There were plenty of jobs for retired heroes, many of the Hero Academies hired retired heroes to teach the new generation. Some of the top firms would keep retired heroes on the payroll, simply to scout potential recruits. Coaching a team of highschool students, had never exactly been what she had envisioned for her retirement. It certainly wasn't a lucrative position, but she had never been one of the greats.

McKinley was her chance for a new beginning, and to make her mark. To take a failing hero course and to take them to Nationals, she needed to have faith in the team that she had selected. She was certain that Charlie on her own could drag them to nationals but she still seemed rather uninterested in the whole affair.

Shannon takes a breath as the bus that they were on comes to a halt in front of the Ohio stadium, now was the time for words of encouragement and to give the students all the information that she had gathered. She was certain that she had sent all the information to her team captain, but it was a toss-up on whether Charlie had read any of the emails. "For some of you this is your first Inter-High event and you don't know what to expect. You've probably all watched the tapes that we went over last week but as you noticed, no two Inter-Highs are the same. They may test the same principes, but each event is different. The Inter-High will test all the skills that it takes to be a hero. Your tenacity, your perseverance, your decision making not to mention your leadership skills. The moment that we step off this bus, Charlie is in charge. I can not give out hints, I can't help guide you to make decisions. Who will be assigned to what event is completely up to Charlie."

Everyone immediately turns to Charlie who is playing on her phone clearly not paying any attention. "We're so fucked," Lauren groans.

Charlie blinks and looks up to notice that everyone is looking at her, "What?"

Beiste closed her eyes, maybe she should have just insisted that Santana be in charge, she at least had experience. "Did you read the dossiers that I sent to you? I outline all of the schools taking place and individuals who may prove to be bad matchups for members of this team."

Charlie blinked twice, and shrugs her shoulders. Of course she had gone through the dossier, she had been tempted to ignore the email, but she had made the mistake of opening the email in front of Santana. Who had pestered non-stop until she had managed to get through the documents. "Whatever, I'll start taking this seriously once a member of the 4 Horsewomen appears."

Shannon sighed, before deciding to simply press through. "We're in Columbus, which is Dalton Academies home turf. They have the home court advantage here. Even if that wasn't the case, Sebastian Smythe is a level 4 AI. How dangerous is he? He's a top prospect for Summit. As is Jesse St. James the Captain of Carmel High's Vocal Adrenaline. He may be only a level 3, but he's managed to take Vocal Adrenaline to Nationals every year he's been a part of the team. Intelligent, and dangerous. He's probably the biggest threat, his abilities are sound based, and as Santana can attest to they are dangerous."

Santana nods, she was the only one on the team who had been in this position before. She had never managed to do any damage to him at all. "Avoid engaging with him unless you're certain you can beat him, or you're in for a very bad time. The last time I went against him, I had my eardrums ruptured, and I got a wicked case of vertigo."

Shannon nods, "McKinley has come in last for the last twenty years, we've lost against schools such as Crawford Country Day, Jane Adams, Westvale—and each year they've only gotten more powerful. This year it's McKinley's turn, and with scouts from all the top Academies, this is your moment to get on their radar. Matt, Jake, this may be your last chance to make a lasting impression." Beiste flashes a smile at the only two seniors on the team before bending down to grab a big box that was under the seat. "Charlie do you have anything to add?"

Charlie looked up and studied each of her teammates' faces. "Don't suck?"

Santana snorted at Charlie's shitty speech and immediately cleared her throat when a few people looked over at her. "I mean did we really expect anything different from Smurfette?" She questions out loud.

Beiste shakes her head, she didn't know why she expected anything from Charlie. It was becoming evident to everyone that Charlie was not leadership material. She was tempted to replace Charlie, but it was far too late, and could ruin the little team cohesion that they had. "I had these jackets prepared for you, new uniforms for a new and better team." Beiste said as she picked up one of the red and white golden varsity jackets. "These are yours to keep, your names are stitched on the arm. So let the world know who you are, as you kick ass and save lives. Zizes." Beiste said, tossing a jacket with Lauren's last name on it to her. "Berry."

Rachel grinned, and caught the jacket that Beiste had gotten for her. It was her very first Varsity Jacket and she hoped it wasn't her last.

"Lopez."

Santana smiles as she catches her new jacket and immediately slips it on, it fit perfectly.

"Hudson."

Finn lets out a small fistpump when he gets his. "This is so awesome."

"Evans." Shannon tossed him his jacket, watching his face light up. She begins to name one name after the other tossing the jackets, before she gets to the last jacket. It's different from all the other jackets, instead of being Titan red and gold, it's black with red and gold as the accent colors. "Fabray."

Charlie looks up from her phone at the jacket that's been tossed at her. She catches it, and studies it carefully. She notes there is the Roman Numeral five under her name, signifying her level and she can't help but smile at the craftsmanship. It's only for a moment before she remembers that all eyes are on her. She looks up at Beiste who nods at her, and Charlie slips it on. "It's time. All eyes will be on us so really, don't fuck this up."

Beiste steps aside and nods at her team, and watches as they grab their bags and begin to file off the bus. "Good luck," Beiste says with a smile patting each of them on the shoulder before they exiting. However when Charlie moves to join the rest of the team, Beiste stops her. "Charlie, this isn't a game. You might believe that you're better than all of this, but in the end you're their captain. You agreed to shoulder this responsibility, and if you can't carry their hopes and dreams then how can you carry the weight of all the children and all the teenagers who will look up to you when you're a hero?"

Charlie doesn't say anything immediately instead she glances at her phone when it buzzes and a small smile crosses her face. She looks up at Beiste and moves to the exit, "I read the dossier," she informs Beiste as she heads down the stairs and joins her teammates.

~ O ~

"Don't you hate it?"

Santana looked up from where she was lacing up her boots, to look at Lauren Zizes who was leaning against a locker. She follows Lauren's gaze to where Charlie is standing outside the locker room, talking to reporters who had swarmed her. She hadn't even gotten ready yet, from the moment that they had spotted her they had surrounded her. "Hate what? This is the first time a level 5 has competed in an Inter-High, they don't know her yet and they're all interested. I'm more concerned because I don't trust Charlie anywhere near a microphone and a camera," Santana said with a shrug after watching Charlie for a moment.

Lauren scowled, she had hoped that Santana would be on her side, but it seemed that she was a card carrying member of Charlie's fanclub. "There's only so much spotlight to go around. All the scouts aren't going to be looking at us, they're all going to be looking at her. This is supposed to be our chance to shine."

Rachel looked up from her phone, where she had been replying to a few texts from her dads, Kurt and Mercedes. She was slightly disappointed that Quinn hadn't sent her anything. "This is our chance to shine, Charlie can't do all the events by herself."

Lauren rolled her eyes, of course Rachel was on Charlie's side of things. "All anyone is going to remember is whatever amazing thing Charlie does."

Santana shook her head, "Can we save the bitching till we're finished? As much as I hate to say it, Rachel's right. Charlie's going to Summit, the other Hero Schools know it, sure they'll make a pitch, but they still need to fill their class. If anything, Charlie's presence works in our favor. They'll be studying us, because they all want Charlie at their school. They all want to be Summit. So, instead of bitching about it how about we just focus on the task at hand."

"We don't know what any of the events are, how are we supposed to focus, when we don't know what the tasks are?" Finn asks Santana.

Santana blinked and realized that she was the only one with actual Inter-High experience on the team, Charlie herself had no idea what to expect, but she had been the Captain since she had been a sophomore. "We might not know exactly what to expect, but we do know that our goals will be to save people. They always test that, they test how quick you are on your feet, how many people you save. How you saved them, they give scores on all that. From the moment we step out on the field you are being judged, how you present yourself matters. Don't focus on what everyone else is doing, focus on what you have to do, but also be smart." Santana turned and spotted Charlie standing at the doorway watching her, and scowled at her. "Done with your adoring fan club?"

Charlie tilts her head ever so slightly and flashes Santana a smile, "I challenged Charlotte Flair, the leader of the 4 Horsewomen."

Santana could feel her jaw dropping, "You did what?"

"I guaranteed that we're going to Nationals, I guaranteed that we'd win Nationals. I smiled into a camera, and challenged Charlotte Flair. She's a level 5, I'm a level 5. Her name is Charlotte. My name is Charlie—I mean let's face it, we were going to be compared. I need to prove that I'm better than her." Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "I liked your speech, it was very moving. You should be my speech person, I'm not very good at that. I can do catchphrases really well though. I should probably think of a few, in case I need—"

Lauren slammed her fist into a locker creating a massive dent in it. "See what I mean. Does anyone here think that she cares about us?" There was a murmur that went through the team as Lauren got in Charlie's face. "All because you're a level 5 doesn't make you better than us."

Santana moves immediately stepping between the two of them, the last thing they needed was for Lauren to do something stupid like attack Charlie, because she had a sneaking suspicion that Charlie would put Lauren down hard, and then they'd be forced to forfeit. "Knock it off, honestly if you want to get your frustrations out may I suggest Sebastian or Jesse? We should all be working together to kick their asses, not fighting each other."

Charlie flicked her eyes to the rest of the team, "Full disclosure, I've already been accepted into all the top Hero Academies. I have nothing to prove here and quite frankly nothing to lose. But like you I have something I want, and that is to kick Charlotte Flair's ass and go on a date with Sasha Banks. I know it doesn't seem like I care, but you have all worked hard and a lot of you have improved dramatically in such a short amount of time that I want to see you succeed. I will take you to Nationals if you all work hard and bust your asses, which means you'll have three opportunities to impress scouts and agents. This is your opportunity, so do everything and anything you can to make the most of it." Charlie studied Lauren once more before turning around. "Do you think I have time to hit the concession stands before—"

Beiste walked into the locker room, she pauses noting the tension in the room. She studies the room, before deciding that she wasn't going to address it. "I finished with registration, it's time to head out to the field."

"So that's a no to Chicky Chicky Waffle?" Charlie asked. She was promptly ignored as Lauren stormed past her. Rachel shot her a small encouraging smile and Santana just rolled her eyes at her. She was starting to get hungry again. She slides up beside Santana and flashes her a charming smile.

"I didn't bring you food," Santana informs Charlie without looking at her.

Charlie makes a face and turns to Rachel who immediately shakes her head, and she scowls. She was hungry. She rubs the back of her neck. Maybe she could—Charlie narrowed her eyes and she reacted, her hand shooting out past Santana's head but instead of hitting anything she's met with a rather annoying laugh.

"Too slow!"

The sudden voice and Charlie's sudden lashing out immediately puts McKinley into disarray, as Santana stumbles in shock only to be caught by Charlie who looked irritated as Sebastian Smythe finally slows down so that they can see him. It's not soon after that both Carmel High and Dalton Academy appear in the tunnel.

"Cooper, we've had this conversation before. You need to have better control over your team, Sebastian's petty pranks don't make Dalton look good, and it's probably why Dalton's never made it past Regionals. You came close last year, but Sebastian's immaturity keeps costing you." Vocal Adrenaline parts with rather military precision, letting their coach through.

"Shelby," Cooper Anderson frowned as he stepped forward. "You only beat us last year by five points Shelby, you barely made it to Nationals as well. Vocal Adrenaline's time in the spotlight is over, especially when Jesse graduates."

Jesse moves to Shelby's side, he glances over at McKinley and spots Rachel, "That's not true at all. Vocal Adrenaline has already begun to look to the future, and we will continue to be a Nationally ranked school." With that he finally turns to McKinley and approaches Rachel, "Rachel, this is the person I was telling you about, someone who can help you reach your full potential. Our coach Shelby Corcoran."

Rachel immediately flushes when most of the Titan's turn to look at her, and she tries to move back, only to bump into Lauren. "Jesse, as Quinn has stated. Carmel is in Akron, my fathers and I reside in Lima, and we are quite happy there."

"Are you? These people don't understand your abilities, they don't take you seriously. And after we win today and head to Nationals, Carmel will be announcing that they are going to have dormitories, to increase recruitment. So the distance doesn't matter."

"Fuck off Saint Douchebag," Santana snaps at Jesse causing him to turn to look at her. "For someone who claims he wants to be a hero, you don't really seem to understand the word no. That's going to be problematic in the future. So let me enlighten you. No, is a complete sentence. She doesn't owe you a fucking explanation, she doesn't owe you jackshit. Your persistence isn't fucking cute, it's annoying. She doesn't want to join your weird sex-cult."

Jesse narrowed his eyes, "What are you implying?"

Santana looks at Shelby and then at Rachel, "I can't be the only person who thinks that they look alike?" There were murmurs from both McKinley and Dalton, before Santana presses forward. "Jesse, everyone knows that you've slept with nearly all the women in Vocal Adrenaline, you found a girl who looks like the only person you couldn't slide your dick into, and decided you wanted her."

Jesse glanced around noting that Sebastian had a massive pleased grin on his face, if this got out all his offers would dry up and his agent would drop him. "You misunderstand my intentions, her abilities are being wasted at a shitty school like McKinley. You might be the only reason that McKinley is whispered in the same breath as Dalton and Carmel, but the fact is Santana you've never once produced results. When was the last time McKinley had anyone accepted into any of the top schools? It doesn't matter if you have the level 5, everyone knows she's just a ringer. And even she can't save you from coming in last."

Shannon notices the sudden, if not brief influx in the temperature and decides to step in before a brawl between the teams starts. "What I know is that today the better team will win. Now we should all go to our places and get ready for the vents to begin." Shannon nods at Shelby and at Cooper before walking forward with her head held high. It takes a second before her team follows her.

Charlie stops in front of Sebastian, who smirks at her daring her to do something but Charlie just smiles before following her team. When Santana slides beside her and gives her a look Charlie's smile fades. "I'm going to kick his ass," Charlie promises her.

Santana glances back at Sebastian, he had probably been trying to mess with her, before Charlie had intervened. No one had ever managed to react to Sebastian's pranks before and if Charlie was promising to kick his ass, she almost felt sorry for the speedster. Almost.

~ O ~

Quinn glanced up from where she was watching the tunnel entrance, she felt stupid being decked out in McKinley colors, but she wanted to support Rachel—and Charlie. The smell of food was coming from one of Frannie's portals and her stomach grumbles. She smiles when she spots Dr. Leroy Berry and Hiram, walking through one of Frannie's portals with her mother and father who had gone to get food for their group.

"That is a very handy ability," Leroy admitted in awe, they were right where their seats were and he looked over at Frannie who had a tablet out and was flicking through pictures of the students that would be competing in the Interhigh. He'd seen a few of the scouts, recruiters and agents with the same tablets. He'd noticed the same tablet being given to Cassandra, but she didn't seem to be taking this as seriously as everyone else. "Thanks."

Frannie doesn't look up, "Did you get the donuts and the kettle corn?"

"White cheddar like you asked," Judy replied, handing her eldest daughter the food she'd requested, she's not really that surprised to see Frannie open a small portal where a container of popcorn seasoning drops into her hand. "Bacon flavoring? When I was pregnant with all of you, I had the worst craving for bacon. It probably explains your affinity to it."

"I can't stand the smell of it anymore," Frannie admits, she ignores the sharp gasps from both Brittany and Quinn. She swats Brittany's hand away when she tries to pat her on the back. She pours a generous helping of the dill pickle seasoning onto her popcorn before grabbing a cream-filled donut and taking a bite of the donut before popping some of her odd flavored kettle corn into her mouth.

"Ugh," Brittany grimaces at the strange pairings before taking her sub and drink from her father. She sips on her drink noisily before leaning back in her chair to look at her grandparents who were supervising. "So, how is the team? Do you think they'll win?"

Artemis hummed as she floated some of the drinks and food towards her and Lawrence. "They have an interesting set of powers. Both support and combat based. There are certainly some people to watch in the group—Cassandra."

Cassandra scowled at her mother, her hands forming into a fist, it's only for a moment before she shrugs her shoulders. She still wasn't quite sure why she was here. "A bunch of dumb teenagers pretending to be heroes. This will be so fucking exciting."

Frannie glanced at her aunt. "I'm not going to let you poach the people I'm interested in." Frannie rolls her eyes when her aunt flips her off.

Quinn is about to say something when music starts playing and her head whips to the tunnel as teams start exiting. The crowd basically erupts in cheers, as flags and merchandise from the various schools comes into view. She glances around but there isn't much if any red and gold except for what her family is decked out in, and she waves her flag. It was a good thing that they had seats close to the action due to her grandfather pulling strings, and Frannie and Cassandra's jobs. It's not long before she spots Beiste who comes out of the tunnel followed by the rest of McKinley. A huge smile crosses Quinn's face as she spots Rachel. "Rachel!" She calls out, waving like a lunatic when Rachel turns to look at her.

Brittany stares at Quinn like she's grown another head, even as Rachel's parents jump up to cheer for their daughter. "We should probably do something about that," Brittany mutters to Frannie.

"I wanted to tell her, but you insisted that I be nice," Frannie says looking up. Her eyes study each of the students carefully before Charlie exits last. "Aren't you going to cheer for Charlie Quinn?" Frannie asks as Quinn sits back down.

Brittany snorted at this, and when Charlie shoots them an expectant look, "Wooo, goo Chuck," she calls out in a completely sarcastic tone. She's rewarded with Charlie flipping her off before she gets elbowed by Santana who shoots her a glare. Brittany grins when Charlie immediately tries to blame her. "So how do we feel about Santana?"

"Weak," Cassandra calls out immediately. Shutting up when her mother looks at her.

"Annoying, she's a bully." Quinn throws in. "Charlie and Santana aren't friends Brittany. Santana hates Charlie."

Brittany tilts her head for a moment, that wasn't even remotely true. She'd seen Charlie with other women before, and Charlie never seemed to be herself around them. She went through the motions of being with someone.

"So what do you think the events will be this year?" Leroy asked, hoping that it wasn't too dangerous.

"They announce once everyone is finished—" Cassandra suddenly sat up pulling her sunglasses off and squinting at a woman standing beside Carmel high's team that had just begun to exit the tunnel. They were the last team to take the field. "Is that Shelby Corcoran? What the fuck is she doing teaching a bunch of snot nosed little shits?"

Quinn turned to look at her aunt, "You know her? That's the woman Jesse was so eager for Rachel to meet. He said that they had similar powers."

"She's a Level 4 song manipulator. When she sings—" Cassandra smiled it was her first one all day. "When she sings, it can make you stronger it can make you faster, it can be hypnotic. She can paralyze you with her voice, induce vertigo. I mean she can make you feel things—dark things, like your heart is breaking or the world is ending. I mean I knew she was forced to retire, but she could have worked at Summit, or K2. What the fuck is she doing teaching in bumfuck Ohio?"

Quinn blinked and looked at her grandfather who was finally sitting up. It wasn't unheard of for AI abilities to be passed on genetically. That didn't make it always the case. She and Charlie were identical twins and yet had different powers. Everyone in their family had different powers. But for someone to have similar if not identical powers to Rachel. "Why was she forced to retire?"

Cassandra's look hardened, and for a moment Quinn could swear she saw a flicker of regret and something more on Cassandra's face. "Her douchebag of a boyfriend died. I imagine it was doing something heroic, the idiot was a boy scout. She was pregnant. She gave the baby up for a closed adoption and then like six months later, she went insane. She was forced out because she tried to break the seal for the babies records so she could have her baby back. This was after I had been forced to retire, so I wasn't paying that much attention to it."

Leroy who had noticed the looks that Quinn and Lawrence were shooting at each other, paused. "Where was this? When was this?"

"New York, 15 years ago? Maybe sixteen?" Cassandra answered with a shrug, turning her attention back to look at Shelby not noticing that Leroy had grown pale. "Small world," she finished, her tone slightly wistful. "I should talk to her."