Higher Education

As Kim landed the Sloth in the Hanger of Go Tower, she thought to herself that she didn't think that she'd be back here again so soon. Of course looking at it you couldn't tell that barely two weeks ago it had been heavily damaged in an attack by Yono Fist, the mystically-empowered future version of Monkey Fist. Of course when his scheme was foiled it backfired in the worst way, resulting in a temporal paradox that seems to have erased him from existence.

Thinking about those events also made her glad that Ron had chosen to ride with her in the Sloth, rather than trying to fly here himself. Although he seemed to be getting better at the handling of his mystical monkey powers, he still had some issues with his takeoffs and especially with his landings, and while Drakken seemed to be on the side of angels now Kim had no desire to test his patience by having Ron punch some new holes in the walls Drakken had just finished fixing.

As Kim and Ron hurried over to where Hego and Shego were sitting, Shego with her face buried in the newspaper she was holding, Kim asked them, "We're here, what's the emergency?"

"Emergency?" Hego replied, his eyebrow raised in confusion, "There isn't any emergency."

Kim and Ron glanced at each other in confusion before Kim looked back at Hego and said, "Wade said that there was something really important that you were needing to discuss."

"Well there is," Hego clarified, "but it's less of an emergency and more of a favor."

Shego grunted in disgust and rolled her eyes as she laid the paper on the table and said, "Please tell me that you're not going to ask Kimmie to do it."

Hego looked back at Shego and said, "I thought that you, of all people would be looking forward to the possibility of their policies undergoing some real change."

"Possibilities, sure, but it'll never happen. Their lunch menu has changed more in the last 100 years than their procedures and curriculum," Shego replied in an exasperated tone, "The only thing you'll accomplish with this is subjecting Kimmie to frustration and embarrassment. It's just a colossal waste of time."

Ron scratched his head and said, "Now I'm really confused."

"Ronald, do you remember back when you were interviewing me for your high school Hero essay?" Hego asked Ron.

"And after he defeated the Mathter I decided to make the report about my dad instead?" Ron said, then with a sheepish chuckle he added, "Sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't worry about it. I understand the importance of family, especially so as of late," Hego assured him, then with a clearing of the throat he continued, "Anyway, during the interview you asked me if there was a school people go to to take hero classes. Well, while it is a secret from the general public, the fact is that there is one."

"Really?" Kim asked him.

Hego nodded yes as he picked up a remote from the table and aimed it at the screen behind him, causing it to display a campus that looked similar to the university Kim was currently attending, only this one was situated on some sort of platform that was gliding gracefully through some clouds in the sky. "This is my old alma mater, Sky High," Hego explained, "In addition to various academic pursuits, it's where kids with powers would go to learn how to master the use of those powers & utilize them in the areas of either hero or hero support."

"Now that's my kind of university!" Ron exclaimed.

"Actually they only offer courses at the high school level," Hero corrected in an apologetic tone, "Although there's been talk for a while about them possibly expanding to include middle school classes as well."

"Frackles," Ron grumped, crossing his arms, "I would rather have gone there rather than have gotten Barkin-ed."

"Anyway, my friend Steve Stronghold has a son, Will, who's getting ready to start his sophomore year there," Hego continued, "and Will's been working on a plan to convince the faculty to change the way that they sort and place their students."

"Sort their students?" Ron asked in clarification, "Is there a magical talking hat involved?"

Hego chuckled as he said, "Not quite. You see, before the start of their freshman year the students who are admitted participate in Power Placement, a test in which they would demonstrate their abilities in a mocked-up heroic situation, usually dealing with a falling car. Those who deal well in Power Placement would be sorted into the Hero Training classes. Those who end up less impressive or even fail to display any noticeable powers at all end up in Hero Support, or Sidekick classes as they're better known, where they would likely remain until they graduate."

"Before they even get any training on how to use their powers?" Kim asked him, "That hardly seems fair."

Hego nodded his agreement as he continued, "And that's what Will is currently trying to change. You see, when he was first admitted Will had failed Power Placement because his powers hadn't yet manifested themselves, and as a result he was placed in Hero Support. It wasn't until he got into a fight with Warren Peace a few weeks in that he finally discovered his abilities of super strength and, later, flight. However, even though he was moved into Hero Training once he'd gotten out of Detention, his friends had to remain in Hero Support. It wasn't until Royal Pain tried to use her Pacifier to kidnap the entire student body and faculty that Will's friends were able to show off their strengths while saving the school."

"Because of this, Will's proposed that Sky High may be sorting their students too soon," Hego continued, "He suggests that students should be required to go through at least one year of communal classes, in order to learn the true depths of their powers, before testing in Power Placement, and Principal Powers is giving him the opportunity to present his case. To this end, Will's spent all summer working with his friends to see if they can present a better performance in Power Placement this second time around, to demonstrate that their saving the school wasn't just some fluke accident and that they should be in Hero Training as well."

"That sounds great and all," Kim agreed, "but what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, as I'm sure that you're aware, you have been rather famous as a hero well before Graduation, known for taking down even superpowered villains like our sister used to be," Hego explained, "After you and Ron, together with Drakken and Shego, saved the world from the alien invasion that fame has only grown. Anyway, because The Commander knows that I know you, he's asked me if you would help his son with his demonstration. He's already gotten clearance for to go, and it would really help sell Will's case if you could provide an exhibition of the skills you use to thwart evil-doers' plans."

"Like that'll help," Shego groused, "Even if she'd used her Battlesuit, which I'm not sure they'd allow, there's no way that Kimmie would be able to pass Power Placement, so sending her up there would be a monumental waste of time."

"Why's Shego so grumpy about this?" Kim heard one of the Wego twins ask, and she looked over to the doorway to see there Mego tell the both of them, "She's probably still upset over the fact that the yearbook committee had named her 'Most Likely to Become a Supervillain'."

"Well her temper HAD earned her the record for the most time spent in the Detention Room," the other Wego twin said as Mego and the first twin snickered. Uttering a growling yell, Shego hurls a plasma blast that burst against the wall over their heads as her brothers scattered.

"They're not wrong, Shego," Hego gently told her, "Of course if Sue Tenny hadn't been expelled for teaching students to become supervillains then she might have held that record herself."

"Ugh. Whatever," Shego grumped as she plopped back down into her seat & crossed her arms.

Kim looked at Shego for a moment before focusing on Hego and saying, "I would be honored to help out. How would I get up there?"

"Because of the cloaking technology that makes it invisible to radar, and the fact that it's always on the move to protect it from the nefarious plans of supervillains, only bus drivers and heroes who are entrusted with the school's homing frequency can find it," Hego explained, "Therefore, I'd fly you up there in the Go-jet."

Kim looked over at Shego, who was still looking rather upset, before she suggested to Hego, "Well Shego knows how to fly, having piloted Drakken's saucer, so maybe she could take us?"

Shego focused on Kim in wide-eyed disbelief as she asked in a shocked tone, "Me?"

"Her?" Ron and Hego asked Kim, equally stunned.

"Of course!" Kim told them all, giving Shego a kind smile, "It would be an excellent opportunity to show them all how you've changed, to prove to them that they were wrong about you."

"But….but…" Shego stammered.

"I think that is an excellent idea!" Hego agreed as he got up and headed over to the communications terminal, "I'll go make the arrangements right away."

"I….you don't…" Shego stammered to Hego before she looked back at Kim, her face falling back into the grumpy look she was well familiar with. Then she stalked past Kim and Ron and, without turning around, called to them in an irritated yet resigned tone, "Let's go." Then Kim and Ron followed her to the Go-jet.


The ride in the jet seemed to take forever as Kim sat in the co-pilot seat next to Shego, the silence between them both awkward and deafening at the same time. Kim supposed that she had stood up for Shego because of what future Hanna had told her, that she and Shego would end up as friends and that Kim would even be the Maid of Honor at Shego's wedding in the future, but that still didn't change the fact that this made Kim feel rather uncomfortable, and it seemed that Shego felt the same way.

The awkward tension broke when Ron popped in between them, pointing out through the windshield to the landmass poking out of the cloud cover as he asked excitedly, "Is that it?"

Shego sighed as she answered in a bored tone, "Yes, Stoppable, that's it. Buckle your seatbelts, we're now making our descent to Sky High."