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"It's well-known that Metro Man exhibited his powers from an early age, and that he sometimes participated in team sports and athletic activities. Did that ever create tensions in the schoolyard?"
"What do you mean?"
"I would imagine that when picking teams, everyone would want him for their team- or everyone would want to be on his team. Were there ever any fights about that sort of thing? Was he ever, to your knowledge, excluded from games or banned from a team because of his superpowers?"
"No! No, it was cool; he was cool. We discussed it once, and figured out a way around the issue. Let me tell you about 'Schoolhouse-Rules Dodgeball."
"But if Wayne is on your team, you'll automatically win!" Casey complained. "It's not fair!"
"But… I can't play on both teams at the same time," Wayne replied, looking from one team-leader to the other. "What if we play two rounds, and I'm on your team for this one and Casey's team for the next one?"
"That won't work. There's not enough time left for us to play two games today!" One of the girls said. "Maybe… you should sit this one out, Wayne? It wouldn't be fair, since you're the only one who can fly." Wayne frowned; his eyes widened as his feet hit the ground.
"No, no, we can work this out… Ah! There are eleven of us, so the team I'm on can have five people and the other team will have six people. That way, everything balances out." He smiled hopefully. His playmates looked thoughtful.
"There are twelve of us," said someone in the back. The children turned around to see Blue frowning at them.
"What did you say?"
"I said, there are twelve people in our class, not counting Minion. The teams would have to go six-on-six. Maybe Wayne's team should include one of the less-"
"You're not playing," Casey interrupted. "Nobody wants you on their team, and it would be unfair to play with Wayne's team having the same number of players as the other one." The other children nodded in agreement.
"But-"
"Go away, weirdo. Just go away and let us play dodgeball already!" Blue frowned and turned back to the edge of the school yard as the balls started flying.
Wayne's team won every game that week.
"Can I play?" Wayne looked down to see Blue standing in front of him with a hopeful, slightly to-wide smile. "I was thinking the two of of should team up for today's game."
"And… Why would I let you on my team?"
"Well, I was thinking how since your team wins all the time it's not really even, even though you're playing five-on-six," He replied. A few people (mostly on the other team) nodded in agreement. "So, I thought it might be fun to try playing a round of dodgeball two-on-ten. You and me against the other students. Aliens vs. Humans!" Blue grinned. "It'll be a fun experiment in dodgeball gaming! What do you say?"
"Who are you calling an alien?" Wayne asked, scowling. Blue took a step back. The other children began to gather in closer, sensing and impending storm. "I said, who are you calling 'alien'?"
"Uh… you?" Blue said hesitantly. "Or, technically I guess we might count as legal citizens; I should look into that…" He trailed off. Wayne looked very angry.
"I am not an alien! I am a human being. I was born here in Metro City! My parents are Alexander and Tiffany Scott, and I. Am not. An Alien!" Blue backed away as Wayne spoke, eyes wide.
"But… but you are. You are! I remember!"
"Shut up!" Wayne shouted, stepping forward.
"You were in the other space-pod; it bumped into mine and sent me slightly off-course; you landed in Lord Scott's mansion…!" Blue was starting to hyperventilate now. "Why don't you remember? You're an alien just like me; we're from the same star-cluster; we landed on Earth on the same day!"
"I! Am! HUMAN!" Wayne shouted, hurling a red dodgeball towards Blue in a frantic attempt to shut him up. "I am a human being! I'm not like you!" He hurled another ball, and Blue dove to the ground to avoid it.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" The chant began as ball after ball was thrown. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Blue rolled, jumped, and twisted, but the balls kept coming. Some of them, he avoided.
"Fight! Fight!" Most of them connected. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Blue looked around frantically for the teacher, but Mrs. Jones was back inside, grading papers. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" More people were throwing balls now. They seemed to come from every direction. Blue was getting pummeled. He tried to find a way out, some sort of cover- the wall, if he could just get to the wall they wouldn't be able to hit him from behind- but the red missels just kept coming.
"Had enough?" Wayne demanded, spinning a ball on one finger. Blue looked at him from where he lay on the ground, his lip bleeding and his acid-green eyes burning.
"You can throw as many dodgeballs as you like, Wayne Scott. That won't change the truth. You're an alien, just. Like. Me."
Before Wayne could respond, Mrs. Jones came out of the schoolhouse and called for the children to line up and come inside. There were stormclouds coming in, so they all needed to come in and do indoor activities for the remainder of recess. Wayne volunteered to pick up the balls before coming inside. The teacher smiled and nodded in approval. Wayne was always such a helpful boy. She didn't notice how John kept his head down to hide his split lip, or how the children seemed on edge for the rest of the day. Outside the schoolhouse, thunder rumbled.
The following day, Blue was allowed to join in the Dodgeball game. They played 'Aliens vs. Humans', just as he had suggested. Blue kept his back to the wall, and wished someone else- just one person, anyone at all- would join his team.
They played Dodgeball every recess for the next month. Nobody ever volunteered to join Blue's team, and he never won. But, there were no more complaints from the playmates about fairness, and nobody argued about who got to be on Wayne's team anymore. Now everyone got to be on Wayne's side, the winning side, the fun side. Things had settled into a new routine, and everyone was happier for it. Well, almost everybody.
It was a Tuesday when Blue showed up at recess with a helmet.
It was a weird helmet: black, with huge, oversized silver spikes stuck on it at random angles. It was topped by a small, oddly shaped… lightbulb? That glowed silvery-blue. Everyone laughed.
"What is that, a helmet?" Wayne laughed. "Where did you even find something that could fit over your oversized head?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, rich boy," Blue muttered as he put on the helmet and went to stand against the wall at the usual place. There was more laughter as Blue carefully strapped on the bizarre helmet. A chinstrap! Who uses chin-straps? What was he even thinking, with this thing?
"Weirdo!" Jeremy called as they launched a volley of balls towards their favored target. A cage of- were those lightning bolts?- appeared around Blue, extending from the tips of the spikes on his helmet to the ground. He smiled smugly as the balls hit this 'cage' and the lightning-bolts caught them and held them for a moment before FLINGING them outward with great force!
One went at an angle and crashed through the schoolhouse window; they could here the tinkling of shattered glass.
Another went wide and hit a man in a nearby parking lot. (Some of the classmates recognized the man as the one who showed up for Blue's many 'Emergency Parent-Teacher Conferences'. There was likely to be another one soon.)
The third ball flew high, and nobody ever found out where it landed. There was rumor that it ended up in outer space.
The fourth was headed towards Mrs. Jones. She was backed up in a corner by the fence, petrified as the red ball came at her like a missile, then-! Wayne Scott came to the rescue, flying in front of her in an instant; the hard rubber ball bounced harmlessly off his chest.
"Oh, thank goodness!" she said, gasping in relief. "You really saved me there, Scott." Wayne smiled.
"It was nothing, ma'am," he said with a shrug. "I was just doing what anyone would do."
"Nonsense. You are getting a gold star," the teacher proclaimed. Then she turned towards Blue, who was still standing by the wall inside his helmet-lightning-cage… thing. All of a sudden, he didn't look quite so smug anymore. "And you are in a lot of trouble, young man! I don't know how many times I have told you not to bring dangerous devices to school, John Doe! There will be a talk with your guardian about this, and I do believe you will be facing suspension this time!"
"Suspension?!" Blue cried. "But I was just-"
"Suspension. I have tolerated far to much of this bad behavior from you, John Doe. No matter how many times I warn you, no matter how many chances I give you, you are always finding new ways to cause trouble,"
"I'm not trying to cause trouble!" Blue cried, shaking his head in protest. The lightning-bolts extending from his helmet crackled expended at the movement. Several children ducked for cover. Mrs Jones stood firm, with Wayne Scott hovering on her right.
"I'm sorry, John Doe," she did not sound sorry at all. "But this bad behavior needs to come to an end. Now take of that helmet and… disassemble it before you go into class. Mr. Scott will be monitoring you, so don't think about causing any trouble." Blue frowned and stared at her defiantly- then looked down and undid the strap at his chin. The lightning disappeared with crackle.
Mrs. Jones and Wayne Scott watched carefully as he unscrewed the lightbulb (was it a lightbulb?) from the top of the helmet and stowed it somewhere on his jumpsuit. Everyone else was watching as well from there various assorted 'hiding places' (there weren't many in the school yard, but the children were doing their best in the face of a potential explosion of laser-type object). Under the many staring eyes, Blue produced a small metal tool and pried the oversized metal spikes off the helmet. There were a few sparks, but nothing caught fire. When all the spikes were removed, the strap had been detached, and the helmet itself was in three large, curved black pieces, Mrs. Jones declared it sufficiently disassembled. She directed Wayne to gather up the pieces and put them in a cardboard box on her desk while the rest of the class lined up and went inside. Blue was last in line, and Mrs. Jones had him go directly the the Corner for quiet time until his guardian could come by at the end of the school day. Suspension was a near certainty.
His classmates cheered as Wayne received a gold star for his brave act of dodgeball heroism. Wayne revelled in it, posing and bragging as they clapped. It was good to be the hero! It was good to have all eyes on him again. The rest of today was going to be perfect, and nothing could possibly bring him down in that moment!
As it turned out, Wayne Scott was wrong on all counts.