Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It took the rest of the week for me to shake off my sluggish, drained feeling.  Thankfully, I didn’t have any more incidents with that strange green fire.  I think if I had, I wouldn’t have ever been able to regain all my lost energy from the past weekend.  All I can do now is keep my fingers crossed that the power won’t return for at least another week.  Next week is finals, and I need all the energy and power that I can muster in order to pass my exams and evaluations.  Autumn may have already predicted the future and she’s assured me that I would be named a hero with the rest of the group, but I know that I shouldn’t rely on that.  After all, her visions are just brief flashes.  What if she’s mistaken?  With the way I was performing this week in Speed’s courses, it seemed unlikely that what she saw could be true.

In fact the more and more I thought about it, the more I felt like what she had seen had to be a mistake.  Two of her visions involved me.  In the first, she said I would be a hero.  In the second, supposedly something was happening between Aurora and I.  Well… I guess she never specially said that, but she definitely implied it.  And even though I find myself liking Aurora a little more every day, I doubt that Aurora feels the same way.  She’s friendly, but friendly is something Aurora has always been.

“So, Angel, are you going to talk to me today, or should we just find you a book to read?”

I almost forget where I am, and Dr. Diane’s voice interrupts my meditative state.  She always spends forever writing things down on her clip board that it’s easy to space out.  Easy for me at least.  “Sorry,”I say, sitting up a little straighter on the small, yellow sofa in her office.

It’s Saturday evening, which means my weekly therapy session with Dr. Diane Felkel.  Each Alpha is required to meet with her once a week, but to be honest, I’m not entirely sure why.  I guess to make sure they’re molding our brains correctly and be certain that we’re not turning into a bunch of crazies.  But half the time I don’t feel like talking, and if I wasn’t afraid of what others might think, or getting in trouble, I’d probably never share anything with her.  I guess Dr. Diane’s pretty OK with that though.   She never tries to pressure me into talking, and half my sessions with her just turn into an hour of reading.  The trade-off for me reading instead of talking, is I have to share what I’ve read when the hour is over, which really isn’t that bad.  I think I’ll choose reading today.

“Well, I really don’t know what we can talk about today,” I shrug.

She reclines a little bit in her seat, and brushes back a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.  “Nothing new?” she asks.

I shake my head.  “Not really.”

Usually, that’s enough to get her to stop and she’ll ask me what book on her shelf sounds interesting, and leave me be with that.  But today, she sits there and continues to stare at me.  When I don’t say anything else, she writes something down real quick and continues:  “I thought you’d have lots to say today.”

“Why do you say that?” I ask.

She shrugs.  “I’ve just heard that it’s been quite a big week for you.  Extra training, Church picnic, and then Autumn’s birthday was on Tuesday, right?  I guess I just imagined you’d have some stories to share.”

 “Well, yeah,” I start, but don’t finish.  I don’t really know what to say.  She wants me to talk about my week, but I really don’t feel like sharing.

“How was this past Sunday at Church?  Do you want to start there?”

I blink at Dr. Diane.  She’s never really gotten so specific before, or pressed on this much.  “Sure,” I say hesitantly.  “Well, I guess I invited Aurora to come with me to the picnic at church.”

“Why did you do that?”

I shrug.  “I dunno.  I guess to thank her for training with me earlier that morning.”

She stares at me, and I don’t like the look.  It’s like she’s reading me, or at least trying to.  She’s never usually like this and it makes me feel uneasy.    She spends a few seconds with that judgmental expression on her face before she starts to write something down again.

“Did you have fun at the picnic?” she asks as she’s writing.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“What did you do there?”

“Nothing really.  We just talked and hung out.”

She looks up from what she’s writing and stares at me, quiet for a long time. I guess she’s waiting for me to say more, but I don’t.  I really don’t know what else to say.  It’s not like I can share everything else that happened at picnic, like my strange new power freaking out on me.

 “You and Aurora been hanging out more, haven’t you?”  She smiles, but it seems forced.

As soon as I see that fake, plastered smile, suddenly the room feels cold and uncomfortable.  Her forced grin reminds me of the same uncomfortable smile I’ve seen before at church, when the church ladies talk to someone everyone else knows that they hate.  I guess I was always under the impression that Dr. Diane was somebody that I can trust for the most part.  At least trust enough to know that she won’t ever bother me to talk more than I cared to.

What’s usually a no pressure therapy session has become entirely the opposite.  It’s like she’s digging for something… like she’s trying to get me to admit to something.  Usually, therapy feels like just a boring visit with a boring person, but right now I feel like I’m stuck in an interrogation room.  “I guess we’ve hung out a couple of times this week, yeah.”

“You hung out together at Autumn’s birthday party on Tuesday, right?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”  I want to remind her that she was there, too.  She doesn’t say anything and is writing down way too much for my short answers.  I think back to the birthday party, and try to figure out what she’s trying to get at. 

Autumn’s birthday party was just a small get together with cake and presents.   Speed, Dr. Diane, and Professor Walden were the only faculty there.  Aurora was there with Sara, and Astro was there with his caretaker, Viviane, and I was there with Espi.  Charlene baked pretty much all of Autumn’s favorite treats and desserts, and we had soda to drink.  The whole event only lasted about an hour, since the four of us had to be up early for class the next day. 

When I think about it, I didn’t really talk much to Aurora at the party.  If anything, I was still feeling embarrassed about the black eye I got in class the day before, and I was trying my best to avoid her.  The only interaction I had with her was so tiny; I doubt anybody else noticed it but me.  Hell, I doubt that Aurora herself even remembered it.

While we sang “Happy Birthday” to Autumn, Aurora and I are standing side by side.  While everybody else is singing, I’m too busy staring at Aurora, which apparently  I’ve suddenly  made a habit of doing. 

Her voice stands out above the others singing.  It isn’t that she’s an amazing singer or anything.  In fact, she’s quite the opposite.   I don’t think I’ve ever heard somebody so tone-deaf in my entire life.  I guess I’m just so amazed that someone who looks and acts so perfect, has such a huge imperfection, and I just had to stare at her to be certain that it was her voice that I was hearing. 

Her god-awful singing is actually charming in a way, and I find myself smiling at her.  I like that she doesn’t sound like some perfect pop princess I expected her to sound like.  While she finishes the last line of the song, she sees me grinning at her, and she stops singing almost immediately.  Her cheeks flush a bright pink, as everyone else finishes:  “Happy birthday, dear Autumn!  Happy birthday to you!”

We all clap for Autumn as she blows out the candles, and I notice that Aurora still looks bright red in the face.  Her eyes are fixed on her feet, and I can tell she’s avoiding looking at anyone.  I feel a little guilty for embarrassing her and so I tell her:  “Don’t worry, I can’t sing either.”

I smile when I say this, and I don’t realize it until her blue eyes finally lift from the ground and focus on my grin.  Now it’s me who’s red and embarrassed and I drop the smile instantly, and quickly and awkwardly walk away from her as I line up behind Astro for a slice of Autumn’s birthday cake.

So, did Dr. Diane see this at the party?  I know Espi did, because she didn’t shut up about it for about two hours later that night.  But Espi’s a different story.  She would never turn me in for breaking the “No Dating” rule we Alphas have.  But if a faculty member suspected something like this… it would just add one more strike against me becoming a hero.

“She’s just been helping me train,” I say.  “That’s all.”

Dr. Diane smiles.  It’s still fake.  “That nice of her, isn’t it?”

I shrug, trying my best to seem casual about it.  “I guess so.  But if you ask me, she’s probably just doing it because she wants to look good.”

“Why would she want to look good?  Look good to whom?”

“I dunno.  The Chief.  Speed.  You even.  She wants to be the leader of the Alphas more than anything, and if she looks good by helping me out, then she’ll probably be named the leader of our team.”

“I don’t think that’s the reason,” Dr. Diane says as she’s writing more things down on her clipboard.  “It certainly didn’t sound that way when she spoke about it earlier.”

“What’d she say?”  Crap.  I probably shouldn’t have sounded so desperate for information right then, but I know I did.  I can tell by that satisfied little crack of a smile that Dr. Diane now has on her face.

“She said that she feels like you two are becoming fast friends.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“What?”
                “You sound a little disappointed.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re not?”

“Nope.”

She smiles and just writes yet another paragraph of notes.  I slump back on the sofa, and sigh heavily.  I really hate this right now.  I really do not need to get in any more trouble. 

***

Saturday evenings are usually spent on homework and writing assignments for our classes, but our professors haven’t given us any this week.  We’re supposed to spend this time studying for our exams, but I never have been one to study.  I do well enough in my studies that I’ve never needed to.  If only I could succeed as easily with Speed’s courses.  I only have two more Sunday trainings with Aurora to get my act together before finals.

I recline on my bed for a while, trying to think of something to do to entertain myself before dinner.  That’s when I remember the book that Professor Walden had lent me earlier in the week.  I’ve already read it—twice actually.  It’s a very short narrative and it only took me an hour and a half to finish.  But there’s just something about it that keeps drawing me back.

I guess I never expected Strummer to have a voice like the one that he has in the book.  I’ve always been told that he is an insane, crazy man, and so I expected a bunch of angry ranting in this book.  However he sounds calm, rational and intelligent.  What I most keep rereading the book for is that I’m trying to decide whether or not I trust Strummer’s story to be true, because it’s completely different from any other version I’ve heard.

He speaks briefly of his life before entering the war as a soldier.  He grew up in poverty and lost his parents young in life.  His mother had been ill for most of his life, and finally passed when he was sixteen.  With no place else to go, he joined the military.

“The people who I would meet during my service would fast become as much of a family that I had ever had in my life.  We watched out for one another, and would truly risk anything for each other.  I had never experienced such a brotherhood in my life before this.  I was raised to believe that it should be every man for himself.  Where I grew up, it was a neighborhood motto, in fact, that no one else, other than yourself, is to ever be trusted.  So now I find myself in world of war, bombs, and guns, and my life is carried in the hands of our commander.  I must trust that he will point me in the right direction.

Strangely enough, I never question my commander.  I forget completely everything that I was taught early in life, and I trust completely those that say I can or should trust. I am only further reassured that my faith in my superiors has not gone unrewarded when they decide to give me the greatest gift of all—my super powers.

This gift will bury me in a debt to the nation, which I can only ever begin to repay with that same unfaltering trust and blind obedience.  I question nothing, and I remain ignorant to all that is happening around me.”

I stare at the last sentence of this particular chapter in frustration.  I wish he would go into a little more detail of what he means.  “I question nothing, and I remain ignorant to all that is happening around me.”  What is happening around him?  He never says.  The next few chapters skip ahead to the time when Siren joins the team, as the fourth and last member of Generation X.  He speaks of a growing romance between him and Siren, which I guess explains a little as to why she becomes a villain, too, which is something our professors have never really been able to explain. 

And then again, it skips ahead some time.  The book suddenly sounds different in its tone when the final chapter begins with:  “I never knew that this was happening.  I ask for forgiveness every day for what I failed to do all those years as a super hero.  I thought I was doing my job, but I never imagined that it was nowhere near well enough.  I would use the excuse that politics have never been my strong suit, but I know that this is not a matter of politics.  It is a matter of humanity.  So at first discovery of this truth, I thought that surely, no one else knew of it.  Surely, everyone was just as much in the dark of it as I was.  I never anticipated that when I would try to share my discovery to my superior that I would be signing my own death certificate.”

Again, there is no further detail as to what this “truth” or “discovery” may be.  It’s as if he keeps avoiding going into detail, but why would he do that?  I mean… if this “truth” is so damn important, then you would think that he would talk about it a little more.

I study the book a little more closely, half-expecting to find evidence of missing or torn pages, but everything seems intact.  I skip ahead a few pages to the final part of the narrative.

“They’ve reassured me that everything will be taken care of, and that they are just as shocked as I am.  Generation Delta has finally matured, and—possessing more powers and capabilities than I, and the rest of Generation X ever had—I am confident that they will do a fine job in correcting everything.  I have almost fallen back into my military mindset of trusting every word that is told to me.  I am almost completely brainwashed into believing again, but thankfully for me, just a tiny portion of distrust hangs in the back of my mind.

We cannot find Siren, but the Chief says that it is fine to start without her, and so we head over to the hospital on base.  The doctor already has everything prepared for us, and we line up to receive our medicine.  This injection will be an antidote to our super powers.  While the idea of giving up my powers is a bit unsettling,at this point I feel anxious to get it over with.  To me, these powers are the last thing that ties me to the responsibility of what is happening out there.  With these powers, comes guilt, and I am counting down the moments remaining until I can finally free myself of it.  So, it is with selfishness that I line up first to receive the antidote.

The doctor stands before me with a confused expression, before turning to the Chief for some sort of answer.  The Chief then suggests to me that I should go last.  The distrust hidden in the back of my mind begins to surface at that moment, but still, I question nothing, and fall to the back of the line.

I watch as the icy blue liquid is injected into Speed, and then Sonic.  With the injection comes dizziness and weakness, and a nurse is there to assist each man into another room where a bed is prepared for rest. We wait a little longer for Siren to arrive, but after a few minutes pass, the Chief gives the OK for the doctor to continue with me.   I step forward to receive my injection.

The doctor goes to grab the fourth syringe on his table, skipping over the third.  I can’t help but notice the difference in colors.  While the first three syringes held a blue colored liquid, I see that the fourth contains liquid that is a bright green.  He turns towards me, and instructs me to hold out my arm.

I stare at the green in the syringe before finally allowing myself to question:  “Why not use the third needle you have there?”

He stumbles over his words a bit before he finally tells me that that needle is for Siren, and this needle holds the correct dosage for me.  I can read on his face that he is lying to me.  “Why must I go last?”  I question.  “Why is this syringe green and the others blue? Why must the other men not be here while I receive my antidote?” 

I can tell with every question, comes an increased amount of fear in the doctor’s eyes.  He would have nothing to fear, if these questions were not in some way relevant.  The Chief disappears and reappears with about a dozen armed military men.  Without hesitation, they proceed to tackle me at once to the floor, trying their best to hold me still for my injection.  I over power them easily, and within the commotion, the doctor falls forward, landing on top of the syringe of green liquid.

The injection kills him instantly, and I know now that it was not an antidote.  I see in everyone’s face that they’ve seen that I have figured this much out, and it’s within this instant that every armed man in the room turns his weapon on me.  This is the instant in which I have become the enemy—a villain.”

This last scene in the book leaves me feeling disturbed. I don’t want to believe that this scene could ever be true.  The Chief is someone I have known my entire life.  He is a quiet spoken man of very few words.  I can’t imagine him as a killer—even of a villain.  And what’s more disturbing is the fact that this takes place prior to Strummer becoming a villain.  According to Strummer, he is a villain because of the Chief—because he tried to have Strummer murdered.  And for what?—For questioning something?

As I stare at the last page of the book, I notice a faint trace of ink shining through the opposite side of the page.  I turn the page and find a very small note, written messily on the bottom left corner of the page.  I sit up from where I lay on my bed and sit closer to the light on my nightstand, straining my eyes to read the chicken scratch writing:

“My Friend,

I hope this book finds its way to you.  Thank you for your ever loyal support and continuous efforts on my behalf.  You are as courageous as any hero I’ve ever known.

Good luck to you always,

Strummer”

***

I sit across from Espi at our dining room table.  I eat the plate of chicken breast and mashed potatoes slowly, as Strummer’s narrative plays over and over in my head.  I’ve been meaning to ask Espi about it, but I have to do so in a way that doesn’t mention the book itself.  After all, Professor Walden specifically said not to show or mention it to anyone.

“Hey, Espi,” I start.

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, my sweet.”

I set down my fork, and hesitate a little, before beginning: “Did you know Strummer?  I mean, before he was a villain and everything.”

Espi takes a moment to chew and swallow her food.  She sets down her fork, and then takes a sip from her glass of water.  She nods a little as she sets back down the glass.  “Oh, yes, I did.  He was a superhero, after all.  Everyone knew him, and loved him.”  She smiles a little and looks up towards the ceiling, as if recalling some old memory.  “I met him once as a young girl, but it was just briefly,” she says it with an almost school-girl sigh.

“What was he like?” I ask with a grin.  It’s funny to see such a day-dreamy expression on her face.

“I was with my little sister, Benita, at the time.  We were waiting for the bus to arrive.  I had an interview for my first job, since I had just graduated from college, and she agreed to come with me for support.  It was early morning, and not many people were around.  A man came, and he stood beside us at the bus stop.  I just assumed that he was, too, waiting for the bus.  He walks behind my sister, and then me, and then suddenly I can feel something press into the small of my back.  I turn around right away and see that he has in his hands a gun.  He tells me and Benita that we need to follow him behind this building, or else!”  She shutters a little, before continuing.  “And then, there was a big flash of light, right in front of my face, and suddenly there he is!  Strummer is standing there, between the bad man and I.  All he has to do is just show the man his fist, and the man screams and runs away scared.  He runs right into the path of a police officer, who quickly takes the man into custody.

Strummer turned to my sister and I, and asks us if we are OK.  I’m so star struck, I can barely answer him, so I just nod.  My sister is crying though, and still shaking with fear.  He wraps an arm around her and in a soft voice he tries to tell her everything is OK.  ‘There, there,’ he says, ‘It’s alright…’

‘Benita,’ I finish for him.

‘Benita,’ he says. ‘You’re safe now, Benita.’  He turns and smiles at me, and that smile just melts my heart.  He was so handsome then!  ‘What’s your name?’ he asks me.

‘Esperanza,’ I answer him.  He tells me that he will wait with us until our bus arrives, so that he makes sure that Benita and I are safe.  He sits with us at that bus stop for almost twenty minutes, and listens to all our silly little stories about school and friends. 

When our bus arrives, he tells my sister not to be afraid anymore.  ‘You don’t have to worry about bad men,’ he says in his soft, sweet voice, ‘because you will always have us heroes watching over you.’”  Espi finishes her story with another heavy sigh.  “To be honest,” she admits, “I was a little disappointed that he seemed more interested in Benita, than I.”

I laugh a little.  “I’m sure he was just doing his job, and trying to make her feel better since she was the one crying and stuff.”

“No, no,” she says.  “Benita was always the prettiest.  I’ve accepted that,” she says with another sigh.

I laugh again.  Espi is funny sometimes.  “So, if he was such a good man then, do you think he still is today?”

“Oh, no!” She answers right away.  “He is a villain now!”

“But you liked him before….”

She shakes her head.  “He is not the same man as before.”

I frown.  “Do you really think so?”

“Oh, yes,” she says.  She stands from her seat at the table, and begins to collect our plates.  “The day I heard that he killed Sonic, was one of the saddest moments in my life,” she says with a frown.  “The news was just… heartbreaking.  And I never wanted to believe it at first.  …I don’t think anyone wanted to believe it.”  She frowns as she looks at me, and I can see the hurt in her eyes.  “He is not the same man as before, and it makes me so sad to think about it.”

“I’m sorry,” I say right away.  “I didn’t mean to make you sad,” I frown.

                She shakes her head and smiles at me.  “You do not make me sad, my sweet.  You make me happy,” she says.  She walks around the table with the dishes in her hand, carefully planting a kiss on my forehead before heading into the kitchen.

***

My alarm goes off at 4:45 AM, and I get up, and quickly get dressed.  Aurora is waiting outside on our front porch for me, and I’m glad that she’s respected my request for personal space this time.  “Gooood morning!” her voice sings out loud and bright.

I rub at my eyes sleepily.  “Yeah,” I say with a small laugh.  “Good morning, I guess.”

She giggles a little.  “Ready to get started?”

“Sure,” I say.

She smiles, and it looks mischievous. 

I blink at her.  “What?” I ask.

He grin widens.  “I’ll race you to the stadium,” she says.

Before I can answer, she disappears with a bright flash of light.  I laugh a little before chasing after her.  Who does she think she is, after all?  I’ve always been the fastest.

We’re at the stadium within moments, but I’m there just a moment faster.  I hold the door open for her and smile:  “Beat you.”

She just smiles and walks past me, into the building.  I follow behind her, and enter the stadium.  “Alright,” she begins, “So today’s agenda includes: Defense tactics, and force fields!”  She turns to me and plants her hands firmly on her hips.  “You ready?” she asks.

I shrug.  “Guess so,” I say, but before I can fully finish, she knocks me down, tripping me at my feet with one swift kick.  I stand up again and rub my sore hip, and look at her.

She laughs a little.  “Remember the first thing about defense:  Always be prepared for anything!”

I shake my head, and smile a little.  I almost forgot that Aurora doesn’t go easy on me.

***

Auora and I train together until about 11:00 AM.  We spend the first half of the morning on defense, and the second half on force fields.  She shows me a couple of tips I’ve never known before about defense, and I begin to feel a little better about it.  The two of us agree that my best defensive tactic is evasiveness since speed is my strong suit. 

When we get around to force field training, I’m thankful to learn that instead of cannons pelting me with beanbags, Aurora has several buckets filled with water balloons.  With her help, I manage to get a force field big enough to protect me, and I am even able to hold it for a full minute, which is something I’ve never been able to do.  But at the end of training, the two of us get a little distracted, and end up having a water balloon fight.  Our fun is interrupted by Astro, who immediately begins to lecture us:  “You know, this is supposed to be a place for training!” his voice echoes throughout the stadium as he enters.  “Not fun and games.”

Before I can begin to get angry at him, Aurora answers him by pelting him with a water balloon straight to the head.  She laughs as he wipes the water from his face with his sleeve.  “Oh, lighten up, Astro!” she says with a giggle.  “We were training anyways!  Who says you can’t have fun training?”

I’m surprised to see him laugh, too.  “You’re lucky you’re the one with all those balloons,” he says with a grin.

Aurora lifts the bucket at her feet that held the balloons.  She turns it forward and shows him that it’s empty.  “Too bad!” she sings.  “All gone!”  She sticks her tongue out at him.

He laughs again.  I almost never see him this cheerful, but I guess I don’t spend much time with him outside of class and training.

Aurora turns to me and smiles.  “Ready to call it a day, Angel?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” I say. 

As we leave the stadium, I expect to hear Astro make some sort of smart-ass remark, but he doesn’t.  I wait until we’re outside the coliseum, before asking Aurora if she still wants to go to church picnic with Espi and I.

“Only if you want me to,” she says.

“Of course I do,” I say.  “Well, only if you want to, that is,” I add quietly.

“Of course I do!”

***

Aurora, Gabriel, and I only spend about an hour at church picnic before formulating a plan to sneak off to the movie theaters down the street.  Aurora has never been to a movie theater before, and it’s something that I think she would enjoy.  I can tell that Gabriel is a little annoyed that she’s picked a romance to watch, but I want to make sure that she gets her choice. 

When we get into the theater lobby, I instruct Aurora to go into the theater and save us some seats while I get us some snacks.  She’s so excited for the movie, I can see that she nearly forgets the “no super power rules” I’ve given her and almost begins to use her super speed to get to the theater.  She stops herself though, and skips happily into the theater.

As soon as she’s out of sight, Gabriel nearly explodes:  “What’s happened to you?!” he shouts.

Several people in front of us in the line for snacks, turn around to stare for a moment.  He glares at them, and they look away.  I can’t help but laugh a little at his behavior.  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

He sighs heavily, and rubs at his temple, as if he’s got a headache.  I can feel one of his rants coming on.  Sure enough, he begins:  “Three Sundays ago, I had a friend named Angel.  On that Sunday, my best friend, Angel, talked my ear off about a certain annoying girl named Aurora who lived in her neighborhood.  That’s cool.  We all have an annoying freak like that in our lives.  No big deal.

“Then a week goes by and here comes the second Sunday.  On this Sunday, that same best friend Angel of mine shows up,” he holds up a finger:  “She shows up, one, late, and then two,” he adds a second finger, “With the same annoying neighbor she always complains about!  Why?  My best friend Angel just assures me that she felt sorry for the girl.  That’s cool.  We all get caught in awkward situations like that.  We just gotta grit our teeth and put up with the annoying girl this one time.  That’s all. 

“But what’s this?  It’s Sunday number three!  Today!  And today, my best friend Angel not only brings the same annoying girl with her again.  She’s laughing with her, and having fun, and acting like that annoying girl is the best thing in her life!  So.  Did I miss something?” 

“It’s not what it seems,” I say.

“No, I think it’s exactly what it seems.  Trust me.  I’m looking out for you.  She’s no good for you.” 

“How’s that?”  I raise an eyebrow.

“Look at you!  You just paid for a movie ticket!  Three weeks ago, you would have just snuck in here through the back exit like we always do.  But no.  You pay for a ticket, and now you’re standing in a line to pay for popcorn, candy and soda!” 

“So?” 

“So?!” he shouts, and gets more attention from the group ahead of us in line.  I give them an apologetic look, and they turn away.  Gabe sighs again.  “…How do I explain this better?”  He rubs his chin for a moment in thought, before continuing:  “She… is an infection.  A flesh eating virus.  OK?  You got that gross, puss-spewing infection on your hand and you need to just cut it off now before it gets worse.  Yes, it will hurt.  But you gotta do it, because if you don’t, you will die.  It will kill you.  She is going to kill you.  As your friend, I beg you, cut her off before it’s too late.” 

“You’re overreacting.”  I’m laughing, and it’s irritating him further, but I can’t help it. 

“You’re underreacting!” he stomps his foot in frustration.

I just shake my head and laugh, as I walk up to the snack counter.  I reach into my pocket to retrieve some cash, but he stops me with his hand.  He has a serious expression on his face, as if paying for this bucket of popcorn will somehow determine my fate.  “Don’t do it, Angel,” he begs one last time.

I smile at him, and laugh.  I take the money and pay for the popcorn.  He looks almost heartbroken.  “Gabe, I promise you, this isn’t the end of the world, OK?”

He groans loudly, but doesn’t say anything more.  I’m worried that he’ll be rude to Aurora for the remainder of the day, but he manages to stay polite.  I feel a little bad that I’ve disappointed him so much, but I also know that Gabriel can sometimes be a little overdramatic. 

***

The movie ends with just enough time to sneak back to the church unnoticed.  Aurora and I aren’t technically allowed to leave without Espi, since she is acting as our chaperone, and we’re not allowed anywhere off base without one.  I was surprised to hear Aurora agree to do something that’s breaking the rules, but I’m glad that she did.

We arrive on the base a little after seven in the evening.  Aurora has fallen asleep again during the car ride home, and much to my embarrassment, she’s cuddled up against me again.  I wait for Espi to leave the car and enter our home before I shake Aurora awake.  “We’re home, Aurora,” I say quietly.

She sits up and rubs her eyes sleepily.  “Already?” she says with a yawn. 

The two of us get out of the car.  While I stand on the driveway, I notice somebody approaching in the distance.  Aurora joins me by my side, and she recognizes the person far away down the street, before I do.  “Sara?” she says quietly.  I can’t help but notice that she takes a slight step behind me.

Sara.  She’s marching down the road and looks pissed.  Normally, I wouldn’t worry seeing Sara, but then I notice who’s walking behind her.  It’s Speed, and he looks equally upset.  Now I’m nervous.

Sara marches right past me without a word, and grabs Aurora by her wrist, dragging her away.  “You are coming home with me, now,” the nasty old woman spits as she speaks.

Before I can question anything, Speed is standing before me.  He glares down at me with his arms crossed firmly across his chest.  “Have fun at the movies today, Kid?”

I stare back at him in disbelief.  How could he have found out about that?  

He smiles, satisfied that he’s caught me.  “I think we better go inside and have a talk with your caretaker.”

Chapter 4

Chapter 4               

            

It’s an innocent game of jump rope.  We are about ten or eleven years old at the time.  I hold one end of the plain white rope, and Aurora the other, while Autumn skips rope in the middle.

 I think the rope that we’re using was meant for something else.  We don’t have a lot of toys on the base.  Even though the entire property was built around and for four children, it had more of a military setting than anything.  It’s probably because the majority of the staff viewed us Alphas as little soldiers in training, rather than children.  I think maybe Espi and Autumn’s caretaker, Charlene, might have been the only two who would encourage us four to have a little fun.

It’s Charlene who gives us the rope, and shows us three girls how to play.  We must have skipped rope for at least three hours straight. 

I don’t know if he was just being mean, or if his feelings were somehow hurt by not being asked to join, but Astro finds us three girls having fun, and he looks upset.   I hadn’t noticed him sitting there on the front porch of Charlene and Autumn’s home.  He kicks up dirt as he marches right up to Autumn, leaving a trail of small, dust clouds behind him.  Autumn stops skipping when he stops in front of her.  She smiles, but he’s still glaring.  He says not a single word, and  shoves her hard, knocking her to the ground.  The poor, brown-eyed girl immediately begins to cry.

I instantly drop my end of the rope, and get in his face.  I shove him, and he shoves me back, and an instant wrestling match ensues.  Speed hears the commotion.  Suddenly he’s trying his best to force himself between us two, as he shouts for us to cut it out.  “God damn you two!  This is the third time this week!”

Aurora and Autumn help him out.  Aurora grabs a hold of Astro, Autumn of me, and the two manage to yank us off each other.  I fall backwards, and land on my butt.  At first, I think it’s just the heat of the hot pavement on a summer day, as my hands touch the ground.  But when I look down at my hands, I see that they are illuminated a faint green color.  My eyes grow wide as I see this, and then in that instant, the glowing disappears.

I look up as a shadow passes over me, and see that Speed is standing directly above me.  He’s staring down at me with a weird, almost judgmental expression on his face.  I don’t know if that look is because he is angry at me for fighting, or if it is because he saw how my hands glowed that strange green color.  He never says a word, and I’m always left to wonder:   Just what did he see that day?

***

I awake from my dream about this childhood memory, hearing voices outside my window.  I glance at my alarm clock and see that it is just a little past two in the morning.  I lay awake in bed and listen hard, trying to place whose voices I hear.

 “Why do you hate the kid so much?”  It’s Professor Walden.

 “Why do you like her so much?”  Ugh.  That’s Speed for sure.

“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe all Angel needs is a little special attention?  A little—“ 

“God dammit!  I am sick and tired of hearing people describe that brat as special!”

I climb out of bed and quietly but quickly walk over to my window to get a peak of what’s happening.  They’re walking down the open road outside, I’m guessing to their homes.  The Professor has Speed’s arm draped over his own shoulder, as he’s hunched over a bit, looking as if he’s trying to steady the guy as he walks alongside him.   Speed holds a bottle in his hand, and he’s staggering pretty badly.  It’s obvious how he’s apparently spent his Sunday off—getting completely wasted.

“Special?!” drunken Speed continues.  “Special ain’t what she is.  That’s just sugar coatin’ the truth!  That kid is anything but special.  She’s a mistake.  Something that should have been fixed a long time ago.  A waste of time, space, and money.  It’s time to cut our losses, I tell ya.  That kid is good for nothing.”

Professor Walden doesn’t say anything in response.  I’d like to think it’s because he just doesn’t want to bother with the ridiculous drunk, and not because he’s swayed by what Speed has just said.

A sharp pain hits me, and my hands erupt into flames, illuminating the room in an eerie green glow.  Not this again.  I panic and drop to the ground, sitting on my hands, trying my best to hide the sudden bright light, which I’m sure is visible to the two men outside.  Thankfully, the fire disappears within a few moments.  I hold my breath as I use my X-Ray vision to look through the wall.

Professor Walden has stopped in his tracks.  His eyes are on my window and he wears a curious expression.  Speed is still ranting about how much he hates me, and doesn’t seem to have notice the firework show.  My heart is pounding as I try to imagine what could be going through Professor Walden’s mind right now.  But just when I have convinced myself of the worst, a slight smile sweeps his face.  He smiles at my window for just a moment, before turning around and continuing on his and Speed’s path for home.

***

The next morning, I still feel sluggish.  I think I’m starting to see a pattern with the green fire thing.  One, it seems to be happening more and more frequently.  Two, when it happens, it seems to suck all the energy out of me.  Even after a full night’s rest, I’m still incredibly tired, as if I didn’t get any sleep at all.  Espi gives me a weird look when I ask for coffee with my breakfast.  I’ve only tried sips of the stuff before, and have always complained about the taste.  But my eyes feel heavy, and I’m desperate to try anything to help remedy this.

While I sit at the dining room table, downing my third cup of coffee.  Espi is leaving to do her weekly grocery shopping off base.  I walk with her out onto our front porch, and watch as she gets in her car.  She blows me a kiss before she drives away, and I return a wave as she pulls out onto the gravel road.  I stay outdoors until Espi’s car is gone and out of sight. 

As I watch Espi’s little blue station wagon disappear, I remember how I used to give her a hard time when I was younger.  She used to have to sneak away or trick me whenever she had to leave off base.  I guess it’s not uncommon for little kids to have separation anxiety from their parents when they are young.  But I have to remind myself that Espi is not my mother.  She’s just the person who is paid to take care of me.  Or at least that’s what our therapist, Dr. Diane, always reminds me that I should remember.  Still, even now while I’m older, I still feel sad to see her leave.

It’s still very early, and the sun is a bright red.  Only when the sun is low like this,  is when the base appears to actually have some color.  Every building, house and home on base is painted the same light grey tone.  But in this lighting everything shines a shade of red, orange or yellow.  The dessert sand in the distance looks a deep red, instead of a muddy plain brown.  I won’t get to see these colors again until sunset.

I go back inside, and begin to pour a fourth cup of coffee.  Before I can finish, our house’s doorbell starts to ring loudly, over and over again.  It’s twenty-something rings before I get to the door.  I open it to find Autumn standing there with an incredibly big grin on her face.  It’s a little creepy.

“I had a vision!” she exclaims with overwhelming excitement.

I motion for her to come in, and close the door behind her.  “What is it?”

She doesn’t say anything except for some weird, girlish squealing.  She grabs me by my wrist and leads me down the hallway to my bedroom.  She quickly shuts the door behind us and turns around and does more of that squealing stuff that honestly hurts my ears.  “What is it?” I repeat.

“You!”

“Me what?”
                “You!  You are going to be a hero!”

“…They’re not going to retire me?”

“No!”  She grins big, and now I’m smiling too.

“What did you see?  How do you know?”

“I saw me, you, Astro and Aurora, on this stage, with all these people and cameras, and a big banner that said: “The Alphas.”   And like Speed was there, and so were the Deltas, and the Chief announced all of us as the new heroes!  Including you!”

“Really?” I almost shout.

She nods really big, grabs my hands, and does that squealing again.  She’s jumping up and down, and I can’t help but laugh.  “OK, OK,” I say, “Relax!”

“I can’t!”

I just laugh.  “You’re way too excited about this.  I should be the one screaming, not you.”

“But there’s more!”

“…More?”

“Yes!  I had like three visions last night!”

Autumn tends to have a lot of visions in her sleep.  She’s always described them to me as chaotic.  She says their like a choppy, badly edited movie with very short scenes or random images at times.  “What else did you see?” I ask.

“Charlene is getting me these really, really cute shoes I’ve wanted for like ever for my birthday tomorrow!”

I laugh.  “OK.  That’s great, Autumn.”

“I know!”

“What was the third one?”

“You!”

“What?  Me again?”

“Yes!  You and Aurora!”

“Me and Aurora?”

“Yes!  You and Aurora!”

“OK….”  I wait for her to say more, but she doesn’t.  “What?”

“You and Aurora!” she repeats, still bouncing up and down.

“Aurora and I—what?” I ask.

She just continues to stand there, with that big grin spread wide across her face.  She’s nodding her head excessively as if I should somehow know what she means.  I’m too tired to try to figure this one out, so I just stand there with a blank look on my face.

The doorbell rings again.  I’m not used to this many visitors on a Monday morning.  Autumn and I go to the door, and it’s Aurora.  Before anyone can say “hi” Autumn lets out another annoying, girlish squeal.  Both Aurora and I jump at the sound.

“What’s with her?” Aurora asks.

I shrug.  “She’s being very vague about—Ow!” Autumn steps on my foot before I can finish.  “What’s that for?!” I shout at her.

“It’s supposed to be a surprise!”

“Then why would you tell me?  Or at least kinda tell me, or whatever!”

“Because I thought you already knew, or at least had a thought, but you don’t, which makes it even more exciting, which is why it should stay a surprise!”  She runs all the words together; I can barely understand the sentence.

I shake my head at Autumn.  Fine.  Don’t tell me then.  I look at Aurora:  “What are you doing here?”

“I thought we could walk to class together.”

Autumn squeals.

“You usually walk with Astro though.  I mean… he lives across from you, after all.”

“I know,” she says.  “I guess I don’t really have a good reason,” she says with a giggle.

I smile.  I don’t know if it’s just ego, or that I like the idea of Astro having to walk to class alone, but as soon as I show a slight smile, Autumn erupts into more squealing.  “Will you stop that?!” I snap at Autumn.  I can’t help it.  It’s annoying.

“I can’t help it!” she doesn’t even break her smile.  “It’s so exciting!”

“Well it’s annoying to me, because I don’t know why you’re squealing,” I roll my eyes.  “So either spill the beans, or stop screaming at everything!”

“OK, OK!” Autumn says. “I’ll shut up!  I promise!”  She clamps her lips shut, and slides herself through the door way.  “In fact, I’m gonna go!  You two walk to class together!  Have fun!  And, um, I guess I will go walk with Astro today!  Yeah!”

“But that’s totally out of your way.”

“Doesn’t matter!  I’m walking with Astro, OK?  So, bye!”

Aurora and I stand there confused as we watch Autumn quickly disappear into her home, grab her backpack, and zip away towards the other side of the base.  Her behavior is strange, but I choose to ignore it.  I grab my backpack, and Aurora and I head to our first class.

***

Aurora does most of the talking during our walk.  I’ve never been much of a talker.  She’s telling me some story about her caretaker, Sara.  Something about how she found an old photo album of hers that had pictures of Sara and her deceased husband back when they were young newlyweds.  I’m not really focusing on the details of what she’s saying, because honestly, I really don’t like Sarah at all.  Instead, I’m focusing on new features of Aurora, I realize I have never noticed before.

When she talks, her voice is the most expressive thing I have ever heard.  The way her words flow is almost musical.  Her tone drops soft, serious and low when she begins to retell an old war story Sara told her—the story of how her husband was killed.  Her blue eyes are soft, and glistening, and she seems so involved in her words… as if she can see the war she’s describing.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this before.  It’s strange, but impressive.  I find myself being sucked into her every word, only I don’t have the mind to comprehend what it is she is telling me, because I’m too distracted by the raw emotion she’s showing me.

“Angel?” she says it as if she’s already said it before.

“Hm, what?” I say, snapping out of my almost hypnotized state.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Uh, yeah.  Well, not the last part, no,” I lie.  I haven’t really heard most of it.

She laughs a little.  “I said, ‘I hope we never have to experience a war like that again.’  Don’t you agree?”

I nod.  “Yeah.”

She smiles, and I smile, too.  We continue walking in silence for a little while.  As we walk, I notice Autumn and Astro in the distance.  Autumn seems to have noticed us too, and she’s doing that squealing thing again.

And then I realize what she must have seen.

“You and Aurora,” is what she said.

Aurora and I.  That girlish squealing.  She does that same thing every time she shares some sappy romance story she’s read or seen in a movie. 

“You and Aurora.”  She must have seen the two of us together… as in romantically together.  That had to be it.

I stop in my tracks as this idea occurs to me.  Autumn predicts the future.  That would mean that what she saw had to be true.  Or at least would be true….

“You OK?” Aurora’s voice is soft, and concerned.  I don’t hear it though until she says it a second time, while she places her hand on my shoulder.

I jump at the sudden contact, and I can feel my face turn a bright red.  “Yeah, I’m fine.  Why?”  Her hand is still on my shoulder, and I feel as if the longer she leaves it there, the brighter red my face become. 

“Nothing.  You just seem distracted today, that’s all.”

“Am I?” I say.  I pull away from her touch, and try to laugh casually but I know I sound panicked.  I am panicked.  “I guess a little.  Maybe.”

She just returns a smile, and walks ahead of me, into the building where our first class is located.  Astro follows after her, and then Autumn, but I stop her before she can step foot through the door.  I grab the short girl by her arm, and demand a little too loudly:  “What did you see, Autumn?”

A giant grin sweeps her face.  “So you do know!”

“Know what?  I know nothing!  You’re the one who saw it!  So tell me!”

“No, no,” she says shaking a finger at me.  “You must know.  Because before you acted like you didn’t care.  That’s when you really didn’t know.  But now you know because you’re obviously freaking out!” she giggles.

“It’s not funny!”  My face is still red.  I can feel it.  “Just tell me!”

She doesn’t.  She just smirks, as if she’s beaten me in some game, and continues on her way to class.  I’m so embarrassed, frustrated, and confused.  It’s all her fault.  I could strangle her right now.

***

Monday mornings are lectures by Professor Walden.   His lectures are every other Alpha’s least favorite classes, but have always been my favorite.  My eidetic memory really helps me succeed with our studies.  I may not be the best at training, but at least I can remember any date you throw at me.

Professor Walden is our main teacher who teaches all of the history stuff.  He is also a famous, award-winning scientist, who is actually the one responsible for my creation, as well as the other heroes.

Professor Walden is the one man entrusted with the formula behind our super powers.  He was the man to create Generation X, Generation Delta, and Generation Alpha.  You would think that a man with such talents would enjoy spending his time in a laboratory, creating and designing more amazing things.  However, when I ask him why he’s teaching us history, he tells me that there’s nothing he’d rather be doing than expanding our young minds.

He’s definitely my favorite teacher here on the base.  He’s the most light-hearted and funny person on the staff.  He’s a short, fat man, with a messy beard and messy grey hair.   His eye glasses are thick, and I honestly can’t really tell what color his eyes are because of the heavy glare on his lenses.  He dresses very plain; always dark colored slacks, and a dark colored button-down, collared shirt.

Lately, his lectures have been about Super Villain History.  There aren’t very many super villains out there, and I find this subject to be the vaguest compared to the rest of Walden’s lectures.  I can also tell from his voice that he is not as enthusiastic about what he is teaching, like he normally is.  The whole thing is a little awkward.

Today we are reviewing everything we’ve learned since our final is next week.   He passes out a study guide for us, and begins to recover everything very briefly.  The guide is only two pages long, compared to past study guides that are usually pages thick.  Maybe he’s going easy on us since this will be our last final before the Deltas arrive.  Still, I can’t help but wonder why we’re not spending more time on villains, when I can imagine that they are probably the biggest threat to us as heroes.

He reviews the material just as it’s laid out on the page.

There are only two bad guys in the nation that can be classified as “Super Villains.”  That would be Strummer and Siren.  These two villains were once super heroes themselves—members of Generation X.  They are dangerous, insane, and hell-bent on taking over the nation.

Strummer was the first to turn.  At age sixteen, Strummer was drafted into the military to fight in the Civilian War.  The Civilian War was like that of the Civil War fought long ago in our nation’s history, in that our country was completed divided politically.  The main political disagreement that sparked the war was over the nation’s new Net Zero Law.  A law, not of the people, but of the politicians, put in place to help the nation contain its booming population rate.  Based on the population growth of one’s zone, or area in the nation where they live, that zone was designated a number.  They called it the Replacement Rate, or RR.  Depending on how overly populated your area was, would depend on how many children you were legally allowed to have.  The RRs ranged from 1.0 to 4.0.  An RR of 1.0 meant that no female in that area was to have more than one child.  After their first pregnancy was completed, they were to be sterilized.  The intent of the nation was to have the Net Zero Law only in place temporarily, until the country stabilized and regained control over the population.

The Civilian War lasted three years, and ended when the nation produced its first super hero—Sonic.  During the war, Strummer fought for the nation.  He received many awards, badges, and recognition for his heroism.  Three years after the war, and after passing a long series of evaluations and tests, he and Speed, who also fought in the Civilian War, were entrusted and enlisted as new additions to the nation’s Super Hero Program.  They would be called Generation X.  Speed was twenty-six, while Strummer was just twenty-two years of age.

Strummer was a faithful super hero up until the last years leading up to his retirement.  He began to disobey or refuse orders.  I wish I could list more details of this, but this is one of the vague areas of the lecture that Walden fails to specify.  All we are taught is that he was once a very noble and cheerful man who suddenly became very mean and hard to work with.  At thirty-one years old, on the day of what was supposed to be his retirement, he disappeared before he could be given the formula which would extract his super powers.  When he remerged, he did so as the nation’s first Super Villain.

“How long was Strummer missing before he reappeared to the public?”  Professor looks up from his copy of the study guide, and asks the class.

I know the answer, but I stay silent.  I try to let the others have a chance, first.  But when no one answers, I raise my hand.

“Angel,” he nods in my direction.

“Two weeks,” I answer.

“And what was the crime he committed, announcing his new title as Super Villain?”

“He killed Sonic,” Aurora answers.

“He was a traitor,” Astro adds with a scoff.

Autumn timidly raises her hand, and Professor Walden acknowledges her with a slight nod in her direction.  “Yes, Autumn?”

“Professor,” she starts off with a soft, quiet voice, like she’s almost afraid to ask.  “Why did he do it?”

“Because he’s a villain,” Astro interrupts, before Walden can even begin to answer.  “That’s what they do.  They kill.”

“But there has to be a reason!” Autumn persists.  “Killing is bad.  You just don’t do it for no reason!”

“Not for villains,” Astro says.  “They just don’t care.  They have no hearts!  He has no heart!  He killed a former teammate of his, and there was no reason!  He did it just because!  Right, Professor?”

Professor Walden sets down the study guide, and adjusts his glasses before he begins:  “Well, Astro, the only person who would truly know the reasoning behind the act, would be the killer himself.  We can’t very well ask him this question, so I don’t think we’ll ever know why he did what he did.”  He looks to Autumn, “That’s unfortunately as much of an answer that I can give you.”

Autumn looks saddened by this.  I don’t think she likes the idea of someone being inherently bad.  I glance over to Aurora who sits to the right of me, and she looks equally disheartened.  I raise my hand.

“Yes.  Angel,” Professor Walden motions with his hand for me to speak.

“Well,” I begin, “I think I have a theory about it,” I say.

“About why Strummer killed Sonic?” Aurora blinks at me.

“Yeah,” I say.

Professor Walden smiles a little.  He picks up his cup of coffee on his desk and takes a small sip, nodding for me to continue.

“Well, we learned that he fled the base before he could be given the formula.  I think he was scared to be mortal again,” I say.  “I mean, won’t we all be when we have to retire?  And because he left, they delayed the retirement of the rest of the heroes, right?  So that they could find him.  What I think is that maybe Sonic found him first, and I think that’s when Strummer killed him.  I don’t know if he meant to, or if he was just trying to get away maybe… but I think what it comes down to is that he just didn’t want to give up his powers.  I think that’s why it happened.”

I look to Autumn, but she still looks displeased, but Aurora is smiling, which causes my face to turn red again. 

“Hold up,” Astro says, sitting up in his desk.  He’s sitting directly behind me, so I have to turn around in my seat to see him.  He looks at me with a raised eyebrow.  “What do you mean you don’t know if he meant to kill Sonic?”

I shake my head.  “I didn’t mean that he didn’t mean it.  I just said maybe he didn’t.  Like the Professor says—we’ll never know.”

“Yeah, but to even think that it might have been an accident or something!” Astro sounds almost offended by what I’ve said.  “How could you argue something like that?  The man has killed thousands since that day, and you’re trying to argue that maybe he just didn’t mean it?”

“I’m not arguing anything!” I raise my voice now.  “I just said maybe!”  It’s just like Astro to twist my words like that.  He’s always looking for when I screw up.

“Alright, Alright,” Walden stands from his chair and raises a hand.  “Let’s calm down, everyone.”

I turn around in my chair again, to face the front of the class room.  Professor Walden looks at his wrist watch.  “That’s enough for today.  We’ll go over the second half of your study guide on Wednesday.  Please, everyone, remember to study hard and train hard.  Your training with the Deltas will begin about two weeks from now, but first you have to pass your final exams, right?  So work hard!”

We begin to gather our things and leave the classroom.  The Professor stops me before I can walk past his desk.  “Angel, do you have a moment?”

“Sure,” I say.

Walden waits for everyone else to clear the classroom, before he begins.  This makes me nervous.  It’s not uncommon for him to want to chat after class, but he usually isn’t this careful about waiting for everyone else to leave.  I think about what happened earlier that morning, and how it looked like he might have seen the green light coming from my room.  What if I’m in trouble?  What if he knows?

 He walks around to the front of his desk, so that he’s standing directly in front of me.  “How’s it going, Angel?  I hope you’re not discouraged from how your evaluation went this past Saturday.”

I frown.  “Well, yeah….”

“Don’t be,” he says.  “But don’t slack off either.”

“Of course not,” I say.  “Actually, Aurora’s helping me train on Sundays.  For Speed’s courses.”

“Really?” he raises an eyebrow.  He reaches for his coffee cup on his desk again and takes another sip.  “And how is that going?”

“It’s fine,” I say.  “It’s just….”

“What?”

“Well,” I hesitate.  “It’s just that she can’t really show me how to heal.   And that’s supposed to be my special power….” I frown.  “I don’t know how I’m supposed to pass if I can’t do it.”

He sets down his coffee and smiles at me.  “You just focus on the other areas of your training—the things that Aurora can help you with.  If you prove yourselves in those areas, you will be fine.  I’ve already begun to do some talking with the Chief, and he agrees that if you can improve in everything else, when the Deltas arrive, you will have Dante as a mentor to help with your healing powers.  As the healer for the Delta Generation, he would be the one to know, right?”

I smile.  “Right.”    I’m relieved that he’s not mentioning anything about the green light.   I’m also happy to hear that the Professor has gone out of his way to convince the Chief of this much.  After all, the Chief has final say over whether or not we are fit to be heroes or not.  “Thanks, Professor.”

“Of course,” he smiles.  He pauses for a moment before he starts to walk to behind his desk again.  “One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

I watch as he opens the bottom drawer to his desk.  He begins to shuffle around stacks of paper and books, before pulling out a small paperback.  He hands it to me, and I study it in my hands.

The book has a plain black cover with the title written in white: “Villain.”  At the bottom, it says that it is written by a Joseph S. Soto.  I turn it over and see that the back of the book has no information.   I flip through it quickly and see that it is only about a hundred pages long. 

“If I lend this to you, you have to promise not to let anyone else see you with it, alright?”

“Why?” I stare at him.  “What is it?”

He walks around his desk, so he’s in front of me again.  He takes the book from my hand and looks at it once more.  He sighs, “This is an autobiography written by Joseph S. Soto,” he says.  “Otherwise known to the world today as Strummer.”

My eyes go wide.  “Strummer?  Strummer wrote that?”

He nods.  “He did,” he says with another sigh.  “And as your teacher, I’m not allowed to teach you or give you any unapproved materials… such as this book.”  He hands me the book again, and I take it.  “So, nobody can find out about this, understand?”

I nod.  “I understand.”

“Good,” he smiles.

I take my backpack off from my shoulders and bury the book deep inside.  The Professor has sat down again at his desk, and begun to shuffle through some papers.  I start to leave, but stop before I do.  “Can I ask you something, Sir?”

He looks up from his work, and adjusts his glasses.  “What’s that?”

I hesitate.  “Do you think I’ll be a good hero?”

He smiles at me for a moment before saying:  “A hero is someone who sacrifices everything for the greater good of humanity.  A hero protects the weak and defends the downtrodden.  A hero has courage, and a hero has heart.”  He stops and smiles.  “You will make an excellent hero, Angel.”

***

Our next class of the day is Forcefield Training with Speed.  I wish I could say that Professor Walden’s words of encouragement gave me the self-confidence I need in order to prove myself in Speed’s class.  But, of course, it did not.

Force Fields have always been my worst subject, but today, I’m doing particularly awful.  Maybe it’s because in order to conjure, and hold a force field, it requires two main things—focus and stamina—and today I have neither.

The Alphas and I sit in an evenly spaced row.  Astro on the far right, then Autumn sits several yards away from him, Aurora is next and spaced the same, and lastly is me on the far left.  We’re in the stadium, which is a massive, empty arena.  This is where Speed teaches most of his classes.  We’re in the middle of the field which lies in the center.  The field is a rectangular space, about a thousand yards long, just short of a mile in distance, and another several hundred yards wide.

We sit at the very end of the field, and in the far distance are a dozen cannons.  They only shoot bags of sand, but at the speed they fly, they still hurt like hell when they hit us.  The sandbags travel at about 3,000 feet per second, which means that it only takes about a second before they reach us.  It’s just as fast as most bullets travel.  It would kill anyone else, but thankfully we’re built stronger than that, but they can still injure us on impact.

Speed is standing alongside the field, in a safe area, clear from the cannons’ paths.  He takes the whistle that hangs from around his neck and blows.  “Close your eyes, and focus!” he shouts at us.  The others listen, and I take a deep breath before I do, too.  “Focus hard!” he shouts again.  “Do not break that focus!  If you break it, it will hurt!”

I try to concentrate as best I can.  I can feel my hands begin to tingle, as an electricity builds in my hands.  It kinda feels like when you rub your feet against the carpet too much, and you get that light tickle just at your fingertips.  I can feel the static increase and I hold my hands in front of me, to try to conjure my force field. 

I open one eye and peak at Aurora who sits beside me.  Her ball of electricity has already formed a solid, round sphere in her hands.  The sphere grows bigger and bigger, and she keeps it steady, floating before her.  She lowers her hands to her sides, and with her eyes still closed, the sphere grows so big, it begins to encompass her.  She is completely surrounded by a protective field of electricity.  Nothing will penetrate it.

I look to my own pathetic sphere, and it’s still the size of a tennis ball.  Staring at it directly stings my eyes, and I’m forced to shut them again.  Only when I do so, I break my concentration and it disappears.  I open my eyes and see that it is gone, while the rest of the Alphas are all perfectly encased in their protective fields.

Speed begins to countdown:  “Ten… nine… eight… seven….”

I panic and close my eyes quickly, trying my best to will the electricity back into my fingers.  The light tickle returns and—keeping my eyes closed this time— I hold out my hands to form my force field.

“Six… five… four….”

Just when I begin to feel the sphere grow and shape between my hands, my panicked state is too much for me.  I’m also tired, and it’s starting to hurt when I’m focusing this much energy all at once.  I begin to feel the sphere grow smaller, rather than bigger.  I panic more.

“Three… two….”

I feel the electricity disappear, and I open my eyes to see I have absolutely no protection before me.  I shut my eyes quickly again, and scramble as best I can to force the electricity back.  Please, no….

“One!”

I keep my eyes shut tightly as I try my best to conjure something.  Anything!  But nothing happens.  I instantly feel a hard smack to my forehead, and I begin to get pelted by the sandbags shooting at us.  I throw my hands up in front of me and try my best to shield myself that way.  I know better than to get up and run away.  I’ve tried that before, and all it gets me is an extra hour of “after class tutoring” with Speed, which translates to just another hour of being assaulted by bags of sand.  The pelting lasts for a good minute before Speed blows his whistle again, and his assistant shuts off the cannons.

I look to the others, and they’re completely unharmed.  Whereas, I look like I was just mugged.  I touch my lip and see that it is bleeding, and I’ll probably have at least one black eye by tomorrow.  I can feel a hard knot forming on the left side of my head, where I had turned and received most of the blows.  But most of all, my hands now ache terribly from where I tried desperately to deflect everything as best I could.

                “You OK?” Aurora frowns from where she sits several yards away from me.

                I just nod, but don’t look at her.  I feel embarrassed, especially with her sitting next to me.  Speed has made his way over to us, and of course, he stops in front of me first.  He glares down at me, and, even with the sun in my eyes, and one eye beginning to swell, I can tell that he’s pissed.  He doesn’t say anything directly to me, but mutters to himself:  “Just give it up.”

That’s the end of class, and I don’t hesitate to rush out of there.  It’s our lunch period, and I need to get home to clean myself up before our last class.  Aurora is shouting after me, as I leave, but I don’t stop until I’m outside of the arena. 

“Angel!  Wait!”  she shouts again and again.  Finally, I turn and face her.

She stops before me, and tries her best to smile.  “We’ll work on force fields next, OK?” she says.  “Don’t worry about it!  We’ll work on it until it’s perfect!  I promise!”  She pauses for me to say something, but I don’t.

I keep my head lowered, with my hair in my face, and my hand held over my lip.  I don’t like that she’s seeing how beat up I look, and I’m trying my best to disguise it. 

“And, you shouldn’t worry,” she adds.  “Because, you see, everything is like riding a bike.  It’s hard at first, but once it clicks, it clicks!  And then it will be easy!  Remember?  Just like Sunday!  Once you got it, you were on a roll!” she grins big.  “We just gotta get you to that point with this, OK?”

I try my best to smile, because I know that’s what she wants to see, but I just can’t.  I’m in pain, I’m tired, and I just want to go home.  “Sure,” I say simply and start to walk away.

I don’t know why I expect her to chase after me again, but I do.  It’s only when I’m halfway home, that I realize that she hasn’t.  And I don’t know why, but this makes me feel a little sad.