Chiron Academy

Chapter 5.2: The Professor's Daughter

"-And what do we know about electrons?" the teacher asked the class. "They always fill the loooowwest available energy state. Which, in hydrogen, is what?"

The class stared blankly back at her. Wyatt wasn't sure what hydrogen's lowest energy state was, but he wasn't sure he could be lower energy than he was right then. Breakfast seemed like a very long time ago.

"There is only one electron in hydrogen," the teacher reminded the class slowly. "So what energy level would the first electron fit in?"

The class continued to stare back blankly.

Luckily, at that moment, the 12 o'clock bell rang, ending class and saving the class from answering.

"That's chapter one and two by the end of the week for the quiz. Don't forget!" the teacher barked to the class.

Wyatt packed away his notes into his bag and left the classroom. As he entered the large hallway, he joined the growing crowd of people heading towards the cafeteria.

Wyatt felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

Wyatt turned around to see a platinum blonde girl. She was shorter than Wyatt. She was not exactly pretty, she was more boyish than anything. He stared at her expectantly.

"It's Wyatt, right? Todd told me that you're Flyerman. You probably wouldn't remember me; it's been a few years. I'm Cassie."

Wyatt searched his memory, but he had no recognition of ever meeting this girl before.

"You knew my dad, Professor Lawton. Back in Baltimore."

Recognition flashed in his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, Professor Lawton." Professor Lawton was a local professor Wyatt had worked with a few times. How long had it been since he'd worked with the professor? Two years ago maybe?

"He helped me figure out some stuff for a few cases I was working on."

"I know," she said looking up at him. "One of the times you met my dad at our house, he introduced us, but I guess you wouldn't remember. I was young and I didn't say much. He always spoke very highly of you. He would say that helping you solve crimes was much more rewarding than doing another permutation of one of his experiments."

"Oh, that's cool." Wyatt said. The professor had been a cool guy. Anytime Wyatt came across a vital clue that required more than he could research himself he took it the professor.

The first time Wyatt met the professor, Wyatt had come to the last in a train of clues. He had tracked what locals were calling a monster to a warehouse on the east side. The warehouse had been empty but instead of finding any scratches or dents one expect from the 'winged beast' the shopkeepers he'd been talking to kept mentioning, he'd found a few tanks of some sort of chemical. Since they were dust-free in the otherwise filthy warehouse, Wyatt had had a pretty good idea that they were new to the warehouse.

He'd heard the local Chemistry department boasted a world-class expert so he waited until nightfall and met him as the professor was leaving the campus. He'd been a plump man, with his hair pulled into a short ponytail. He'd peered at Wyatt through thick lenses in his glasses. He was worried that the man would balk at helping a young superhero identify a chemical, but the professor had been surprisingly amenable, inviting Wyatt in and answer any questions he had. He had really seemed to get a kick out of it.

It'd turned out that the chemical was actually a very expensive liquid fuel. That put the kibosh on the winged monster theory. Wyatt had been able to link the fuel to a series of robberies at high- tech companies going on throughout the city.

Wyatt went back to thank the professor for his help, but the professor just laughed. He'd given his card to Wyatt.

"Just in case something else exciting happens and you need the help of someone who wears exceptionally thick glasses," he'd said.

"Wasn't your dad ever hesitant to deal with superheroes? I was involved in some pretty dangerous stuff."

"Naw, that kind of stuff was Dad's bread and butter. He had me playing with liquid nitrogen when I was 7. He always used to say that "Fear was the enemy of progress."

She sighed, as if the memory brought her pain, then she looked up to Wyatt.

"It really is great to meet you. You were my hero growing up. I still remember the sight of you standing on the windowsill in my dad's lab. The moon was shining behind you into the lab. You were kind of my inspiration for becoming a vigilante."

"Oh, nice," Wyatt said. He could smell the aroma of food emanating from the cafeteria. He wasn't sure what it was. Some sort of meat. Hot Dogs, maybe?

"Yeah, I figured I couldn't let the good that I could do go undone. I really figure that if you don't do something, there is a good chance no one will..."

Wyatt's attention slowly shifted from what Cassie was saying towards the cafeteria. He still wasn't sure what lunch was exactly, but whatever it was, he knew it smelled amazing.

"So, how is he doing these days? Your dad." Wyatt said during a moment of silence.

"Oh, he, uhh.... " she started. "Not well."

Her face regained her crestfallen look.

"He had... He had a lab accident a few years ago. I don't exactly what he was working on. Dad was interested in pretty much everything. He's mostly recovered physically, but mentally, he hasn't been the same."

She continued to stare off into space, her mind obviously elsewhere. She took a slow heavy breath. Wyatt became very conscious of time as the moment stretched on.

"Yeah, that really sucks," Wyatt finally managed, unsure of what to say. "He was a really cool guy."

The moment stretched on. Cassie didn't say anything. She merely nodded.

Finally, Wyatt breached the only topic he could think of.

"Sooooo, do you... want to go to lunch?" Wyatt hazarded.

"No," Cassie answered with a sniffle. "No, it's fine. I'll grab some a bit later. I've ... got to grab something from my room first."

"Okay, well, it's been good to see you again. I'll probably see around."

"Yeah," was all she managed as she turned and walked away.

Not in the direction of the dormitories, Wyatt noted.

Wyatt made his way towards the now much shorter line in the cafeteria.

He could now see they were serving hot dogs and mac and cheese with broccoli bits in it. It was the happiest Wyatt had been all day.