Unwanted Heroes

chapter nine: a unique orientation pt. 1

Fin led Shyama into the gymnasium where Al had decided to hold the twins' orientation--something Fin wished he would've had.

His orientation ended with him knocked out by a four-inch wedge and waking up with a badly-drawn image of Kem printed on his face, courtesy of Al and sponsored by a Sharpie found on the doctor's desk.

"Welcome to the gym," he said, holding the door open for Shyama to pass through. "A lot of people use it for exercise but we've reserved it just for you and your sister today."

"For what? Orientation?" Shyama asked.

"Well, she said it's the meeting point to orientation. It's very spur-of-the-moment and kinda disorganized, even for Al--she's our leader," he replied, shutting the door.

"Huh."

Fin turned on the rest of the lights, the sudden light creating disruptive spots in Shyama's vision.

Shyama rubbed his eyes quickly. One good working eye was a pretty shitty one when compared to an eye that couldn't work at all. This is complete and utter bullsh--

"Hey, Shyama. You alright?" Fin blurred in his line of vision as he squinted.

"Yeah, yeah. It's cool," he said, readjusting his glasses. "Eyes are getting weird, that's all."

"It's ok to cry, you know."

Shyama glared in the general direction of Fin's voice. "I'm not going to cry," he snapped. "I just have really sucky eyesight, is all."

There you go again, talking like the ultimate shitlord to your crush, Shyama thought bitterly, giving himself a mental slap upside the head.

He could see Fin nodding understandingly from his clearing vision. "So, what exactly are we doing for this orientation?" Shyama asked.

"Oh. Right. I'm supposed to give you these, " Fin remembered, running over to a shelf and handing Shyama a pile of clothes. "Changing room's that way."

~•~•~

Sharmila readjusted her glasses and looked closely at the garments Mar had handed to her: a white t-shirt with electric blue borders, collar, and hem, matching pants with an electric blue waistband and hems, and white slippers with an electric blue toe and a white border at its end.

What is up with this blue and white theme? Sharmila wondered, setting her clothes down on the bench. No one else is wearing these glorified pajamas. Is there a reason why?

Sharmila sat down on the bench and shut her eyes. Maybe a little glimpse of the future would give her an idea.

OK, future, what do you have in store for me? Sharmila thought, the familiar sensations of a coming premonition taking over her body.

Almost immediately, images came in no particular order like a slideshow, each one lingering for a few seconds then disappearing.

Rooftops. The sky. Running. Grappling hooks. Brick walls. Bloody tissues. Chicken soup.

Sharmila opened her eyes. "Someone's probably gonna run into a brick wall," she mumbled as she pulled her shirt over her head. "I hope it isn't me."

~•~•~

"Sorry, we're late," Al apologized, jogging into the gym, Kem striding right behind her. "Had to get the watches and put in the data for the hooks."

"Well, you're lucky the recruits aren't out here waiting for you," Mar huffed impatiently, sitting up from the work bench she was lying on. "Those two look like they have no time to lose."

"Ah, today's youth. Always living life in the fast lane," Kem mused.

"Kem, you're still one of 'today's youth'," Fin pointed out, rolling off of the yoga ball he rested on.

Kem shook his head in denial. "Oh, no. I am now an official adult. I'm 18, remember?" he corrected his red-haired teammate. "It is now my responsibility to keep you rugrats out of trouble."

"Ah!" Al piped up suddenly. "Speaking of rugrats, how's your sister? Thandi, right?"

An unearthly squeal came from Kem, his face aglow with enthusiasm. Mar winced, her close proximity to him giving her the brunt of the sound.

"Ooohhhhh my god, she's sooooo adorable! She's the embodiment of cute and she loves me a lot and--aaahh! She's great!" Kem listed his baby sister's many great qualities.

Mar raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, some people might take this conversation out of context and think you're fawning over a girl you like," she commented.

Kem narrowed his eyes. "Mar, I'm as straight as my hair," he deadpanned. "The likelihood of me getting a girlfriend is you beating me in a pie-eating competition."

Al burst into raucous laughter while Fin's face turned cherry red from keeping his laugh in. Mar exhaled sharply. "It was my 14th birthday! I felt especially daring that day!" she argued over Al's laughter.

"Daring enough to shove pie up your nose for the sake of competition?" Kem snarked.

"Hell yeah!" Mar replied proudly. "In fact, I think I was daring enough to shove two pies up my nose for the heck of it!"

"Nice topic to walk into," a deadpan voice commented from the direction of the changing rooms.

"Oh! Hi, Shyama!" Fin greeted the boy, who was fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

Shyama looked stunned for a moment and gave a small, awkward wave and smile to Fin. "Heeeyyy," he managed to squeeze out.

"Aaaaawww! You've made a friend much quicker than I expected!" A more female-looking version of Shyama tackled him into a hug.

"Sh-Sharmila!" he yelped. "Get off of me, you weirdo!"

Al's eyes glittered with excitement. "The new recruits!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing over to them.

She extended both of her hands out. "Hi! I'm Alexis, but you can call me Al! I'm the this ragtag team of vigilantes' leader. Nice to meet you!" Al introduced herself.

"Sharmila Joshi, nice to meet you," Sharmila greeted her, shaking her hand.

"Shyama Joshi, a pleasure," Shyama mumbled, returning the gesture.

Al beamed at both of them. "Well, I sure am excited to have you two join our team," she said enthusiastically.

She paused momentarily before quickly adding, "Or...at least...considering to join." Fin could see a tinge of red on Al's face.

"I think it'll take very little convincing for us to want to join this noble cause," Shyama consoled her stiffly.

Al's eyes widened in surprise, an enormous grin already spreading upon her face. "Alrighty then, team!" she declared loudly. "To the roof!"

A/N: Boy howdy, I sure love writing characters that argue like 12-year-olds.

I should've updated sooner but life happens and I nearly died around the middle of the week because of a lack of motivation and interest in life.

Hope you enjoy!