Accidental Hero (Jack Blank Adventure) (13 page)

Once the formal greetings were complete, Stendeval nodded to Jazen and Jack with a thin smile and drifted through the air to his seat at the table.

“I must apologize for my lateness to this meeting,” he announced. “And also for the fact that I will be unable to answer any questions regarding my whereabouts for the last twelve years.” Stendeval settled into his chair like an old pair of comfy slippers. “I hope I have not missed the vote.”

“You have not,” Chi told him.

“Excellent.”

Smart cleared his throat. “Ahem!” he grunted. “Surely you don’t expect to cast a vote here today,” he said in protest. “You don’t even know what we’re voting on.”

“I’ve been watching your NewsNets,” Stendeval replied. “I can deduce.” He looked to his fellow Circlemen. “The entire city is terrified of an infected child who just happens to be standing right in front of us. Obviously, you are all here to decide what is to become of him.” Stendeval raised up his hands with the palms out. “Elementary.”

Smart frowned. “But the motion itself,” he pressed. “You haven’t heard any of the arguments.”

“That, too, is not overly difficult,” Stendeval said. “Based on how well you have done for yourself in the wake of the Rüstov invasion, I expect that you are taking a hard stance against this child, favoring execution and dissection. Hopefully in that order, but knowing you, perhaps not.”

Smart raised a crooked eyebrow and leaned over the table, glaring at Stendeval. “How well I’ve done for myself?”

“Indeed,” Stendeval replied. “Since my return this morning, I don’t believe I’ve seen an inch of Empire City without your thumbprint on it.”

“What exactly are you implying?”

“At the moment?” Stendeval asked. “Nothing. I am merely remarking that your dogged pursuit of the Rüstov has made you quite a powerful man. I expect that you realize this better than anyone, and will continue on that path by calling for this boy’s head. And perhaps the head of Emissary Knight as well, am I right?”

The other members quickly agreed that Stendeval was as wise as ever, and that he fully understood the matter at hand. They all affirmed his right to vote, even Hovarth, whom Jack sensed had a grudging respect for Stendeval. Hovarth could likely guess how Stendeval’s return would affect the outcome of the vote, but he appeared resigned to it. Smart was a different story.

“I seek only to protect our people from the Rüstov,” Smart stated. “We must never forget the lessons we learned the day that Legend died. If I must remind the people, so be it. Too often, it seems I must remind this very Circle.”

“You make a strong case, I am sure,” Stendeval replied. “Fear is a very effective political tool, and I know that you can be very… persuasive.” The way Stendeval said the word “persuasive” reminded Jack of the way Smart had tried to “persuade” Virtua before Stendeval had arrived. “I cannot endorse your motion,” Stendeval continued. “I went through too much trouble to help bring this child here. Jack must live. He must be trained in the proper use of his powers. He must be trained in the School of Thought.”

“Og’s blood!” Hovarth cried again. “You mean for us to
train
this Rüstov?!”

“I do, mighty Hovarth,” Stendeval said. “I do, indeed.”

“The School of Thought?” Smart asked. “Have you gone mad?”

“What’s the School of Thought?” Jack asked Jazen.

It took Jazen a second to form an answer. He was still reeling from Stendeval’s proposal. “It’s the most prestigious… it’s a big honor, Jack—only the most powerful students get a chance to go.” Jazen stopped himself, realizing he wasn’t answering the question. “It’s a school run by the Inner Circle. If we get through this, you’re
going to be taught how to use your powers by the champions of the Imagine Nation.”

Jack’s eyes grew to the size of silver dollars. “They want me?” he asked.

Before Smart or Hovarth could argue further, Chi and Prime reasserted their votes, each of them seconding Stendeval’s amendment. Jack should not only live but have his chance at admission to the School of Thought. Suddenly, a 3-2 majority was voting in Jack’s favor! The vote moved on to Virtua. As she was no longer the swing vote, Smart’s threat now rang hollow.

“It seems the matter is all but decided, Jonas,” Virtua said. “Your advice notwithstanding, no one can fault me for standing alongside Stendeval the Wise. I shall vote with the majority. Emissary Knight will not be disassembled, and Jack shall be allowed to live, on the condition that he be trained in the use of his powers. To that end, he will be considered by this Circle to be an official candidate for the School of Thought!”

“Bah!” Hovarth tossed his ax out on the table.

“Yes!” Jack shouted, jumping up and down and hugging Jazen.

Jazen put his arm around Jack and messed up his hair. “I told you everything was going to be fine, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, no worries,” Jack said.

Smart looked down on the happy little scene with disgust. “This is outrageous!” he asserted. “Worse, it is irrational. Virtua, I order you to change your—”

Stendeval started laughing softly to himself. Smart stopped talking and flashed a
How dare you?
look. “I’m sorry, Jonas,” Stendeval told him. “I was just thinking of something an old English king once told me. ‘It is only a great fool that tries to sit at the head of a round table.’” The other Circlemen chuckled a small bit as well.

“Who do you think you are?” Smart asked Stendeval. It was clear he couldn’t stand the man. Despite his earlier proclamation, it seemed Smart regarded Stendeval as “greatly missed” only when he was missing. “We have rules and protocols for dealing with the Rüstov! While you’ve been off on vacation, my policies have kept this city safe! I’ve personally forced this Circle to keep the Rüstov at bay! Now we are supposed to just follow you, without a word to where you have been all these years? You can’t just waltz back into this sphere after
twelve years and change the way we do things.”

“In my humble opinion, change should be the only constant in the Imagine Nation,” Stendeval replied. “As for where I’ve been, I do not mean to be cryptic—that is just my nature. I do apologize. Trust that the information you seek will be revealed in time.”

“I will not allow this child to enter the School of Thought.”

“Time will tell, Jonas. Time will tell.” Stendeval looked to the rest of the Circle. “I move that we adjourn,” he announced.

“I second that,” Virtua said, giving off a warm, happy glow.

“And I,” Chi added. “You must open the festival. The people outside will be most glad to hear of your return.”

Stendeval looked down into the pit where Jack was standing. “Jack Blank, Emissary Knight… you are excused with the thanks of this Circle. Be well.”

Stendeval raised a single finger and the floor beneath Jack’s feet once again turned into thick metallic syrup. Jack and Jazen passed through to the platform outside.

Jack squinted as he cleared the orb, jolted by the bright
light outside the sphere. When his vision adjusted, he looked out on Hero Square with new eyes. This was officially his home now. He was going to stay with Jazen in his übercool apartment. He was going to Hero School! Jack’s heart was still beating superfast, but it was a good kind of superfast. The best kind.

Blue was waiting for them at the base of the pedestal, anxious to find out how things went. “Well?” he asked.

“It went good,” Jack told him. “Real good.”

Jazen stepped up behind Jack. “Remember that letter I told you about?” he asked.

“No way,” Blue said.

There was an orange-white flash, and the crowd oohed and ahhed as the Inner Circle materialized on the square. Seconds later, there was another flash and Stendeval appeared, floating in a ring of red energy.

“
No way!”
Blue said again.

The crowd went absolutely bananas when they saw him. They cheered loud enough to shake the walls of Varagog. It was the loudest sound Jack ever heard, a noise you might expect to hear if the local Empire City sports teams won the World Series, Super Bowl, and
World Cup all at the same time. Stendeval was back and the SmartCams buzzed over to him, automatically shifting to record and broadcast the most newsworthy story.
STENDEVAL RETURNS
! instantly appeared on all of Smart’s NewsNets, and soon the entire city was cheering. People who were watching in their homes, people at work, and people everywhere else.

Stendeval tried to quiet the crowd. “Please! Please, I thank you, but that is not necessary,” he said with a booming voice that carried over the crowd. He had no microphone or megaphone, but his voice was still so amplified that he could have been heard all the way up on the 437th floor of the Ivory Tower. “It feels good to be home!” Stendeval continued. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed this place, and all of you. I promise you I won’t be disappearing like that again.”

The crowd roared. They loved him. Jack asked Jazen about the strong reaction, and Jazen reminded him of Stendeval’s age. He had been a guardian of Empire City for as long as anyone in the crowd could remember. They had grown up with him. Their parents had told stories about him. Stendeval’s effect on the people was visible on
every face in the crowd. He made them feel safe. He was a comforting presence, like an old grandfather: noble, wise, and caring.

“So much has changed since I’ve been away,” Stendeval said. He turned to look on the monument of Legend, the Legendary Flame ever burning in the statue’s hand. “They tell me that today is Dedication Day. That is good! It is good that we should honor those heroes who fought in the Battle of Empire City, and of course Legend, who gave his life to save us from Revile the Undying.”

As Stendeval spoke, Smart pulled out his pocket holo-computer and rerouted the SmartCams to focus on Jack, filming, bumping, and generally annoying him. New headlines began to scroll on the NewsNets:
INNER CIRCLE BUNGLES RULING ON RÜSTOV INFILTRATOR. DEDICATION DAY FESTIVAL MARRED BY INSULT TO LEGEND’S MEMORY
. The screen went on to display how each of the individual members of the Inner Circle had voted.

Stendeval grimaced. “Legend was my good friend,” he declared. “I miss him more than words can say. Still, it is my hope, my great hope, that the shadows of the invasion do not ever loom too large in this place. It is one thing to
remember our past, but quite another to become mired in it. Paralyzed by it. Paralyzed by fear. That we can never do without losing sight of who we are, for imagination is never static, never the same. Imagination is change. Many years ago in India, I met a man who told people, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ I would urge all of you to do the same.”

Jack felt like Stendeval was speaking directly to him. He could hardly fathom that this man had had a hand in bringing him back to Empire City. Stendeval had written to Chi about it twelve years ago, apparently planning Jack’s return since the day Jack had left. What did it all mean? What did he know about Jack’s past?

“Imagination looks forward!” Stendeval told the assembled masses. “Imagination creates. Imagination dares. Here we look forward to a future filled with promise, not fear. Here we look to a world where anything is possible. That is the world Legend died to save!”

Thousands upon thousands of people in Hero Square raised their voices in agreement.

“That is the world we wish to live in, yes?” Stendeval asked.

The whole of Empire City answered with a resounding “YES!”

Stendeval nodded. “Then with your permission, I humbly submit that from this day forward, Dedication Day be known as Rededication Day! Here we do not merely dedicate this city to memories of our fallen comrades, but we rededicate ourselves! To everything they stood for! To the impossible! To the future! To the unbound wonder of the Imagine Nation!”

The Inner Circle applauded vigorously except for Smart, who looked like someone had just told him the stock market had crashed. The crowd, however, roared a deafening approval.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Stendeval said to his fellow Circlemen. “Chi? Will you do the honors?”

Chi nodded. “With pleasure,” he said.

Chi broke ranks with the Circle and leaped into the air, landing a few feet before the stone bridge leading out to the Legendary Flame. At the threshold of the bridge stood a marble headstone. Jack could see the words
DEDICATED JANUARY 25, 1998
engraved on the face of it. The words were glowing with a brilliant blue light.

As Chi’s feet hit the bridge, he rolled his landing toward the headstone and sprung up to punch it. The headstone exploded with a furious blast of energy. A million tiny pieces of marble flew into the air, then froze in place as Stendeval raised a fist, stopping each stone from continuing along its trajectory.

There was a glowing ball of blue energy at the center of the debris. Chi reached out and took some of the blue energy into his hand. He channeled it into a fireball and threw it at the statue of Legend, showing the tiniest sign of strain on his face.

The fireball landed in the palm of the statue’s hand, raising the flicker of blue flame into a mighty bonfire. The cheering grew louder. Stendeval opened his own hand and the pieces of the headstone were all sucked back toward the center, joining together once again, reforming with a new message:
REDEDICATED JANUARY 25, 2010.

The crowd rejoiced. A new tradition was born. They could all feel it. It was a tradition that would honor the past as well as the future—where the people of Empire City had come from, as well as where they were going.

Stendeval smiled down at Jack, who was blown away by
what he’d just seen. From his robes, Stendeval withdrew a small orange envelope. He turned it over in his hand and it vanished. No flashing lights, no fanfare about it. It was a magician’s sleight of hand, nothing more. Or was it?

Jack felt something in his pocket, and reached inside to find the very same envelope. Jack looked back up and Stendeval was gone. He tore into the envelope and read the note.

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

Orientation

WHERE:
The Cloud Cliffs of Mount Nevertop