by Lucas Flint
“Interesting,” said Shell as the team entered the elevator. “What are you going to talk about?”
“Just about how I became a superhero and stuff,” said Bolt as he pressed the button labeled ‘1’ as soon as everyone was inside the elevator, causing the doors to close and the elevator itself to descend. “It’s supposed to be inspirational, but I’ve never delivered an inspirational speech before, so I don’t know if it will have that effect or not.”
Treehugger would have given Bolt words of encouragement, but she had ended up standing next to White in the elevator and she found it hard to speak. White, again, was not paying much attention to her, nor did he seem to be in danger of losing control of his powers, but Talon still felt rather weak and scrawny and helpless next to him. She just kept her mouth shut, looking at the display above the elevator doors as they descended to the ground floor.
“I’m sure you’ll do a great job, Bolt,” said Blizzard, squeezing him.
“And if you don’t, we can give you constructive criticism and stuff,” said Stinger. “Granted, I don’t know anything about giving good speeches, but that’s never stopped me from having an opinion about stuff before, has it?”
“Gee, thanks,” said Bolt, rolling his eyes.
“By the way, Bolt, who else is here?” said Shell. “I know the Leadership Council is present, as are the leaders of the INJ, but we saw a government helicopter on our way here.”
“Oh, right,” said Bolt. He sighed. “The government sent a delegation of three people to be present at the opening of the Academy.”
“The G-Men?” said Talon, tilting her head to the side.
“Sort of,” said Bolt. “Two of them are the G-Men agents Mr. Apollo and Blood Boil, who I’ve met before, but the other one is Vice President Montgomery Porter.”
“The Vice President is here?” said Shell in surprise. “Really?”
“Really,” Bolt said. “This is the first time I’ve met him. He’s a bit different from Plutarch. Much quieter, less prone to bragging and talking.”
“Montgomery Porter,” Talon repeated, as if she was trying to remember him. “I don’t remember much about him. Wasn’t he the governor of some state or another before Plutarch picked him as his VP?”
“He was the governor of Indiana,” said Treehugger without thinking. “I’m from there. I remember my grandparents being pretty proud that our governor ended up becoming the Vice President.”
“Really?” said Talon. “What was he like as a governor?”
Treehugger shrugged. “I didn’t pay much attention to politics, but I do remember that he had a reputation as being hard on crime. I know he had the nickname the Enforcer, but I don’t know how he got it.”
“Well, I would never have guessed it, given how nice he seemed when I met him,” said Bolt as the elevator dinged and came to a stop, the doors opening in front of the group. “I wonder how he earned that nickname.”
“Probably just a marketing gimmick,” said Stinger as the team left the elevator. “Everything is so commercialized these days, even politics. Probably just made up that nickname to make him sound tougher than he really is.”
The team exited the elevator and emerged outside onto the actual campus grounds. Treehugger looked around as they walked, staring at all of the different buildings, but she was also looking at the trees and flowers planted along the main paths that provided a little shade from the sun. She didn’t see anyone else out on the campus grounds at the moment, but that was obviously because everyone was in the auditorium, which the team was now walking toward. They were taking a path that appeared to lead to the back entrance, which may have also explained why they did not see anyone else.
“Who else is here?” said Shell as they walked. “Anyone we might know?”
Bolt almost shook his head, but then snapped his fingers and said, “Oh, yeah! The New Heroes are here, too, and Strike is giving a speech as well.”
Treehugger couldn’t help but let out a small squeak. “Strike is here? Strike is here?” She looked around wildly, but again, did not see anyone other than her team. “Where is he?”
“Inside the auditorium, probably,” said Bolt, who seemed completely oblivious to Treehugger’s terror. “Why? Did you want to see him again?”
Treehugger put her hands over her mouth. “S-See him again? Could we really … uh … I don’t know?”
“I don’t think it would be wise to let Treehugger see Strike again,” said Stinger. “Otherwise, she might die of a heart attack, which would really put a damper on both of you guys’ speeches.”
Treehugger ignored Stinger’s joke. He didn’t understand. Treehugger had had a crush on Strike—the handsome leader of the New Heroes, which was the INJ’s young superhero team—for a long time, but she’d rarely actually spoken to or interacted with Strike in any way. The thought that he was here, somewhere on the Academy grounds, made Treehugger forget about nearly everything else, including her own fear of White, who was looking at her with some confusion, as if she was acting crazier than him now.
“How does my hair look?” said Treehugger, grabbing her braids and feeling them. “Does it look good?”
“I think it looks nice,” said White.
Treehugger jumped when White spoke, almost falling off the path into a patch of roses. But she managed to catch herself and resume following the others just in time, although she still felt a little embarrassed about her overreacting. Still, she couldn’t help but start playing with her braids, because even though Strike was nowhere to be seen, she still didn’t want to look bad if he was somewhere nearby. She ignored how both Stinger and Talon were clearly chuckling at her own antics; they just didn’t understand how intimidating Strike’s good looks were. She hoped that she would not see Strike anytime soon; she didn’t think that she would be able to control herself if she did.
The team entered the auditorium through a back entrance which Bolt showed them. The back entrance led them up a staircase, which Bolt said would take them up to the upper level of the auditorium where the boxes for special guests were. Evidently, Treehugger and the other Young Neos counted as special guests, but Treehugger paid no attention to that. She just kept her eyes open for any sign of Strike, but they did not run into him on their way up to their box, nor did they run into anyone else. That made Treehugger feel relieved; on the other hand, she also felt a little disappointed, if only because she still wanted to see Strike, however intimidating his good looks might have been.
“All right, guys, here is our box,” said Bolt, stopping in front of the third door down the hall. “Well, your box, I should say, since I need to get backstage to prepare for my speech.”
“Good luck, boss,” said Stinger, giving Bolt the thumbs up. “Remember, if you feel nervous, just imagine everyone in the audience in their underwear.”
Bolt just rolled his eyes again before walking down the hallway rather quickly, while White opened the door to the box and stepped aside to let the rest of the team enter.
The box was rather small, but with enough room for all six of them to enter without any trouble. It had two rows of ten comfortable, cushy seats and everyone soon took a seat. Treehugger sat in one of the front row seats, while Blizzard sat to her right and White, to her discomfort, to her left. She tried not to look afraid of White sitting so close to her, however. She just looked out over the auditorium below.
The auditorium was enormous. From Treehugger’s vantage point in the box, she could see that the seats below were full of students and their parents, school faculty, news reporters, and various NHA and INJ members, all chatting and talking among each other as they waited for the ceremony to start. A huge stage stood at the end of the auditorium, though it was currently empty aside from a wooden podium with a message written on it that Treehugger could not read from a distance, with only a huge, thick red curtain blocking off the backstage. The spotlights were focused on the stage, leaving the rest of the auditorium fairly dark. There were also cameras h
anging from the ceiling, focusing on the stage; perhaps they were livestreaming the ceremony for those who couldn’t make it or maybe they were security cameras.
Treehugger noticed men who looked like security guards standing at attention along the edges of the auditorium. Due to how dark the seats below were, she could not tell if they were armed, but she figured they probably were. She didn’t understand why there were guards here, though; after all, the NHA and INJ were both present. They should be more than enough to deal with any possible dangers or attacks from whoever might want to disrupt the event.
Speaking of the NHA and INJ, Treehugger noticed that they were not the only ones with their own box. To their right was a box with the Leadership Council of the NHA, including Mecha Knight, their team’s supervisor, who was currently talking with High Fly, although due to the sounds of so many people speaking below, she could not hear what Mecha Knight was saying. Based on High Fly’s serious expression, it was probably nothing good.
To the right of that box was a box containing the leaders of the Independent Neoheroes for Justice; Treehugger knew that because she instantly recognized the Midnight Menace, the leader of the INJ, a tall, shadowy figure who, despite sitting with five other people, seemed to be alone. She also spotted the New Heroes sitting with the INJ’s leaders, excluding Strike, of course, who was probably backstage with Bolt preparing for the opening ceremony.
And to the left of the Young Neos’ box was a box containing three men Treehugger did not immediately recognize until she noticed the G-Men patches on the shoulders of two of them. That was how Treehugger realized that they were the government representatives that Bolt had mentioned earlier. She recognized Mr. Apollo, an elderly man with a cane who nonetheless was not someone Treehugger was interested in messing with, and figured that the red-haired young man sitting next to him had to be Blood Boil, who Treehugger had never seen before, but who she had heard about from Bolt once.
Sitting in between the two G-Men agents was a middle-aged man with short, snow-white hair, a fine suit, and a face that reminded Treehugger of one of her friend’s stepfather from before she became a superhero. He was slightly taller than either Mr. Apollo or Blood Boil and was looking down at the audience with the same kind of intense focus as the Midnight Menace. Although Treehugger had never seen him in real life before, she realized that that man was none other than the Vice-President himself, Montgomery Porter.
I didn’t know he was going to be so close to us, Treehugger thought, looking at the Vice-President in surprise. He looks even more intimidating in real life than he does in all of the pictures I’ve seen of him. He looks like he doesn’t even need Mr. Apollo and Blood Boil for protection, though as far as I know, he’s not a superhuman.
Treehugger didn’t quite know how to put it, but Porter seemed to be expecting something bad to happen. Of course, it was probably just his expression, which was serious and reserved. He always looked like that, at least in all of the pictures Treehugger had ever seen of him, even when he was governor and not Vice-President. Still, Treehugger wondered if someone had made threats to the school. Bolt wasn’t here to answer her questions; however, White had been here just as long as Bolt and might know something about why both Porter and the Midnight Menace looked so serious.
But that would require talking to White, who was currently playing some kind of app game on his suit-up watch, and she didn’t want to ask him any potentially upsetting questions. She was probably just letting her worry get the best of her; she would just sit back and enjoy the opening ceremony, which would undoubtedly go off without a hitch.
It was only a few minutes later that the lights dimmed even further, causing the assembled crowd below to go silent as someone walked out onto the stage. The person who walked out onto the stage was neither Bolt nor Strike; instead, it was a middle-aged man with silver blonde hair. He wore a very fancy suit, with a green tie hanging from his neck and an even fancier wristwatch on his right wrist. The man stopped in front of the podium and then smiled at the audience, looking rather fatherly, though Treehugger had no idea who he was.
“Welcome, parents, students, and superhumans alike,” said the man in a thick Swedish accent that was nonetheless understandable to Treehugger. “My name is Arnold Johanson, the Headmaster of the Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans, as well as a retired member of the Neohero Alliance. I am pleased to see all of the eager students and interested parents, as well as the news reporters who are letting the world know about the opening of this great school. This will truly be a day to go down in superhuman history.”
Treehugger glanced at Blizzard. “Ever heard of him?”
“Yes,” said White, causing Treehugger and Blizzard to look at him, Treehugger reluctantly so. “Was called Timestopper. Can stop time for five seconds.”
Treehugger was about to say that that sounded like a useful power, but Arnold was still speaking and she didn’t want to miss any of his speech, so she looked down at the stage again and listened as closely as she could.
“As you all know, the Academy is not the first school for young superhumans that we have opened before,” Arnold continued. “The first school, known as the Neohero Academy, was founded in nineteen ninety-six. It had a distinguished twenty-year run before having to be closed when it was discovered that the school had been heavily infiltrated by the cult known as Vision. This time, however, I can assure all of you that the Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans is not in any danger of falling prey to Vision or any other supervillains or supervillain groups. We have taken special precautions to vet the identities and backgrounds of every teacher and faculty member, as well as thoroughly reviewing the curriculum to ensure that it has no subversive messages within it.”
Treehugger knew what Arnold was talking about, even though all of that hadl happened before she joined the Young Neos. The last iteration of the Young Neos had been so thoroughly taken over by Vision that it was completely disbanded and Treehugger had been one of the new members chosen after the last team was disbanded.
“Furthermore, this school is more than just a place of learning and education for young superhumans,” Arnold said. He held up a hand and balled it into a fist. “It is a symbol of the unity in the superhuman community, for it is a joint effort between the two largest superhero organizations in the country, the Neohero Alliance and the Independent Neoheroes for Justice, and its faculty is made up of members from both groups. This school will strengthen relations between the two organizations, thus making both stronger and better able to defend America and the superhuman community from threats both within and without.”
Treehugger heard a snort behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Shell looked rather unmoved by Arnold’s speech. Treehugger would have asked him what he found so funny about it, but because Arnold was still speaking, she turned her attention back to the stage below.
“And to further emphasize this unity, I would like to introduce everyone to two very fine young superhumans who have a bright future ahead of them,” said Arnold. “Although I’m sure most people here know who these two are, I would still like to introduce Bolt, the leader of the Young Neos, and Strike, the leader of the New Heroes.”
Treehugger sat rigid as a tree when Arnold mentioned Strike. She became even more rigid when Bolt and Strike walked out onto the stage. Even from a distance, Strike was insanely handsome; his short, brown hair and shining black eyes were to die for. He was easily as muscular as Bolt, despite lacking super strength, and his muscles were pleasantly visible through his blue and yellow suit. Even his cape looked hot and Treehugger normally didn’t care much for capes.
Both Bolt and Strike smiled and waved at the audience, many of whom started clapping when the two young heroes stepped out onto the stage. More than a few people in the audience even started chanting Strike’s name over and over again, like he was a rock star. Treehugger herself almost joined in, but she realized that the rest of her teammates would never let her live
it down if she started chanting Strike’s name like some fan girl, so she just settled for staring intently at Strike as he shook hands with Arnold and exchanged a few words with him that she couldn’t hear.
Evidently, Strike must have been scheduled to deliver his speech first, because he stepped up to the podium without hesitation and gave the crowd a huge, bright white smile that made Treehugger practically melt in her seat. “Hello and welcome, everyone! As you might have guessed, my name is Strike and I’m the leader of the New Heroes. I’ve seen and done a lot of exciting things in my relatively short superhero career, but I can’t think of anything more exciting than opening a place of learning for young superhumans who are largely on their own.”
It was a cheesy thing to say, sure, but Treehugger didn’t mind a little cheese on her hunk of meat. She heard Shell and Stinger snicker at Strike’s cheesiness, but she ignored them.
“I know a lot of the people who are going to be teaching here at the Academy,” Strike continued. “Many of them mentored me and my own teammates when we first joined the New Heroes, so I am confident that the students who will be attending here will be in good—”
Treehugger blinked. Strike was still speaking, but she heard no words coming from his mouth. She looked at Blizzard and said, “Blizzard, do you see that?”
But then Treehugger realized that, although she made the words with her mouth, she couldn’t hear her own voice. Based on the confused and frightened expressions that the rest of her team wore, it was obvious that they, too, noticed the deafening silence that had fallen upon the entire auditorium, including their own voices.
Treehugger looked out over the crowd below. She saw afraid and confused faces, but she didn’t hear anything. It was the most eerie thing she’d ever seen in her life. It was like watching a movie with the sound muted, except it was real life. She didn’t hear voices, the sounds of people shifting in their seats or getting up and walking around, cell phone ring tones, or any of the various and sundry other noises that you could usually expect to hear in a large crowd of people gathered together like this.
