Super Powereds: Year 3 (21 page)

Grabbing another slip of paper on her desk, Professor Stone quickly began writing. It was a brief flurry of words; her task had been a simple one. She wanted to transcribe the thought exactly as she had heard it, before her own memory could fail her and alter a word or two. Staring at the pen marks on the paper made the words seem bolder, more real. Heavier. Dangerous. Without meaning to, she mouthed them silently to herself.

“I know the dream-walker was real, because he’s the one who let Globe into Vince’s head.”

35.

On Thursday, one day before the scheduled match between Chad and Angela, the junior year HCP class walked into the gym to find Dean Blaine and a woman in full Hero costume standing in the center of the room.

“Good day, students,” Dean Blaine greeted them. “Please form a half-circle around myself and our guest. I’ll explain everything once you’ve all made it in.”

The students complied, arranging themselves in a wide semi-circle around the dean and the strange woman. It didn’t take long; by now, they were all experts in rolling with unexpected situations.

Once they were finished, Dean Blaine continued. “As you saw with Mr. Mears, this is the year where we begin introducing you to the concept of working in the real world. For half of you, at best, this will mean doing the job of a Hero. The rest of you will be exploring other options. To give you some idea of the possibilities that lie out there, we’ll be using your gym time to bring in a guest speaker every so often, who will talk to you about what they do and allow you to ask questions.”

Dean Blaine halted unintentionally for a moment. He’d been waiting for Stella Hawkins’s voice to ring out, asking a question despite the fact that he had yet to call on her. It only took a heartbeat of silence for him to remember that she was no longer in the program. His next words came quickly, hoping to cover the gap of speech before anyone realized what had happened.

“Today’s guest speaker is a working Hero named Shutterbug. She is a graduate from the Hero Certification Program at Korman University in New York, and has been active in the field for over eight years. I expect you to keep your questions on topic and show our guest the respect she is due. Shutterbug, please take it away.” Dean Blaine took a step back, and the Hero at his side came forward.

Her outfit was done in a color scheme of bright greens and shiny blacks, the patterning clearly meant to evoke the idea of designs on an insect’s shell, if not stolen directly from one. She had mousy brown hair that was cut short and flared out, along with a pair of green eyes that nearly matched her costume. Her mask obscured most of her features, though, if one were attentive, they would notice her small, sharp chin and button nose.

“Hey there, future Heroes,” Shutterbug greeted, her voice more forceful than one might have presumed from her adorable appearance. “As the dean said, my name is Shutterbug, and I’m an active Hero. Some of you might have seen me before, but I’ll give you some basic information just in case. I currently work on a team called The Arc Alliance in Atlanta, and my ability is that I can freeze time in certain areas.”

Without warning, she raised her right hand and a flash of light burst from it, engulfing half of the half-circle. Those not hit felt normal, but when they glanced over, it was clear their fellow students were suspended in time: unmoving, unbreathing, and unblinking.

Shutterbug snapped her fingers, and suddenly everything was back to normal. Before anyone could say a word, she raised her left hand and repeated the process on the other half of the students. Once she’d unfrozen them, she continued speaking.

“Though I’m limited to a certain area and range, it’s still a darn useful ability, especially since I can freeze a part of something if the whole of it is too big to get with my field. Watching a giant robot try and free its hand from a suspended time field is damn funny, let me tell you.” She actually giggled a bit, then realized no one else was doing so, and composed herself. “Anyway, that’s a little background about me, now, on to the actual work of being a Hero. I’ll keep this short and sweet, because, unlike the other careers you’ll be introduced to, this is the one I’m sure you already know a lot about. If your time in the HCP is anything like mine was, then you’ve already been informed about the hard choices and constant dangers inherent to this line of work. I’ll tell you a few things I wish I’d known going in, though.”

Shutterbug paused, mentally recalling the list she’d been compiling since Dean Blaine had asked her to speak. At one time, it had numbered well over a dozen points; however, she’d gradually been weeding it down to the elements that seemed both important and unlikely to get covered during their education.

“First off, most of you will be on teams. That’s part of the Hero world, and even if you are strong enough to be solo, you’re still better off getting your feet wet with people watching your back. It’s going to be natural for you to want to be with other people from your class, but try to keep an open mind. I know that you’re familiar with and trust these people; however, the Hero world is a bigger one than many people realize. Put your team together based on powers and personalities that work well together, not just ones that you’re familiar with. In the long run, you’ll be happier and get injured less.

“Secondly, don’t underestimate the Subtlety majors. I know it’s always tempting to think that having more firepower means a better team, but that is generally not true. I’ve been on teams with and without a Subtlety Hero, and the difference is tremendous. The ones without nearly always ended in slug outs, often in populated areas, where people got hurt. The team where I had a Subtlety Hero, the team I’m still on, has allowed us to neutralize a great deal of threats without a single punch thrown. Not saying the brawls don’t still happen, but it’s far less common. Remember, no matter how dangerous an enemy is, they still have to sleep, and a good Subtlety Hero can find out where and when. Something to keep in mind.”

A few eyes darted in the direction of Will Murray, eyes he politely pretended not to notice.

“Lastly, get an agent,” Shutter said. “Officially speaking, the HCP doesn’t promote them much, which is why you’ll only meet one or two during your time here. They’ll come up to you after graduation, and many of you will dismiss them as charlatans. Some of them are, some are not. Ask other Heroes. They’ll steer you in the right direction. As much as it might seem like a useless job, agents are important because of how much they take off your plate. When you have one, you know someone is always minding your image, making sure things are running smoothly, and handling any issues that might arise. An agent allows you to focus on what you should be doing, which is stopping criminals.”

Shutterbug let out a small sigh of relief as her speech concluded. Though unflinching in the face of danger, she wasn’t big on public speaking. Now that the hard part was over, she allowed herself to relax slightly.

“Okay, I think that takes care of all the stuff I felt you should know; now, it’s your turn. Any questions?”

Immediately, a flurry of hands rose, as though she’d just asked who wanted free shots at a kegger. The mild wave of relaxation instantly turned into anxiety as Shutterbug realized the hard part was just beginning.

36.

“Okay, um, you,” Shutterbug said, pointing to the nearest hand she saw.

“I was wondering what you can tell us about the process after graduation,” Thomas asked, lowering his hand as he spoke. “Some of the older students have mentioned interning, but that process has yet to be fully explained to us.”

Shutterbug looked over at Dean Blaine and raised an eyebrow.

“We’d planned to cover that later in the year, closer to when an initial meet and greet could be arranged,” Dean Blaine replied to her unasked query.

Shutterbug gave a small nod. “I won’t go too in-depth then. But, to lay out some basics, over the course of the tail end of this year and most of next, the staff will bring in Heroes qualified to have interns. You’ll meet, shake hands, do small talk, and generally kiss ass. If the Hero is interested in you, they’ll review your tapes and maybe watch your final trial. If they still think you’ve got talent, then they offer to mentor you for two years after graduation. This is where you get on-the-job training that no amount of school can replicate. Think of it as your Hero learner’s permit.”

More hands were immediately raised, but Shutterbug didn’t call on anyone. Instead, she kept talking.

“And I already know what your next question is, because I asked the same thing: what happens if no Hero offers to mentor you? Don’t worry, the HCP isn’t going to leave you hanging like that. There are Heroes who don’t do the selection process because they feel it’s elitist. Those Heroes are always willing to take any interns that don’t get offers, up to the maximum three they are permitted to have. I’m sure some of you assume these are the less-than-stellar Heroes, the second-rate ones you’re forced to fall back on, but understand this—not every Hero can mentor. It takes ten years on the job, and a slew of other qualifications. There is no such thing as a second-rate Hero mentor.”

This time, Shutterbug looked around a little more carefully, choosing a smaller girl whose hand was almost obscured by the taller people around her.

“Yes, you, the small one.” Only after she’d said it did it occur to Shutterbug that her word choice might have been a bit offensive. If it was, the girl didn’t show any signs of being upset.

“I was wondering how teams are formed,” Camille asked. “Do you apply for existing ones, form your own, or is there some sort of procedure?”

“Sure is,” Shutterbug told her. “Honestly, both options are perfectly viable. Teams are fluid things—people move on or change cities, which mean constant openings. Technically, there’s no limit on size, but anything over eight gets cumbersome to manage. Some handle this by having sub-teams with different purposes, but that’s off-topic. Lots of Heroes form their own teams after their internships, and plenty try to get on with existing teams. Part of your intern years is getting plugged into the Hero community and expanding your social circles, so that, when you’re done, you have options lined up.”

With a quick sweep of the room, she selected a new question asker. “You, whatcha got?”

“I wanted to know how Heroes make money,” Allen said. “Clearly they do, I’ve just never totally gotten how.”

“Ah yes, this one is a bit of a sticky area,” Shutterbug said. “Officially speaking, we’re a branch of emergency response and law enforcement, so we’re paid a modest salary just like any other government worker. Good health plan, too. However, each Hero owns the rights to his or her image, meaning, if they want to license it for merchandising, that’s within their rights. By tradition and public expectation, a sizable cut of that money is given to charity, but being a popular Hero can still be a pretty big supplement to your income. That’s part of why an agent is useful.”

“As a note,” Dean Blaine interjected, “even after retiring from the Hero field, a well-managed image can continue to make money, and there are always a plethora of jobs for Heroes who have solid skills and experience.”

“That’s right,” Shutterbug agreed. “Some of us teach, others become agents themselves, and of course, you can always do a stint in the SAA to make some serious cash.”

“Yes, but we have another speaker who will go over that topic,” Dean Blaine cautioned.

“Oh, sorry,” Shutterbug apologized. “Let’s see, next question then. You.”

“I wanted to know what it’s like fighting criminal Supers,” Violet asked. “Is it like training, or what?”

“Yes and no,” Shutterbug told her. “Your training is preparing you for death at every turn. Not all criminals are out for blood, though. A good portion are just people who made bad choices and got caught up in stupid circumstances. In those cases, it’s better, because if you’re really lucky, then you can stop them without throwing a punch, and maybe even get them on a better path. The rest of the time, well, some Supers become convinced that their power means they can do what they want and no one can stop them. In those cases, it’s definitely worse, especially when they’ve got a power set that prohibits peaceful capture.”

“What does that mean?” Violet inquired, though deep down, she was already suspicious she knew the answer.

Shutterbug’s eyes flicked to Dean Blaine, who gave a subtle nod. He didn’t call Heroes here to fill his students’ heads with lies and fluff. They deserved to know what they were walking into.

“It’s the unhappy truth that there are Supers who are dangerous and have to be stopped, or innocent people will die. If you can’t take them to jail, then you stop them the other way, by permanently neutralizing them. Most of us don’t like it, but make no mistake, it is part of the job.”

“On that note,” Dean Blaine interjected, “I think we have time for one more question.”

“My, how the time flies,” Shutterbug said. “The last question will come from the girl with the pink streaks in her hair.”

“Thank you,” Sasha replied. “I was wondering how long the average Hero stays in the game, so to speak. I mean, how many years of that work do most people do?”

“Well, that falls into four categories. First, there are the people who die on the job, which, for purposes of this discussion, we won’t really count, since I think you’re asking about the ones who retire. There are three types of those. You have people whose bodies decay at a normal rate, which inhibits them. Examples would be people with abilities that let them excel at physical combat, but don’t directly make them less resilient to the ravages of time. Your dean, actually, is a prime example of this. These people can usually make it into their forties, but Hero work is incredibly physically demanding. Even with healers and the like on staff, a body just can’t hold up to that much wear and tear after a certain point, especially when you’re fighting people who are looking to capitalize on any weakness.”