Heroism: Rise of SPAI ~ an applyfic

Chapter Five: Reality

Warning: Potentially triggering content (thoughts linked to low self-esteem, references to racism, breaking readers' hearts)

The group from the first simulation left the room in high spirits. Ethan, Kiara, Victor and Alina had succeeded in finding the shadow stone together, the perfect democracy of a team. That had gone so well that Victor had even forgiven Alina for having accused him of sabotaging her.

Group three hadn't had as smooth a ride. Alanna had attempted to join Asha and Hunter for the task, but Hunter wouldn't accept Alanna. In contrast, Esmeralda hadn't even attempted to join them.

Now the duo walked back to their rooms. Asha couldn't surpress it any longer. "Why wouldn't you let Alanna join us?"

"She's messed up, Asha. Trust me, I'd stay away from her. Thank goodness that she's going to get cut."

"How do you know that?", asked Asha.

Hunter sighed. "I talked to Mrs. Spy. Turns out they were- It doesn't matter, there's no need for you to worry about it."

"True... All we can worry about now is who gets to stay and who has to leave," commented Asha. Even though she'd done fairly well in each task, including the bit they'd done online, she was scared that she'd get cut. Maybe she was being paranoid, but her Ménière's disease would be seen as reason enough to eliminate her by some. Luckily, she hadn't had an attack during one of the tasks. She just hoped things wouldn't take a downward turn anytime soon.

"Well, you needn't worry about getting cut! You're amazing!", Hunter reassured her with a toothy grin.

"You too. You've got the physique for it as well as the heart," responded Asha.

"You talking about yourself there?", joked Hunter.

Asha smiled, touched. She would by no means have described her childhood as hard, even though some would view it that way. But the mental damage her homelife had caused her in combination with her Ménière's had often left her the weird kid, the outsider. She'd had friends, but never a best friend. She'd been invited out, but her parents had seldomly let her, stressing about the dangers of such an urban area for a young female of colour. Now she'd partly grown past the point where her inner turmoil was so blatantly obvious. She could easily seem normal, for a while at least. But deep within her soul, the question that always plagued her tugged at her. How long would this last? How long before she showed what a useless person she was. This friendship felt like a ticking time bomb. She couldn't live up to Hunter.

¤ ¤ ¤

Ever since Ichiro had decided to search for Alec, Andre had been lying in bed, trying to quiet the voices in his mind. Why had the computer turned off? He hadn't done anything, but so quickly this dream he was chasing had leapt further away. He wanted to be a superhero so much. Not for the glory or anything, but with how far he'd come at this point, he wanted to prove to himself that he could make it.

Then again, he considered the superhero life. He'd have to be a role model, an exemplary human. Could he manage that? It was true, he was by no means a bad influence. But was he the sort of person you could look up to? The sort of person little kids wanted to be? Maybe not, but he was human and as a kid, that was the kind of rolemodel he had needed. One who struggled, one who had to fight with his demons. Nobody lived life with the perfect moral code and without a single struggle. Andre had fallen into the pits of darkness. He hoped now that he'd got out, he could show others how to do the same.

Victor's arrival interrupted his musings. The light haired man sat on Andre's bed, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay? What happened? You scared us all when you vanished..."