It's A Hero's World (Sequel to 'Opposites Attract')

A New Way of Thinking

After Principal Power's announcement, the entire student body was ushered into the gym hall, where we were instructed to find a seat in the bleachers.

"This is so weird," Layla said, looking slightly worried as held tightly onto Will's hand with her own.

We all nodded in agreement. For years and years, the first day of Sky High was either Power Placement for new students or normal lessons for older students. Never before had the whole student body been brought before the Principal and the rest of the faculty for an announcement of a 'difference' in the way the school year would be run. 

We all shimmied across the bleachers until we found some available spots to sit down. The excited hum of the students was buzzing through the air as Warren put his hand on my knee. I looked across at him and he gave me a 'you okay?' kind of look, which I nodded to.

"LISTEN UP!" Boomer yelled.

Principal Powers smiled, rubbing her ear slightly from Boomer's outburst before she addressed us all again.

"I'm sure all of our new students will have heard of the battle we fought for our school last year, and practically all of our older students will remember it. Never before, in all the generations it has been around, has Sky High been infiltrated and threatened from within; but last year was a stark reminder that not only do we have a responsibility to use our powers to serve our community, but we have the responsibility to use them to protect our school. That being said, there will be a new focus to our curriculum this year, that we will be trialling with the vision of implementing it in years to come. It is one that will teach you all to act like heroes from Day One. There will be no more Heroes classes or Hero Support classes."

The entire hall burst with chatter as people considered what this might mean for us all. I looked over at Zach to find him grinning from ear to ear. I completely understood- it would be nice not to have that social separation of 'heroes' and 'sidekicks'- we'd all be learning together as a collective.

"Settle down, please. Please, settle down," Principal Powers called.

The students did as they were asked as the buzzing of chattering hummed down to a silence.

"You will sort yourselves into groups, of your choosing, showcasing a wide array of powers and abilities. Within that group, you will partake in your hybrid hero and sidekick learning, subject matter that has been kindly adapted by your teachers and professors. You will remain in those groups for the academic year; you will be taught in those groups, you will be tested in those groups, and you will be assessed in those groups," Principal Powers explained.

"Let me make one thing crystal clear," she continued, finding us in the crowd and looking directly at us, "If last year taught us anything, it was the importance of a group effort in taking down the villains who threaten the fabric of our society. Without the teamwork displayed by several individuals last year (representatives of both Heroes class and Hero Support class, might I add), we would not be sitting in this school today. Sky High plans to head the movement for teams of heroes taking on our threats; there is no one super who can do this alone anymore."

The hall was silent as Principal Power's words washed over us all, leaving goose bumps prickling the arms of dozens of students. 

"I will hand over to Coach Boomer, now," she finished, taking a step back to allow Boomer to step forward.

"Alright, pansies, this is how it's gonna go," his voice resounded around the room, "You're going to put yourself into teams of 7 or 8. Everyone in this room will be showcasing their powers today- I don't care how long you've been here- and you can make your decisions at the end of the day as to who is in your team. Comprende?" 

There were a lot of groans coming from the older students at the prospect of another Power Placement, but we all nodded nonetheless. 

"And now a word from Mr Boyd," Boomer finished.

"It's um, Mr Boy," Mr Boy corrected, stepping forward, "Well, uh, hello to you all! My name is, uh, Mr Boy, and I am the Head of Hero Support... or should I say I, uh, used to be, because that's not really a thing anymore," he trailed off slightly before getting his mojo back; "Anyway, I just wanted to reiterate this morning that although we are, uh, ditching the labels as it were- we don't use the 's' word anymore... that's, uh, 'sidekick'- it is important that your group demonstrates a range of abilities. No power is to be, uh, overlooked."

He spotted us in the stands, "Let's, uh, let's take this group here," he gestured to us and I would have welcomed the ground swallowing me whole as hundreds of eyes snapped to look our way.

Layla gave a nervous smile, Will gave an awkward wave, and Warren just bowed his head and looked at the floor.

"This, uh, ragtag bunch will be a team... I presume. For those of you who don't know, uh, it was these guys and gals who saved our school last year," he smiled, nodding to himself, "And, uh, these guys are the perfect example because they, uh- do you want to come to the front guys?"

I looked away immediately and my eyes found Will who was very stiffly shaking his head at Mr Boy ever so slightly.

"UP!" Boomer yelled.

Okay now I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

Zach was up in a flash (I think he's low-key scared of Coach Boomer), quickly followed by Ethan, the two of them turning to the rest of us and gesturing for us to get up too.

Will and Layla rose, Magenta and I rolled our eyes before getting up too, and Warren let out the biggest sigh, swearing just loud enough for me to hear before he hauled himself up too, summoning his best scowl to aim at Mr Boy.

Mr Boy obviously noticed this, gulping and saying, "You guys can just stay there if that's easier."

We all sighed and he took that as his gesture to continue.

"Anyway, these students may not look like your usual team of heroes, but they all played their part in last year's escapade. Uh, Mr Peace, there is an, uh, Pyrokinetic which might be a little dangerous to demonstrate where you uh, w-where you are right now," Mr Boy chuckled nervously, "And then we have, uh, Miss Williams who can, uh, control plant life. And, there we have the Stronghold twins; Mr Stronghold has super-strength and flight abilities while, uh, Miss Stronghold has water manipulation and teleportation abilities."

Warren smirked and the start of a snicker left his lips, earning him a swift elbow in the side from me.

"And then we have, uh, the rest of their group. We have, uh, we have Ethan, who can... melt; and we also have Zach who-"

"I glow," Zach declared, proudly to the room.

"Yeah he... glows, and, um, Magenta she shape shifts... into a, um, guinea pig," Mr Boy concluded, "But my point is, some of this group have powers you maybe wouldn't necessarily associate with being 'super', but, uh, they all played a very vital role in saving the school. It took each and every one of them. Don't presume that because one person's abilities aren't blatantly, uh..." he struggled to find the right word, "beneficial to your cause, that they aren't worth having. It's all about looking a little deeper and, uh, helping each other discover the true potential of your powers. That's, um, that's all from me... you guys can sit down again now."

Warren and I sat back down in less than a second at that, having thoroughly hated every second of being scrutinised by our peers. The rest of the group followed suit.

"Okay!" Boomer began, "I'm not about to mess around reading your names from a list- we'll do this in the order you're sat. So you, Caveman!" he shouted, jabbing his finger at a guy sat on the end of the front row with some seriously unruly shoulder-length hair and a vacant expression on his face; "What's your name, what's your power?"

This was going to be a long day...