Sarah POV

The next day, my friends and I sat down in a dingy classroom. The walls were a faded gray, the

seats wooden and hard. The light was dim, and the vent system was exposed. It was nothing

like the pristine classrooms used by the Hero track.

I worked hard not to burst out laughing about four minutes before class started. I didn't quite

succeed. Hey, it may have been mean to laugh, but I may have a vindictive nature. Sue me. And

our teacher, while oppressed, would teach us the same value for ourselves that he had, very

little.

"Morning, class," a cheery voice came. The man had electric blue eyes, graying hair, and a sky

blue suit. "Welcome to Hero Support," he continued. He approaching his desk, "My name is…"

he dove behind it for a few seconds, coming up wearing red gym shorts, a blue mask, and a

puffy almost sleeveless shirt with a silver belt on it. It looked more like a costume than a

protective suit. It definitely was a low quality costume, indicating a lack of respect from the

superhero world, as there were super suit designers. That one was clearly a homemade

costume. Or it indicated lack of the sufficient funds to get such a superhero suit. They were

outrageously hard to make and the few designers were in high demand.

The man continued, unaware of my less than flattering opinion. I wasn't disgusted with the

teacher, but rather the system this world put us in.

"...All American Boy!" He deflated, climbing back down off his desk. "'Course, nowadays…I go

by Mr. Boy. But this year, it will be my privilege to help each of you become the very best hero

support that you can be." He kept pausing, as if thinking up words that would make them

excited, but having trouble.

"Without hero support, why, there wouldn't be any heroes."

I raised her hand, determined to interrupt before he said their only purpose to heroes was to

keep them company and made most of the class quite sad.

"Mr. Boy, what's your power? And how was your partnership with the Commander?" I asked.

He looked stunned that I had asked. Either no one had asked his power or everyone had

forgotten his past partnership.

"We worked together for 5 years. He saved my life countless times. And I saved his. As to how, I

have the ability to sense danger and am incredibly sneaky when I need to be. So I gave him

warning of attacks and was also able to help him out of ambushes I could sense. I was usually

the distraction."

Mr. Boy smirked, proud of his abilities. "We were partners until I got injured. My leg never

worked as well ever again. While I was recovering, he met your mom. They teamed up, and the

rest is history. I still warn him of attacks or dangers at times. Why do you think you have gone on

many sudden day trips?" Mr. Boy smirked again at Will. "I sensed danger and your parents got

you out of harm's way. No sense having you in danger before you were ready."

"But you haven't been to our house, ever, not that I remember," Will spoke, confused.

"Will, I'm your Godfather, but I can also protect you better from afar. I get more warning of

danger if it's danger to someone further away. Why that works that way, I don't know. Besides,

your father knew I always liked your mother. He may trust me, but he also knows it used to hurt

me to see them together. And there's the matter of his views on sidekicks. He may be my friend,

but my sidekick status and his father's views on the issue pushed him away. I still keep tabs on

him, Josie, and you, but I don't come around. I don't need any more pity."

"What if that happens to us? What if we get replaced?" a girl spoke up.

"Not every hero is so prejudiced. And, if I get my way, heroes will be assigned sidekicks at the

start of second year. There's no point in working with a stranger who doesn't trust you. So my

proposal is the heroes train with their sidekicks, combining the classes, at least the combat

ones. It's getting a bit of pushback, but Will's dad has been helping. We experienced first hand

what happened when you don't trust each other or know how to work together. We figured it out,

but, well, some of our friends didn't. They didn't live to regret it."

Mr. Boy looked off distantly, as if lost in past memories before he clapped his hands together.

"Let's learn how to be the best Hero Support we can be. Besides…we get the cool gadgets."

At that, there was a small cheer.

I smiled. There was the hope I had been searching for. I was not aware of his project, but I knew

that it would pass. If the Commander was on his side, the rest of the supers would follow.

Maybe it would change the views on sidekicks, maybe not, but it would be an adventure.

The room started to shake suddenly and Mr. Boy screamed, "Incoming!" He somehow launched

himself, probably with a gadget, to a hiding spot clutching a HV vent above the classroom.

I shook my head at the man. It seemed he had more fieldwork than he made it sound like.

"Oh, look. He does glow," Magenta said, not really having believed Zach was telling the truth at

Power Placement.

"He may be an idiot sometimes, but he doesn't lie," I smirked at the mock outrage on Zach's

face.

Layla coughed, hiding a laugh as our mutual friend pouted before his face cleared in a smile.

A man in a cross between a lab coat and an admiral's jacket with the largest forehead, as if a

small pillow were attached to the back of his head in an imitation of a larger head, stepped into

the room.

"No. Need. To panic…unless you're a single celled organism," he said in a melodramatic

monotone voice.

"Mr. Medulla," came Mr. Boy's voice from the ceiling, causing everyone else to notice where the

teacher had escaped to, "We in Hero Support are trained never to panic."

At the end of that statement, the HV pipe collapsed under his weight, causing Mr. Boy to fall

headfirst into a garbage bin. Quiet giggles erupted from the room before they were cutting off.

"My bad. I'll get the nurse…unless she's injured," the mad science teacher, for that's all he could

be, mocked.

"Mr. Medulla?" I called.

He turned back around, a question in his posture. "Yes, Miss…?"

"Winters. Sarah Winters. Anyway, what caused the explosion? Was it your prototype for a

magma blaster? A weapon able to produce and contain that much power would be

revolutionary. Your proposal was quite interesting."

He paused to look at me more closely.

"How did you gain access to read my work?"

"It's technically in the public record. Although Mrs. Stronghold may have mentioned your work

before I decided to pull out the paperwork."

He looked pleased that a student had actually taken the time to read through his work. "It was

the prototype. Come by the Mad Science lab at some point. I'd be happy to show you what I've

been working on. It's always nice to have someone who understands the complexity of what I'm

doing to bounce ideas with."

"Thank you, sir."

"If that is all?"

"Yes. Best of luck."

Everyone was staring at me and I turned to look at them, daring them to comment. "Yes?" I

asked. They went back to staring at the space that Mr. Boy had vacated on his way to the

nurse's office.

"Well. Class is dismissed fifteen minutes after the absence of a teacher, and Mr. Boy left twenty

ago," Ethan said hesitantly after Mr. Medulla had left.

That got a cheer and everyone packed their things before leaving quickly.

"Where are they going?" Layla asked.

"The school gym. It's Save the Citizen for the upper years. Although anyone in the audience can

be called to play. They probably want to see it for themselves," Ethan said.

"Well?" Zach said. "Let's go!"