Week 1 Responses
2 posts in this topic.
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Here you may post the works you create in week one, or links to them if they are posted elsewhere/too long to reasonably fit in one of these posts!
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Okay so... instead of a fantasy theme, I ended up going with a superhero academy kind of thing?? Enjoy xD
Spoiler
"You call yourselves heroes?" The woman glared at the four of us, her severe gaze landing on each student in turn. I tried not to tremble when she focused on me. "No." She punctuated her words with the sharp clacking of her boots on the tiles. "Heroes are strong, wise, and brave. Not like you bunch of sniveling, snot-faced boot-lickers."
She paused for emphasis. "We gave you one assignment. One. Bring in the villain Cold Feet." The lady gestured with her ballpoint pen, whipping its tip around in the air. "He’s not even a villain, really– more like a lackey. And you four did what?" She spun on her heel and faced us. "You gave him exactly what he wanted. The Hot Pack of Endless Heat."
I lifted my eyes to her blazing green ones, wondering if I should plead our case. But Bishop, my fellow hero-in-training, beat me to it. "Ms. Terry, we were only–"
"Oh?" She stalked towards him. "Yes, please explain yourselves. Give me one reason you four shouldn't be given permanent Fs in this class."
Bishop shrank back, his eyes darting to me and the others. "W-well, you know, Cold Feet–" He gulped. "We found that he was searching for the Hot Pack of Endless Heat because, well, his feet… were cold…?" His voice lifted at the end, as if he wasn't quite sure of what he was saying himself. I groaned internally. We'd learned in our communications class that confidence was key to effective speaking… Not that I would’ve done much better under Ms. Terry’s ice-cold glare.
Ms. Terry arched an eyebrow. "Hm. Is that so? To me, it seems more likely that his power made you four get cold feet and lose your nerve. Am I wrong?"
Linden, Hari, Bishop and I stared at our feet.
Ms. Terry sighed. “Dismissed. We’ll figure out what to do about Cold Feet and his newfound superpowered object later.”
The others eagerly turned to go, but I hesitated. “So… we haven’t failed Missions and Practical Training?” I ventured.
Ms. Terry eyed me, flipping her pen between her fingers. “Don’t make me change my mind.”
I nodded and quickly escaped the office as well, catching up with the rest of my squad in the hallway.
* * *
Once we were far enough away, I broke the uneasy silence. “Ugh,” I complained. “What kind of people does she want us to be? A hero shouldn’t be some kind of machine, eliminating all the villains they’re assigned to. Wasn’t empathy one of the core values we learned about?”
Linden scoffed. “Yeah, empathy for the citizens being terrorized by villains.”
Hari was still frowning at his shoes. “We did the right thing, didn’t we? I– I remember the gratitude in Cold Feet’s eyes when we handed him the hot pack.”
“Well, we’ll see. Remember, we don’t know what exactly Cold Feet will do with it. Sure, the Hot Pack of Endless Heat could keep his feet warm, but it could also incinerate the city…” Bishop trailed off worriedly.
I glanced at the screens on the hallway walls, displaying stories of recent triumphs by heroes. How did Lightning and Blue Moon and Flying Pig do it? Did Blue Moon ever regret taking down High Noon? I sighed. “We’ll just do better on our next assignment. Follow the directions to the letter.”
“Yeah, right. That’s what you said last time, and the time before.” Linden raised her eyebrows at me.
“This time I mean it!” I clenched my fists. “If that’s what it takes to pass Missions and Practical Training.”
I ignored the whisper of a voice that reminded me, “Heroes aren’t just for taking down bad guys. They’re paragons of goodness. Listen to your heart and your morals, Will.” That had been well and good as a child, but… morals would lead you astray here at the Edifice Academy of Heroes.
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