Teenage Heroism for Dummies {Gravity Falls Fanfiction}

Chapter 1

{Edited 1-15-20}

Dipper sat, wrapped in blankets and hugging a pillow against his chest as he watched News Channel 8. The clock on the mantle reading eleven pm, but it didn't matter to him. The rest of his family was asleep, and he was awake.

"Here comes the number one hero, Sixer! It seems that the villain has a superpower of fire, which can be dangerous. It isn't good to replicate a fiery superpower. It seems that Sixer has grabbed some of his specialized weapons— woah what is that?! It seems that Sixer has used his gun and replication power to create cooling flames and put out the actual fire! Amazing! That is the tenth crime that Sixer has resolved tonight alone, imagine what he could do by morning! This is Sarah Bar, Channel 8 News-"

The newscaster was cut off by the click of the TV. Dipper turned his head to look at an older brunette woman, one's whose face was etched in burn marks and all scratched up, but the older female didn't seem to care.

The eight-year old's face lit up in excitement. "Mommy!" he exclaimed as he got up, the blankets falling around him. He rushed over and hugged his mom's waist. He looked up at her with twinkling eyes."Did you stop any bad guys today?" he asked.

Dipper's mother smiled and pat her son's back. "I did, actually. But what are you doing up so late? You've got school tomorrow," she said.

Dipper shrugged. "I'm not tired, and I was waiting for you to get home!" he explained. "Mabel is asleep, and daddy is busy, so no one would stay up with me."

His mom laughed. "Of course they wouldn't, they're all getting ready for tomorrow. Now, why don't we head up to bed and I'll read you a-" she was cut off by a walkie talkie buzzing with an alarming sound. She frowned.

Footsteps were heard from the stairs as Mr. Pines, Dipper's father, emerged from the stairwell in full costume, fixing on his cape and moving some hair from his forehead. "There's an attack on West Avenue, not far from here. Cardinal needs backup,", he explained to the woman before looking to his son. "Dipper, didn't I tell you to go to bed?"

Dipper was about to protest before his mom stepped in. "We'll head out then," she said before kneeling to Dipper's height. "Try and get some sleep, Dipper, we'll be back before you know it."

Dipper smiled and nodded. "Okay mommy, I'll see you in the morning."

The woman kissed his forehead and followed her husband out the door, their capes swishing behind them.

Dipper stuck his hands in his pockets, exhaling a misty breath into the winter air. It was cold in Piedmont. A cold front had started the day before, so the temperature had dropped down pretty low. It didn't snow in Piedmont often, it only got cold. Even in January, the average low was 44 degrees Fahrenheit. (6.67 in Celcius)

A hand lay on his shoulder. He looked to the side to see his twin sister, Mabel. "Let's go inside, the director has some news for us," she said. Dipper nodded and followed his sister into the orphanage where they had been staying since their parents died in a villain attack. Yes, they came from a family of heroes, but no one knew that except the orphanage director.

Superheroes had developed first as people with superhuman abilities, starting with one or two superheroes. But then, it was uncovered that exactly five percent of the population of the world had these superpowers and five percent only. Because of this development, many laws were passed and superheroes became government monitored. There were entire news channels and blogs that followed these amazing people in their everyday work. One of the most popular heroes was Sixer. He had amazing support items that enhanced his superpower, which was called Photoshop. Essentially, Sixer could copy and use his opponent's ability, if they had one. If not, no matter, he was still an amazing fighter and established peace throughout most of the world. His ability was like a computer, he could see information about the superpower he was copying and store it in his brain for later. He was just an amazing hero.

Dipper and Mabel also had superpowers. Dipper's was Flora Manipulation; he could manipulate any existing plant life to his heart's desire. Mabel's was Airway Manipulation, which is pretty self-explanatory. She can use the moving air around her to lift things. Windy days were fun for her. After the two had been orphaned at age eight following the death of their parents in battle, they promised that they'd train and become great heroes like their parents. Now they were sixteen years old and already had their apprentice licenses given to them by the government, meaning they could help out in situations if necessary and there was no one else around. But, even though they were technically able to do hero work, they still had to act and live like normal high school kids. Nothing about their identity could be revealed.

Dipper knocked on the director's door, resulting in a "come in," from inside. The brunette twins quickly sat in the two somewhat comfortably chairs sitting in front of the director's desk.

The director, Ms. Hill, put threw some paper onto the desk in front of the twins before kicking her feet onto the desk and folding her hands into her lap. Dipper picked up some of the papers and flipped through them, recognizing them to be the forms that he and Mabel had filled out a couple of months ago to become Hero apprentices. Mabel began to smile as Dipper showed her the word approved stamped across the papers in red. "Did they really get approved?" She said giddily.

The director sighed. "Yes. YHTS (Youth Hero Trainee Society) contacted me last night. Your exams will take place at ten today, a representative will come to pick you up in a couple of minutes. Once your physical and mental exams are finished, they're going to fly you up to Oregon, where you'll be taken under the wing of the number two hero, Mr. Mystery."

Both Dipper and Mabel gasped and turned to each other, smiles evident on their faces. "The number two hero?!" Mabel squealed.

The director sighed in exasperation, even though a smile still tugged at her lips. "Yes, and the representative should be here any minute-" she was cut off by the doorbell ringing. "Ah, that must be them. Try to behave?"

Dipper and Mabel nodded. "We will!" They exclaimed in unison as the door shut.