Chiron Academy

Chapter 14: Guest Speaker

"All right, everyone," Mr. Buckingham said into the microphone. "I'm sorry we weren't able to meet in the auditorium, but we thought it might be more effective if we were in a bit more of an intimate experience when you could get up close and personal with our guest today."

Wyatt tried to adjust to get a bit more comfort out of his current position. He and the other students were sitting cross-legged on the open floor. They had only been sitting for a few minutes but Wyatt's legs were already protesting. He'd never liked sitting cross-legged and this experience was just yet another proof as to why.

He stared upwards from his position to where Mr. Buckingham stood at the front of the room. He was wearing a dark grey suit with a bright yellow tie. On his lapel was his ever-present American flag pin.

They had all gathered in a small classroom; the desks had all been pulled off towards the far side of the room. He smiled at the students sitting in a semi-circle in front of him. To his right were four chairs placed in a line facing the students. Wyatt wasn't sure how they would fit in but he had his suspicions. The wall behind Mr. Buckingham held a long whiteboard.

"Well, if you've kept on the school info app, you know who's coming to see us, and I'm sure she needs no introduction," he said in his usual southern drawl," unfortunately for you, I'm just that kind of animal that likes giving these kinds of introductions."

He flashed his trademark grin.

"So bear with me," he added.

He pulled a note card from his jacket pocket and began to read from the top one.

"Our guest today got her start on the streets of Hong Kong at 17. She was a founding member of the Zhèngyì Tuántǐ, Hong Kong's premiere super team. She made the jump a few years ago to this side of the world a few years ago and it hasn't slowed her down one bit. She's been a worldwide advocate for homeless youth for many years. And we all, of course, know her as one of the core members of the Fighting Force. So, without further ado, I'd love to present: Stormcloud!"

Mr. Buckingham motioned his arm towards the open classroom door and began an applause that carried to the sitting students.

A woman in a blue and yellow costume walked through the door. She was much shorter than Mr. Buckingham, even in her trademark chrome helmet that covered most of her head. Wyatt recognized her instantly as Stormcloud.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Buckingham," she said shaking his hand. Her accent was mostly British with just a bit of a Chinese phrasing on some of the words.

She reached up to her helmet and pulled it off, revealing her short black hair. Over her eyes, she wore a chrome colored domino mask.

"Hello," she said, holding her helmet under her arm. "I'm so eager to be able to meet with you all today. I'm happy to represent the Fighting Force. I often think of the exciting days when I began fighting the bad guys. I wanted to talk to you guys about something that's especially important for you as you're starting out:"

She set her helmet down on a nearby table and grabbed a marker from the whiteboard.

"Branding," she said, as she wrote it in large letters on the board in a blocky caps script.

"Now," she said, turning back to the kids," why do we as superheroes have fancy names? Why don't we just use our real names? Why do you think?"

A few hands shot up.

"Let's go with .. you," she said pointing to a girl towards the front.

"So we can be safe in our regular lives," the girl replied. "So people don't know who we really are."