The Villain Goes To High School

Episode 1, Part 3: The Greenwood House and Doll

On the rare occasion that a lucky reader could get their hands on a comic book, contraband as they were, they could escape into a world of flashy capes and masks, alien swarms and evil masterminds, and justice and heroics of the super kind to vanquish them all. There would be enough colorful spandex to spark inspiration for a fashion designer, enough poses to fill a magazine. You could even replicate the cover, standing atop a pile of rubble with your hands on your hips and a spray-painted symbol of hope on a puffed chest as if there was nothing to fear in the world.

It was as corny as it sounded. Esper tossed the graphic novel onto the empty seat next to him.

"Who even comes up with these?" he scoffed, glaring out the window at the houses whizzing by. After looking at nothing but fields and hills for most of the road trip, the suburbs had been a nice change...until he got tired of looking at the same five blueprints repeating themselves.
"The author of that particular series is known only as Stanley," said Brandon from the driver's seat. "He passed away many years ago, but his works are still popular in the black market."

"Why does Mother let this treasonous stuff exist? Its ideas are poisonous. Heroes defeating Villains? We should find all of these books and burn them." He glowered at the bright drawing of a man posing in a blue suit on the cover of the floppy book. "Why does she even have this?"

"She says it will be good for you to study how Heroes behave."

"I'd know exactly how they behave if I had my powers to test them in combat. But no, all I get is this."

He held up his hand, where an emerald ring gleamed on his forefinger. Fantasia had given it to him as a goodbye gift. It made him feel guilty for giving her the cold shoulder for a whole week after their conversation. In truth, he'd gotten over it in less than two days and was already thinking up a strategy to approach high school without powers, like getting ahead on loathsome assigned readings. The ring was the only bit of magic she allowed him. It supposedly housed one of the ghosts in her army to serve as his protector in the event that he got himself into trouble. Or, as she warned, trouble found him.

He had allowed a hug in return and was this close to forgiving her for his predicament until she told Osha to dye his hair pitch black. She claimed it was an extra precaution because white hair was unnatural in a "handsome young man such as yourself" and would draw suspicion. Then she forced him to take the car to Greenwood. Apparently, the Greenwood House wasn't installed with portals to the Ghost Void. It would've been ten times faster traveling through the Void than a two hour drive in Civilian transportation without nearly enough leg room.

"You need to get used to a car, Esper," lectured his mother while two of her ghosts pinned Esper down so Osha could lather the black goop onto his scalp. "And buses! People will be suspicious if you simply disappear and reappear in convenient places."

He scowled. She didn't understand how inconvenient this trip was to his cramping limbs or that he had to glimpse reflections of his dull black hair in the window. 

There was a gap between houses as the road sloped upwards, winding around a gentle green hill lined with palm trees. To his relief, the architecture up here held more personality, and Esper noted some interesting features: elaborate gardens, pillars and arches, curving driveways, even a house with three stories. As Brandon wove through the neighborhood, Esper wondered which one he would be staying in. What kind of fascinating structure had his mother come up with?

Constructing haunted houses had long been a hobby of the Emerald family. Esper's grandfather had erected the Emerald Mansion and installed all of its mysterious doors that led to hidden rooms, booby-trapped corridors, and the Ghost Void. His mother then connected those doors with portals all over Emerald City and in towns beyond, giving her access to every nook of her territory. Fantasia could raise entire buildings if she wanted to, though Esper had only ever seen her expand the mansion so her ghosts had their own rooms and halls to haunt.