Mechaboy rubbed sleep from his eyes and rolled over in his hard bed. The only distinguishing feature in the sterile white room was a young woman sitting on a stool across from him, staring at a tube television in the corner.
On the screen, a large chiron read: In Loving Memory of Mayor Darrien Smite and Deputy Mayor Laura Lafroe.
Mechaboy turned away from the TV, "I'm surprised you're here, Nairobi. Did Ninjaman come as well?"
Nairobi turned to face him and smiled, "He's still a bit wary of you and the INHO, so he decided not to. He did tell me to update him on your status."
Mechaboy nodded, "I'm not surprised. We did just meet formally for the first time last night, I haven't given him a reason to trust me yet."
"Alex," she called out, "I don't want to scare you, but you've been in the hospital for a week. How are you feeling right now?"
Alex rolled over in the hospital bed toward her, "Fine, I guess. So what was the total damage? Based on that news report, I can already gather some of it…"
Nairobi twiddled with her fingers and shook her head, "All in all, we were able to mitigate a lot of it. For the amount of villains there, the property damage was minimal. Injuries were little to none. And only three fatalities, the mayor, the deputy mayor and the mayor's personal security guard."
Alex clenched his sheets tightly, "T-that could have been avoided. If only I were stronger—"
Nairobi put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't beat yourself up, Alex. There is truly nothing more you could have done. You fought off 7 metahumans by yourself for almost half an hour. You are the sole reason there wasn't significantly more loss of life."
Alex was silent and shook his head slowly for a long time. He looked past Nairobi, at the TV. He watched the replay of the mayor's funeral service silently for a few minutes.
He grabbed his phone from a nearby table and opened it. He was inundated with messages, congratulations, condolences, hate, thanks, but something was missing. He closed it and pinched his forehead.
"He hasn't called me, Nairobi. He hasn't texted me to see how I'm doing, or apologize for not coming. Hell, I texted him that night before I went to engage with them at the Capitol building. I said I need his help, I don't have anyone else. He didn't even respond to that."
Alex put his forearm over his eyes and rolled onto his back, "I wasn't his apprentice. I was a fool he could trick. A naïve kid, he gave the bare minimum of support to, so I could take over his spot in this godforsaken state and he could be free to pursue his dreams."
Nairobi stared at him as tears streamed down his face.
Alex spoke between broken sobs, "I followed all his instructions…I thought…"
Nairobi rubbed his shoulder and shook her head, "I know you're still in high school, Alex, but you're not a kid anymore. Being such a highly ranked hero has thrust you into the world of adults. And as an adult, this is the only result of being blindly obedient. You only get used."
Nairobi moved his forearm to his side, and he stared up at the ceiling.
"I dedicated myself to my duty, Nairobi. I mean, it defined who I am. More people call me Mechaboy than Alex. Are you saying that means nothing?"
Nairobi crossed her arms and frowned, "Alex, listen to what you're saying. You weren't 'defined by your duty', you were beholden to it. Restrained by it. What is your goal, Alex? As heroes, we're going to help people, and we're going to have to follow the INHO's commands, anyway. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to climb the rankings, do you want to get stronger?"
Alex shook his head, "I want to prevent tragedies like this from happening. I want there to be no loss of life. So I guess to make that happen, I need both things. If I was stronger, if I was higher in the ranks, the villains would be deterred from even trying to attack."
Nairobi nodded in approval, "You're strong, Alex. And I'm not just talking about your abilities, your mech forms or your weapons. Your courage and your perseverance are your strengths. There are not many heroes who would willingly stand against 7 powerful villains, and there are even less that would get back up and keep fighting after taking so many powerful attacks head on. That alone will help you reach your goals."
Nairobi stood up, "You don't need to be a dutiful subordinate anymore. You can be a hero people look up to, and one villains fear. Let me help you, Alex. Let us help you. Join the Paragons and I promise you'll get there."
Alex laughed dryly and rolled away from her, "You and Ninjaman, huh? You know I'm supposed to be hunting him, right?"
"On Senshi Sentinel's orders, right? Are you really going to listen to his commands after all of this? You aren't even listed in the INHO registry as his sidekick anymore, nobody is forcing you to obey him."
"What's so special about that guy, anyway?" Alex huffed like a child, "You said you don't like him romantically, so why hang around him? You could join a top-tier hero group with your reputation…"
Nairobi smiled from ear to ear, "Because he's interesting! I'm telling you, the hero world is going to revolve around him soon. The Black Company, Esoterica's Royal Family and the INHO already have their eyes on him, and it hasn't even been 6 months. Get on the train before it leaves the station…"
Nairobi walked toward the door but stopped before grabbing the handle, "I heard a saying once. Man is nothing but what he makes of himself. Even if you don't join us, don't fall back into the same routines when you're healed. Be your own hero.