(Discontinued) CORHEIM Year One Volume 1: The New Heart in Town

Chapter Dvadeset i Jedan

Chapter 21——The Apex and the New Glory
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———THE NEXT DAY———

A few minutes before the training course will begin for the class of the Salamanders; and the halls were empty with boredom. It felt uncomfortable to these two heroes, alumnus of Surwick, graduated back in 2008, two years after the incident.
They were both tall in their own ways, and handsome as well.
One was an Aryan, tough-jawed Caucasian who almost in his thirties, quite charming to the public and to those he respected privately. His blue eyes sparked with ambition, his handsomeness won him the "Sexiest Hero Of The Year" by Forbes thrice in a row before losing it to another hero.
His outfit was that of an Sergeant Major Artillery for the union army back in the Civil War, it was due to his great-great-great grandfather fought in. Passed to him, he wore it because of how he defended his ideals.
The other was taller than him at a staggering six-seven, he was a late bloomer, students and teachers back then knew Enapay as a "timid, kind" tyke. His hair shined brighter than night glow.
Immersed in his Lakota culture, the man known as "Chief Apex" showed great pride in where he came from——Even having the symbol of the thunderbird on his chest, beleaguered by black, red and white as his costume was. Whenever he began to fight, a headdress of a Lakota chieftain would manifest from nothing. His face would also be covered by paints of spirits.
Yin and Yang have never been so clear with these heroes.
"It's been quite a while since.....How long has been since we last saw it each other?" New Glory asked his friend, grooming his hair as he looked at his old friend.
"Been about...two years and you look more patriotic than ever, Ace."
"Yeah—would be less if you stayed with the team, Enapay." New Glory replied back with a hint of anger.
He sighed deeply. "Valiance didn't need another physical hitter like me, you sorta hit the jackpot when it came to superpowers." Enapay was right: his friend was much stronger, smarter than him, can fly while he could leap great distances, impervious to all damage and could fire off five beams of highly deadly lasers in just one eye; what was the point of him if New Glory was overpowered.
"But it was your leadership that we need——Or, needed." He complimented Enapay, he was right——He was less of a leader and more of a celebrity who was cast as a sergeant in a war movie.
Enapay had also read the revisions that John "Ace" Almasy made prior to them coming to the school.
"Catira Meng was quite the exceptional student. I'm guessing you were jealous that she's a Heart-Bond?"
Made that he made New Glory seethed a bit.
"Look, Enapay: that girl smelled like absolute shit. And our mighty, powerful, prestigious school does not need a hero that smells like rotten eggs from the ground up. Why should I be jealous of some Heart-Bond? I'm the epitome of the American dream: Not her." His friend was so in the deep of the high life——that made Enapay wonder if Ace had a moral voice in his head now.
And it needs a Finnish girl whose powers are just an owl, who you have a great relationship with the Harmaajärvi's; the Premier Hero family of Finland?
"I see your judgmental exterior hasn't changed one bit, Ace." Enapay shrugged off as his heartbeat didn't, reaching 120/68 before calming down again.
"Of course," His friend chuckled a bit, he did not care about how he treated others he deem as "failures" or "troglodytes". Enapay, on the other hand, can make him feel pain.
Why is your heart beating that fast all of a sudden? It's usually about 68 beats per minute.....New Glory wondered to himself.
New Glory, or Ace Almasy had the upmost respect for him. "Still, I am glad that you accepted his call—We're a sort of a duo again."
And he was right. Even as they were teammates on Valiance, the premier hero team of America, they could not exactly talk to another as much as possible.
Then, he was in a romantic relationship with Trench Fighter, another member of Valiance who could breathe underwater and travel to the deepest of trenches. It made Ace envious of how someone like Enapay can get throw away their friendship for someone like her.
One look and New Glory could kill anyone without them blinking.
Sociopathic Hero. Enapay remembered the term in his head. He is only a hero in name——I know what he does to people he deems "horrible" when the cameras aren't on. I seen the pictures.....
His friend was a two-face celebrity hero with murderous intent and Enapay was a believer of a dying religion: Now back into the school that molded them into what they are today, a bittersweet homecoming.
"I wanted to see the Class of the Griffons; not these pretentious little redcaps." New Glory said with a demeaning smirk, he had a strong aversion to kids despite having a high approval of males through 14-52.
"I prefer the underdogs." His friend said while there was an eyelash in his left eye, clawing it a bit to get it out.
"Of course you do. Everyone loves a good comeback story."
Enapay agreed as he finally got the rogue eyelash out of his eye. "They sure do."
They walked a bit more before Nee Glory stopped and turned at one locker, grinning immensely.
"Oh oh oh——Number 260," He pointed to his friend, grabbing his friend and dragged him before they both stood in front of the metallic locker.
"My old locker. The memories within these lockers. I remember how I used to push that one nerd in there."
Tyler Swoon? Good kid: I wonder what happened to him....My locker was 372, next to my school crush. She had the most fairest black hair. I remember my first kiss with her: It was in a private part of the old gymnasium.....Then it got......Really good....Enapay thought as it made him miss the good old days. All the way up til November 2006–Where the incident took the lives of millions. Whenever he would think about them, he could picture being with them.
For their sake and his, all he could is honor them by saving others. "Bomb Training Procedure should be the easiest thing these kids can do for their first training.If they can use their brains to use the building to their advantage——they'll figure it out it's easier than cooking by the box."
"Oh?" His friend perked up. "Yeah——They're not doing that."
"What?
"They didn't tell you? They're doing the Cult Takeover Procedure today." New Glory informed his friend, reaching to the same hall where the classroom is at.
Cult Takeover Procedure? But the fourth-years haven't even done that yet. Even so, with the cult androids and the village that makes Resident Evil 4 wanna cringe in fright. Enapay thought. "When did this happened?"
"Last minute."
So, that's where Sora's and Brandon's class is at..I can't stand those two: youngest teachers. Tell that to Mr. Sosa himself if he was still alive. That man scared the shit outta me and his boy doesn't have any of his genes. Such a mama's boy. That were the many thoughts of New Glory, having no regards to anything except a few things in life: People he respected, the high life, and being the number one hero in America.
"Now," New Glory started to get his game face as he used minimal strength to leave his good friend's arm sting from the pat, quite extraordinary for Chief Apex, who was known for his invulnerability. "Cheer up, Payday——I'm going to go in there and be the charming, All-American that these kids want me to be. If you want to have a smile on your face——have a smile on your face. Besides——You hardly have any emotional baggage to be this down."
And thus New Glory's public persona of the All-American Sweetheart had come onto the surface, entering into the homeroom and shouting pleasantly to the students.
"Are you ready to shoot the rockets or what?!"
"OMG——IT'S NEW GLORY!!!!" One girl fangirling about how New Glory came.
Enapay touched a strand of his hair, rather disappointed how the school he loves the most is a far cry now. What has come to this school? It feels more like a training base for the future generation of soldiers than a school.....

———Track 21 Ended———