out tomorrow. Sounds good?"

I nodded yes as I began to put the spear away.

The walk home was much quieter. I think we both had been shocked into silence after the voices came back. I don't think Chiron heard them.

A thought of doubt popped into my head "What if I'm going crazy? What did I just do?"

Chiron stopped abruptly. "Ah, Avengers Tower."

There was a moment of silence.

"It's a nice thought to know that people are willing to fight for this planet."

Then a moment of realization. I now have superpowers and I'm learning how to use them now. Why can't I use them for good? No one's stopping me. I have this power, new knowledge, and a potential ally. I can finally be someone. Finally, do something. I can be a hero.

"Yes." I smiled as we continued walking. "It is."