When Heroes Fall

Chapter 16

First bell rang through the intercom system. Sitting in his desk, Matt tapped his pencil against the rigid plastic surface. Around him, the rest of the class chattered, waiting for their teacher to get in and settle the room. Matt bit his lower lip. A few seats in front of him, Andres was turned toward another classmate—catching up on song they were practicing for the upcoming orchestra concert. Light and relax, Andres leaned into the conversation. A casual grin kept his tone upbeat as he talked about his violin solo.

Shifting his textbooks around on his desk, Matt debated the best way to get Andres' attention. His stomach fluttered as he glanced up again to meet Andres' gaze. Andres lifted a hand, waving to him before turning back to his conversation. Taking a deep breath, Matt stood and stepped over to Andres' desk.

"Talking about the concert?" Matt asked weakly. If the awkwardness he felt shone through, Andres did not address it, instead raising his fist and bumping it against the other band students'. He shifted his full attention to Matt, leaning back in his desk.

"Yeah, everyone was worried it'd get pushed back with the repairs to the auditorium, but Mr. Duclair arranged for us to perform at the old theater. The acoustics in there are dope," Andres explained.

"That sounds cool," Matt shifted from one leg to the other, "Uh, hey—how would you feel about grabbing coffee or something after rehearsal?"

Andres' grin brightened. He opened his mouth to reply when six different cell phones went off with various alarms. The whole class stopped what they were doing to reach into their pockets and bags and pull out their phones. Whispers broke out. Matt slipped his phone out of his back pocket. Typing in his code, he opened the device and clicked on the alert. It was the city's emergency meta-alert system.

"Oh shit, that Chaos chick is fighting Gea outside city hall," Dylan shouted from the back of the class. Matt froze. The alert didn't spell out the details, but Matt could image the scene playing out on Dylan's screen.

"Isn't she a villain too," Ross asked, standing as they approached Dylan. They leaned into his person space to watch the story play out.

Matt didn't need to see Carl Kennedy's face to know he was standing in front of the wreckage. It was the same scene, playing over again. Suddenly, he couldn't breathe. All the air forced itself outside of his body.

Andres reached out, brushing his arm, "Hey, Matt? You okay?"

The classroom door swung open. Mr. Alverez stomped in, glowering over the classroom. "Settle down! What is the meaning of this?"

The class did not settle down, instead growing louder in their conversation. Their voices warped together in Matt's head. He forced himself to exhale, tying to ground himself. The police would be on the scene soon, and he had seen Chaos fight. She was scrappy. It wasn't his problem. He swore he was done playing the hero. It wasn't his job. It never of should been in the first place; he was kidding himself thinking otherwise.

"Damn," Dylan's voice rose over the others again. Matt turned mechanically to see Dylan's face scrunch up, "earth lady just threw Chaos to the ground."

Comet's body laid crumpled in the middle of the street, crushed by the weight of Gea's powers. He fought her alone. Chaos was fighting her alone. Matt couldn't be there for Aiden. He missed the fight when he was needed most.

We can all be a hero, if only we choose to act. Alice's words rang through his head. He hadn't thought about the funeral in weeks. Aiden used to ask him why he wanted to be hero so badly, usually when he was patching up Matt's latest injuries in an attempt to talk him into quitting. Matt laughed at him every time. If he didn't, who would. He couldn't wait for someone else when he had the ability to help. Then he would joke about how hot the costume made him look and Aiden would laugh before sending him home. Coldness shrouded the warmth of the memory.

Chaos was right when she said it wasn't fair that they had to fight, but in the last few weeks, he had seen that the world did not play fair. If he wanted a better world, he had to take the first step in creating it. And that started by grabbing his costume.

Swinging around, Matt met Andres' worried gaze. "I have to go."

Before Andres could ask why or Mr. Alverez could stop him, Matt sprinted out of the classroom toward home.

He really should have kept the suit in his backpack.