14. P O W E R : Heroes

CHAPTER III

"ALRIGHT, JOCKS AND JOCKETTES!" Knox thundered. "IT'S TIME TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF: FAKE FLAKES OR TOUGH STUFF!" He stood with his hands on his hips, his eyes shielded by sunglasses and the brim of his cap as he prepared to whip his students into shape.

His children, that is.

Autumn, Spring, Summer, and Winter stood ankle-deep in the snow, staring at their father incredulously. "Uh... Dad? You do realize we're not in gym class, right?" Autumn remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Knox paused and blinked. "Oh. Uh... right." He cleared his throat, relaxing a bit. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyways," he continued, "let's get this show on the road. We'll start with basic descriptions of your powers." He began pacing back and forth, folding his bulging arms across his chest. "You all might have some idea of what you're capable of, given your names and affinities. So gimme some guesses!"

"Snow and stuff!" Winter declared immediately.

"Right!"

"Heat!" Summer guessed eagerly.

"Correct!"

"Flower power?" Spring said sarcastically.

"Close enough!"

"...Dead leaves?" Autumn asked with a shrug.

"WRONG!" Knox returned his hands to hips and shook his head. "Well, three outta four's not bad. Solid .750 at the plate." Then he pointed a meaty finger at Autumn and barked, "Your power is concentrated air manipulation! It could very well be the strongest of all of them, so you'll be working the hardest!"

"I'm always working the hardest," Autumn grumbled.

"That's the curse of the oldest child, son. You'll be bustin' your butt from 1 to 100!" Knox grinned widely. "So lead by example and show your family what it means to be a Protector!"

Autumn sighed. "Got it, Coach."

"Good! Now, let's get into some projection techniques," Knox declared. "First off, I need you guys to tell me what your power feels like. Y'know, a tingling, flexing a muscle, involuntary, et cetera."

The siblings looked at each other dubiously. "I don't feel anything," Spring said, glancing at her father.

"Me neither," Summer agreed.

"Same," Winter put in.

"Oh!" Knox slapped himself on the forehead. "Right! Totally forgot to activate you. My bad."

"Question! What does 'activate' actually mean?" Autumn asked, raising his hand.

"Well..." Knox scratched his head. "How do I put this? It's kinda like... your power's asleep, right? So I just gotta wake it up."

"How are you gonna do that?" Summer asked, her eyes widening.

Knox smiled and walked toward his kids, spreading his arms wide. "Like this!" He drew all four of them into a group hug, squeezing tightly.

"Um... Dad?" Autumn mumbled, his voice muffled by the cluster of bodies. "What're you doing?"

"Just watch," Knox replied, closing his eyes for a moment.

Then they opened again, filled with white light.

The children let out a collective shout as something like a static shock ran through all of their bodies, and they jumped apart as their hair stood on end.