"HEY! STOP IT!" A kid yelled as he was getting pushed against a bathroom wall.
Two upper class students stood ahead of him, smirking hard.
One of them stepped up. A boy with thick eyebrows and bleach dyed buzz cut. "Oh stop crying, kid. Just think of it as a compliment! I really like that jacket… so give it here."
The other student behind him, a stocky guy with a jean jacket that was 2 sizes too small, laughed in amusement.
The first guy reached his hand out to take it off of the young boy, but the kid pulled back hard. "No! Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Boo-hoo." the other bully said. "Stop acting like you're so hurt. Isn't your dad the #5 B-Rank Hero? He'll just buy you another one. He's got the money."
He stepped up in front of the other. "You know what. Now that I'm looking at it, that bag seems nice too. Hand it over. Now."
The young student clutched his bag tighter, frantically shaking his head. "No, you can't have this either. It's one of a kind. My dad got it when he—"
The first student aggressively stepped forward and SNATCHED the bag from his hands. "That wasn't a request dumbass."
"STOP!" The kid screamed.
"Shut up, little boy." He said before handing the bag over to his friend. "You lucky we don't take that shirt off your damn back."
He turned back and faced the kid. "Now… gimme that jacket right now before I get piss—"
He glanced to the side and noticed something that stopped him mid sentence.
Him and the other bully flinched and took a step back. "Huh? You!?"
The younger kid looked over and saw someone calmly standing at the front of the bathroom.
Trio.
Flat faced. Hands in his pockets. Eyes shifting back and forth between all three students.
The two bullies took another step back as they clenched their teeth. The young kid took a loud gulp, unknowing if he was more afraid of the people in front of him or the guy who just walked in.
Trio swept his gaze across them one more time before his brow furrowed in irritation. "The hell are y'all staring at? Didn't know I needed an audience to take a piss."
The upperclassmen nervously looked at each other.
Trio shook his head and walked forward. "Watch out, man."
The bullies moved out of his way to let him pass. As he slid by them, he caught a glimpse of the younger student out of the corner of his eye.
Hey… that's one of the kids that was talking shit in the courtyard. Looks like these bozos are taking his lunch money.
Hm. Sucks to suck, kid. Maybe try calling Shockwave to come help you.
He's the #1 rookie right? He'll come. Well… that is if he's done putting on his makeup.
He continued walking and casually made his way to the urinal.
The stockier one tapped his buddy on the shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Cmon let's go."
He nodded in agreement. "Right."
Just as they turned to leave, the young kid ran up and grabbed at his book bag. "Give that back, man. For real."
"Hey, let go man." The big guy said in low, hurried voice.
They kept tugging back and forth at the bag. Neither one able to fully strangle it away.
They both pulled even harder, trying to pull free—until they heard the flush of the urinal—they both stopped for a moment to nervously look in that direction.
Trio wasn't even paying attention to them. He was minding his own business as he casually zipped his pants up and re-buckled his belt.
The young kid shook his head in disbelief.
Oh come on. You gotta be kidding me, of all the people that coulda walked in… why Trio? This sucks, man.
The bully YANKED one good time, snagging the bag from his grasp. "Gimme that."
All three looked over one more time. Trio didn't even look their way.
The two bullies smiled and nodded at each other. Then they started heading out. The smaller one pointed at the boy. "You're lucky we gotta go, kid. We'll see you later for that jacket." Then he turned to leave.
Just as they were about to exit the bathroom. Trio's voice echoed through the bathroom. "Hold up." He said, tone firm.
They stopped and slowly… turned back to face him.
He still wasn't even looking at them. He just put up a finger. "Give me one second."
They froze. Unable to bring themselves to move for some reason, anxiously waiting for Trio to say something.
Then—
Without another word, Trio walked past them.
He slowly strolled up to the sink, pumped some soap in his hand, turned it on, rinsed his hands in the cold water, and turned it off.
Then he walked past them again.
He walked up to the paper towel machine, swiped his hand under it once, twice, snatched the paper, and dried his hands. Still not even making eye contact with them.
He calmly made his way to the trash, and threw the paper towel away.
Then he walked up and stood in place in front of them.
He eyed them both, shook his head, and then let out a long, deliberate, annoyed sigh. "Aight… give the kid his shit back."
They both recoiled in confusion. "Huh?" they said with scrunched faces.
The kids eyes went wide, jaw dropped in disbelief. His gaze frantically shifted between both sides.
Trio slid his hands back in his pockets. Face still expressionless. "You heard me, bro. Give him back his stuff… right now. Hurry up."
Both bullies took a step back, they looked at each other with the same desperate expression. Then, the smaller one rubbed his jaw in thought.
Then he stepped forward. "Oh yeah? Or what? What you gonna do? Beat us up?"
Trio squinted his eyes, the kid continued with rising confidence. "You don't strike me as the 'snitching' type. So what you gonna do about it? Huh?"
The kid took another step. "Go ahead. Swing, use your power. Get yourself expelled over a stupid bag. I dare you."
Trio didn't flinch, didn't even move, he just held the stare. Fire building up behind his eyes.
The kid looked back at his friend and smiled before turning back to Trio. "Hm. Yeah, that's what I thought. You don't know how to be a Hero. So quit tryna act like one."
A twitch ran through Trio's eye. He dropped his chin, still holding the stare. Nose flaring.
"You're not a savior, you're a fighter." The kid continued. "That's the only thing you know how to do."
Trio paused. His gaze dropped to the floor as he drifted in thought.
Then he nodded. "…yeah… you got a point there."
"…welp," he looked back up at them. "Fuck it."
The bullies smile dropped instantly. "What?!"
Trio cracked a crazed smile—
Then—
SNATCHED his hands out his pockets. He balled his fists and aggressively stepped forward.
The 2 kids nearly jumped out of there skin, they backpedaled back into a wall, desperately throwing their guard up.
The young boy was taken aback, his face jolted in surprise.
Trio took one more step. Just as he got ready to swing, a voice from the other side of the bathroom spoke out.
"I meaaaaannnnn… he's kinda not wrong there. Trio isn't necessarily what you would call a 'savior'.
Trio stopped in place. The voice continued. "BUT he doesn't really need to be."
Every person in the bathroom snapped their head in the direction of the voice. At the end of the bathroom was a guy standing tall with his arms crossed and a wide grin spread across his face.
Speed.
"That's my job." He said with a self assured nod.
Trio recoiled, blinking rapidly. "Speed?!"
The young kid took a step back. "Woah."
The two bullies looked at each other again. They paused.
Then—PFFFFFFT
"Seriously? Are we supposed to be scared of you now?" The smaller bully chuckled.
The stocky one perked up. "Yeah. If Trios the fighter… you're nothing. I don't know who you think you are."
Speed gave a unfazed shrug. "Mm… I'm just me, man."
ZOOM.
In an instant, Speed vanished past them in a blur.
"What the!?" The stocky bully shouted as he looked down. The bag suddenly missing from his hand.
Trio stood up straight, took a deep breath and folded his arms as he watched.
The bullies looked at each other, then frantically looked around for Speed. They turned and saw him standing in front of the young boy, bag already in hand.
"Here you go, bro. Clean bag… I'm jealous." He said as he handed it over to him.
"Thank you, guy! I appreciate that!" The kid said with a joyful grin.
The bullies recoiled in utter disbelief. "How the hell did—" they both stated in unison.
Before they could finish, Speed counted out a few dollars in his hand and offered it to the kid. "Here, take some extra lunch money! Get outta here… go buy your crush a brownie."
The bullies looked down and patted their pants pockets. "Shit. My wallet!" They both said in frantic shock.
Both bullies grew FURIOUS as they watched the kid run out of the bathroom. They both turned to Speed with balled fists. The big one stepped up first. "Okay you little shit, you're about to get it now."
He cracked his knuckles.
Pop-Pop-Pop.
Each crack sent a twitch of force rippling through the air from his hands.
Speed squinted.
A gesture? These guys are getting serious.
The kid ran up and threw a punch straight at Speed's face. Speed balled his fists and prepared himself.
The kid SWUNG.
Then—grab—Trio stood beside Speed, arm out, clutching the bullies fist inches from Speed's face.
The power fizzled out of the bullies fist.
Trio looked up at him, his eyes blazed with intense fury. "Bad… fucking… idea."
Sssss—"AH! DAMMIT."—the bully yanked his arm back as his fist sizzled under the heat of Trio's palm.
Trio stepped forward. "Aight. You two have officially PISSED ME OFF."
The bullies backed off, he kept moving forward. "Get the fuck out before I blow this bitch up… you've got five seconds!"
He put a closed hand up to his face, he cracked a faint grin, then he snapped up his index finger—FWOOSH—his entire index finger ignited into fire. "One." He said, a faint grin creeping along his face.
Then he snapped up his middle finger—FWOOSH—"Two"
His grin grew wider, Speed narrowed his eyes, the bullies clenched their teeth in panic.
Then his ring finger—FWOOSH—"Three"
With every count, his smile grew more reckless, more bloodthirsty.
Pinky finger—FWOOSH—"Four."
The kids shook their head in panic. Trio snapped his thumb out. Before he could say it, they both turned tail and ran out of the bathroom. "OKAY OKAY, YOU GOT IT MAN! CALM DOWN ALREADY. WHAT THE HECK."
They both darted out, leaving a trail of wind and embarrassment in their wake. Trio closed his hand shut out the flame out. "Tch. Fucking cowards."
He slid his hands back in his pockets and turned to face Speed.
Speed shrugged his shoulders with a concerned face. "Sheesh, dude. That was a bit overboard don't you think? I had it under control."
"Yeah I know, they were just… really starting to annoy me." Trio said as he walked past him and headed out of the bathroom and down the hall.
Speed quickly followed behind him. "Yea but you don't have to go to a hundred every time someone 'annoys' you ya know. That's why—"
Trio turned back. "What, they teach you that on your way to Hero Course sign ups or sumn?"
Speed dropped his shoulders. "Awww come on. Don't be like that. If anything you were doing just as much Hero work as me. Quit acting like you weren't tryna help that kid."
"Shut up. It had nothing to do with that little dork." Trio stated. "I just can't stand weak ass people who think they're strong just because they can pick on people who are weaker… and lamer than them."
Speed put his hands up. "Okayyy, whatever you wanna sayyyy."
Trio shook his head. "Yeah whatever. We'll talk later… I gotta get back to class." He turned and walked off.
Before he could pull away, Speed spoke out. "Well lemme at least ask you one thing before you go."
Trio stopped and slowly pivoted back to look at him.
Speed cracked a wide grin. "Admit it. We make a pretty good team don't we?"
Trio took a long pause. Speed tilted his head with a cheeky side eye. "Eh?"
Then Trio offered a calm smile. "Heh, yeah… I guess we do—"
"SPEED!" A voice yelled from down the hall.
Trio and Speed turned to see a group of underclass students running up to them. That same kid from the bathroom leading the pack.
He ran up to Speed and turned to face his friends. "Look! This is him, he ran circles around both those bullies without even breaking a sweat."
The group of kids bounced with excitement.
"Sick bro!"
"I heard you moved so fast they couldn't even see you. That's insane speed… LITERALLY!"
"You signed up for the course right? You think you can beat Shockwave in a fight?"
Speed leaned back, his eyes nervously darting between the crowd as a bead of sweat formed on his brow. "Uhhh… sh-shouldn't you guys be in class right now—"
"Yall shoulda seen it!" The kid continued. "He didn't do a Hero speech or nothing. All he said was 'I'm just me.' and started zooming all over the place!"
Speed threw his hands up by his side with a nervous chuckle. "Bruh, just chill. It wasn't even that big a deal."
Another, slightly older kid stepped out from the crowd. "No for real. Those guys used to pick on us all the time last year. You're the first person to ever stand up to them. Thank you!"
Speed shook his head. "Woah woah woah. I didn't stand up to anybody. I just snagged his book bag while they weren't looking." He pointed to his side. "Trio was the one to—"
He looked, Trio was already gone. "T-Trio?" Speed said as he looked around. "Where'd he go?"
Trio was already down the hall and around the corner. Hands in his pockets. Chin up. Face unreadable.
Speed kept nervously searching until the kid spoke again. "It was literally so awesome. I'm gonna tell everybody I know about it."
Speed frantically waved his hands. "No! Nnnnonononono. It's cool, no need for that. I'm telling you, it wasn't that big a deal. Those guys weren't even D-Rank level. Anybody could've dealt with them—"
"Ouuuu."
"And he's talking trash too? This guy is even cooler than I thought!"
"Ugh. Darnit." Speed said as he facepalmed.
Then—a voice crept up from behind him. "Come on ole Speed, quit being so modest."
Speed turned.
Shockwave—confidently walking up, shoulders swaying with every bounce. Heroic smile on his face.
"You did something good, my man. Be proud of it." He said as he approached the group.
Speed squinted his eyes at Shockwave in suspicion.
"Granted," he continued as he shrugged his shoulders. "Relatively insignificant feat for the second son of Tony himself."
"Oh crap! Tony is his dad? I didn't even know that."
"Man, this dude is legit!"
Speed let out a deflated sigh, unable to say anything.
Shockwave walked up to the group of kids and leaned in while pointing at Speed. "Oh yeah. Most people have to train their butts off just to reach a fraction of his strength. But this guy? He's a natural born talent. Definitely one of the strongest people here."
The kids just stared in awe.
Then Shockwave stood straight with his hands on his hips. "Shout out to you Speed. Bring that energy to the course and I might actually break a sweat this year!"
Then he circled around the whole group, handing out fist bumps to them all. In which they happily obliged. "Alright, y'all. Let's start heading back to class before ya teachers start getting suspicious. I'd hate to see any of yall get written up over a bathroom break."
They all nodded and started walking away, talking amongst themselves before branching off to head back to their classes.
The young kid turned back to wave at them. "Thanks again, Speed. See you later. You too Shockwave, don't do anything too cool while I'm gone!"
Speed reluctantly waved with a nervous chuckle. "Heheh. Yeah."
Then he turned and looked at Shockwave. He was giving the kid a casual 2 finger salute with a smile.
As soon as he finished he put his hand down, turned to face Speed, made eye contact, and instantly dropped his smile.
He quickly looked Speed and up down, sizing him up. "Hmph." He said before turning and walking away.
Speed just watched him leave, confusion and irritation painted on his face.
***
Trio walked back in to Mr. Stern's class with a deep exhale.
Mr. Stern checked his watch, petty smile on his face. "Hm. Trio, you're lat—"
He looked at the time and stopped talking. Only 14 minutes had passed.
1 minute to spare.
Trio cracked a grin and tossed the ball pass back at him. "Heh, try again."
Mr. Stern fumbled the pass, almost dropping it. Trio walked past him and back to his seat. Mr. Stern shot him a cold stare before angrily continuing his lecture.
As Trio sat down, Weapon Girl slid him her notebook. "Here. I wrote everything down, just take a picture."
A student sitting across from them noticed Weapon Girl handing the notebook to him and mumbled under his breath. "Hm. Guess even criminals get special treatment around here."
It was just loud enough for Trio to hear it, he side eyed the boy before getting ready to confront him.
But Weapon Girl put a hand in front of of him, stopping him.
She nodded at Trio and then turned to face the guy with an innocent smile.
"Hey…" she whispered to him. "What's the worst type of pain you've ever felt in your life?"
He leaned back with a concerned look. "Uhh… I don't really know."
"Third degree burns?" She continued. "Frostbite that seeps down to the bone?"
"Or what about just plain blunt force trauma to the head and neck area resulting in severe brain damage?" She stared at him, her adorable smile still painted on her face. "Does that sound pleasant to you?"
"U-uhh… n-no." He responded.
"Great! Then do me a favor… say you're sorry." She pointed at Trio.
"Umm, s-sorry." He said to Trio.
Trio just stared back at him, not even responding. Then he disengaged and broke eye contact.
Weapon Girl leaned back into her seat. "Thank you! 😊"
Then she turned back to Trio. "Okay, that's over with. Go ahead!"
Trio sighed hard, he lazily checked his watch for the time: 9:30 am.
5 more hours to go.
He buried his face in his hands with a groan. Tired, annoyed, and already done with everything.
***
The rest of the school day passed in fragments.
***
Trio sat in Second Period—Chemistry. The day was moving by at an excruciatingly slow pace.
Everything began to annoy him. Even the little things started slowly chipping away at his sanity.
Chairs scraping against the floor.
The teacher subtly mispronouncing his name.
The kid behind him kept clicking his pen over and over during the lecture.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Trio's jaw tightened.
The clicking was nonstop.
A faint shimmer of heat rippled off Trio's shoulders.
Then he aggressively turned to face the student behind him with fierce eyes. "Can you stop?" He hissed at the boy.
The kid stared back with wide eyes.
Click. "My bad"
Click. "It's a…"
Click. "Habit."
...Click.
Trio's breathing grew heavier and heavier until he snapped the pencil in his hand.
Then he aggressively turned back and raised his hand at the teacher. Barely able to hold his composure. "Can I use the bathroom!?"
***
Speed was walking into Second Period—Geometry.
He opened the door for another student letting them pass in front of him. They thanked him, in which he responded with. "No problem."
Gasps.
Bathroom Kid appeared instantly at his side. His entire group of friends, now slightly larger than last time, right behind him.
Bathroom kid bounced with giddy excitement. "Woah! Did you guys see the way he opened that door for him? He gave just enough space for the guy to comfortably pass. Such indifference!"
His friend perked up. "Yeah! And when the dude thanked him, he didn't even say 'you're welcome' he said 'No problem. Pure coolness. Write that down!"
The group started frantically jotting notes down in their notebooks.
Speed froze out of confusion. "Bathroom kid? What are you talking about, man?"
"OUUUU. HE GAVE YOU A NICKNAME!!!! Bathroom Kid!!!! That's awesome."
Speed recoiled with wide eyes. "What? No, I just don't know his na—"
They all crowded in front of him.
"Can I get a nickname?"
"Nah me first!"
"Here Speed. Look here, I have a bunch of stuff, a pencil, a notebook, a—"
"Shut up already. Let him get to class… HEYYY SPEED YOU CAN CALL ME 'Shut Up Kid!'"
Speed dropped his head in defeat. "Awwww mannnnnn."
***
Trio walked down the hall, on his way to Third Period. He saw Investable down the hall, standing tall, posturing in front of a group of freshmen.
Investable paced back and forth, hands to his sides like a preacher. Sleazy smile on his face. "Heheh. The opportunity of a lifetime. Turn your lame power into a passive income!"
Waves of awe roared across the group of wide eyed kids.
Investable threw up 5 fingers. "For just five dollars a month you'll gain early access to my brand new course 'Close the Gap' where I will personally teach you how to turn your power… into profit."
"Wooooooaaaaahhhh." The group said as a collective.
As Investable continued his pitch, Trio trudged past them, not even paying them any mind. Until one of the freshmen in the group tapped his friend and pointed at him. "Hey… that's the guy that was about to fight earlier."
"Oh man. You're right." The friend responded. "Just look at him."
Trio cracked his neck to try to wake himself up. Not even paying attention to them.
The kids gave each other a terrified glare. "Uh-oh he cracked his neck. Was that a power gesture?"
"Knowing him… it very well could be. We gotta keep an eye on him just in case."
They looked back over at him, Trio continued walking. He glanced over in their general direction for a split second before refocusing his gaze.
They clenched their teeth in panic. "Oh no. He just looked at us. I think he might be on to us. What should we do?"
"…run."
FEWM.
They both darted away, leaving a trail of dust behind them.
The rest saw them run and turned back to Investable with scared grins. "Yeahhh uhhhh. Well think about it man." One kid nervously said.
Then—FEWM.
They darted away too.
Investable let out a loud groan. Then he marched over to Trio and put an arm around him, catching him off guard. "Hey wassup Tri-buddy? How you feeling? You look a bit tense."
Trio leaned away. "Investable? What are you doing, get off of me." He said as he tried to push away.
"No can do, Compadre. Can't have you getting in the way of my pitch. You're scaring away my clientele!" Investable said as he guided Trio out of the area.
"Don't worry about it, I know you're struggling right now so I got you." He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses.
He slid them on. "Just follow my lead."
Then—
"AWWWW DARN IT, TRIO!" He yelled out in the middle of the hallway. "I'm so sorry for bumping into you and almost breaking your arm with my MASSIVE STRENGTH."
Trio blinked. Investable carried on. "Here I'll take you to the nurse so she can heal you up for the next HOUR. It's the least I can do!"
He leaned over and whispered to Trio. "Lucky you, the nurse still owes me money on a late payment from that beauty course I sold her last year. That shoul at least buy you an excuse out of third period."
Trio shook his head in confusion. "Did you… scam the nurse—"
"I don't answer questions." Investable said with a side eye. "Cmon let's go. You need to lay low for a bit."
He picked up the speed with Trio in tow, bolting down the hallway and to the nurse.
***
Speed walked down the hall on his way to third period. A girl dropped a notebook behind her. He bent down picked it up and casually handed it to her.
Bathroom Kid and friends were right behind him. "Wooowwwwww!!! He didn't even bend down all the way! He knelt, way more Heroic. Write that down. Write that down!"
They started rapidly writing in their notebooks.
Speed turned to face them. "Can you guys please stop following me?"
Bathroom Kid spun in place. "Oh. My. Goodness. The vocabulary!!!???? First, he started with 'can' subtly reinforcing that the Hero life hasn't taken away his swag. Then, he followed it up with 'please' creating a perfect blend of cool but respectful. Amazing… WRITE THAT DOWN."
Speed waved his hands. "NO. Don't write that down! Just… do your own thing, dude."
"Do your own thing…? Is that… YOUR CATCHPHRASE?"
"NOOOO!" Speed yelled. "It just means—"
"Wait, say it again so I can capture the exact tone and vocal fluctuations that I need to use to mimic that one-liner."
Speed slapped a hand on his face. "Uuuughhhhhh."
Man why can't I just disappear.
Shockwave stood down the hall, b-posing on a locker, subtly watching the interaction.
This idiot is actually gaining fans. Yeah this is perfect, can't wait to see the look on their faces when I'm bashing your face in mid course. This is gonna be fun.
***
No breaks. Chaos seemed to follow the brothers wherever they went.
***
First Lunch:
A kid accidentally tripped and dropped orange juice on Trio's shirt. He stood up with fury in his gaze.
Fire flared from his hands for a split second before Weapon Girl, X-Ray, and Investable dove on top of him.
"GET OFF ME." He yelled as they tried to hold him down.
Investable guided the kid away to safety, sliding him a business card before sending him off.
***
Second lunch:
Speed sat by himself in the far back end of the cafeteria. Trying to eat his lunch in peace.
Bathroom Kid sat next to him.
Followed by 1 friend.
Then 3.
Then 5.
Next thing he knew, the entire table was full of people staring at him as he ate his grilled cheese sandwich. He just stood up and walked away, leaving his food at the table.
They followed behind him, noting every minuscule movement.
***
Every hour was a grind, every class a test of will. Trio trying his best not to burn the world, and Speed trying his hardest to hide from it.
Until—
RIINNNGGGGG—the final bell rang like someone put the school day out of its misery.
Students ran out of HEROVERSITY in droves. The bus ramp fell into chaos. The courtyard filled with hundreds of worn out students rushing to get out of the place as soon as possible.
Through all the chaos, Speed and Trio crossed paths. Both disheveled, drained, and ready to escape back home.
Trio looked at Speed and raised a brow. "The hell happened to you?"
Speed looked up with half lidded eyes. "The heck happened to you?!"
They both exhaled long and hard.
"hahhhhhh…. long day."