Beyond the door was a small hallway, with offices lining both sides. None of them had windows looking in. Instead, simple doors, painted a neutral white, faced him. Beside each door was a screen displaying a student’s name. Walking down the hallway, Liam found his name on the third door on the right. Knocking, he heard a slight rustle then a familiar voice called him in.

Entering the room, Liam gauged his surroundings. He was greeted by soft white walls and a muted carpet, clearly drawing inspiration from the earlier waiting room. A small wooden desk faced the door. Dents scarred its surface, worn with pride like battle wounds. On the desk sat a file, with his name scrawled across the top.

An empty chair was sitting in the middle of the room, facing the desk. Walking over, Liam noted the windows on both sides of the room. Soft rays of golden light shone from them. Liam knew the windows were fake, this far underground they had to be. But that only made them more impressive. If someone walking into the room didn’t know they were underground, the windows might fool them. They looked that real. Liam took a moment to appreciate their design before sitting down. Good tech like this was hard to find. It needed to be acknowledged when spotted. With his whole life revolving around the stuff, Liam had a special fondness for the better ones he stumbled across.

Sitting down, Liam shifted his focus to the woman seated across from him. The same woman who’d spoken earlier this evening. Ms. Hartwell sat with hands clasped in front of her as she considered him. The stare made Liam want to fidget, but he fought the urge. It wouldn’t do to show his nerves.

“Let’s review your performance during tonight’s exercise,” Ms. Hartwell said, a distinct clip to her voice. A voice that carried the same command as her presence.

When Ms. Hartwell spoke, the words came fast and precise. Liam assumed that the cadence originated from her background. Being in intense situations all the time she learned how to dispense information quickly and accurately, “Your plan had a few issues, please tell me what they were.”

Issues with the plan Liam thought. The plan itself was solid, but there were still some hiccups in that house. With a little more time he might have been able to prepare for the unforeseen. Or at least have backup plans if the situation called for it.

In Liam’s experience, it was best to be honest and upfront with Ms. Hartwell. The woman could smell a lie from a mile away, so he decided to be as forthcoming as possible.

“I had an issue with time management,” Liam said. Going straight to the heart of the problem.

“I would agree with that. You almost got caught sneaking into a room. Then left a sign saying, ‘intruder this way,’ in the lock. You got lucky the guard missed that one,” Ms. Hartwell said.

Her tone never changed, but Liam knew she was disappointed. And he couldn’t really argue about it. He’d been lucky the guard missed the lock picker. If the guard was gifted in a perception ability, they wouldn’t have missed it. Instead, the guard must have been tired from doing the same patrol and wasn’t paying close attention. Walking past the door none the wiser. The guard’s lack of awareness had been Liam’s lucky chance.

“Yes, in the future I should have larger buffer times in my plans. Or setup alternate routes for when something goes wrong,” Liam said.

“What alternate plan could you’ve used tonight?” Ms. Hartwell asked. Her face gave away nothing going on in her head.

“Well, my backup plan, when I was in the house, was to fight if I got caught,” Liam said. Making sure his voice was steady and firm, despite his racing heart, “But thinking back to the guards’ patrol patterns, there were other routes I could’ve taken. They would’ve been longer, but safer when I was falling behind on time.”

“Oh really? Please show me the new path,” Ms. Hartwell said as she pulled out a copy of the mansion’s floor plan. Sliding it towards Liam.

It took Liam no time to orient himself, “When I knocked out the first guard I was in this room,” Liam said as he pointed to a room near the edge of the floor plan, “After hiding the guard and the issue with my display I was running about thirty seconds behind schedule. That might not seem like much, but with the guards’ patrol patterns it didn’t give me much leeway. Given that, I should’ve switched my route from here,” Liam drew his finger along the blueprint, tracing the path he’d taken earlier in the night, “To this one,” he showed the new path, verging from the first almost right away, “I would’ve reached this intersection right after a guard and would’ve been able to follow his patrol all the way to the objective. His patrol doesn’t cross paths with any other guard till after the objective room. Unfortunately, that route would’ve cost me an extra minute.”

Ms. Hartwell followed Liam’s finger as he traced the new path, “Yes that would’ve worked, but as you said it would’ve taken much longer.”

“That’s why I think it was best I stayed with the first plan. It was riskier, but I had to perform solidly tonight. I needed the points.”

“You don’t need the points, Liam. It was almost impossible for you to fail out because of the final. You went into the test with the eighth highest score in the class. Including perfect marks on the psychology portion,” Ms. Hartwell said. With a dismissive wave she brushed aside Liam’s concerns. But Liam knew better, to finish eighth in the class wasn’t his real goal. No, what he needed to do was finish in the top five. If he wanted a chance with what came next.

“And before you start explaining how you need to be top of the class, please save it for later. I know what you want and we will get there eventually,” Ms. Hartwell said, a rare hint of a smile creeping onto her face. The woman was good, Liam thought. She could read him like a book.

“What would you have done if one of the guards changed their patrol and saw you?” Ms. Hartwell asked, “Fight? What if a guard had some power you couldn’t stop or an ability to sense you as you moved through the house?”

The obvious answer to that was he would’ve been in trouble. Serious trouble. Which is why he’d been as careful as he could. It was also one of the reasons he dealt with the two guards in the security room without actually going into the room himself.

“I would’ve had to fight, or run away. It would’ve depended on what or who I was against,” Liam said.

Ms. Hartwell nodded at that as if she’d expected him to say it.

“Remember, there are always other options to consider. Over the last few years I’ve seen how you tackle problems. You usually try one of two approaches, fight it or sneak past it. Both of which you’re excellent at, as you showed tonight. But remember to think outside of that, sometimes playing your enemies against each other or distracting them is a valid option.”

“But distracting them would’ve blown my cover. Costing me the points for no alarms,” Liam said.

“Yes, tonight it might have cost you points, but not necessarily. You could’ve used a diversion to move through the house faster and gotten the points back that way.”

Liam didn’t think so. He’d done the math in his head earlier and it didn’t end up like Ms. Hartwell was suggesting. But he wouldn’t argue with her about it. She was just trying to get him to view other options when he was planning. He would try to remember the lesson and make use of it.

“Now that we’ve talked about what went wrong, let’s talk about your placement,” Ms. Hartwell said.

Liam’s heart rate quickened as he subconsciously tightened his fists. This was what he was waiting for.

“You scored forty-six points out of fifty on the final. Adding your score coming into today and you finished fourth in the class.”

Breath escaped Liam as he settled back into the chair. It was over. He did it! Top five in the class! The tension that was gripping him since he finished the test washed away. It felt like his muscles, that had been stretched tight, could finally relax. With that rank he should be able to get into whatever team he wanted.

“Congratulations, once you start an apprenticeship, you’ll become a certified Hero,” Ms. Hartwell said. A bright smile spilling onto her face, in a rare display of emotion.

And there it was, he’d be a Hero! This was a dream of his since he was a kid. He used to play superhero with his sister when they were growing up. Now it would be for real. Actually putting on the mask and doing some good in the world. He needed to let his sister know! When would he be able to call?

“Have you thought about what team you’d like to apprentice with? The apprenticeship lasts three years so think carefully about where you join. It can set the tone for your entire career.”

Had he thought about what team to join? Of course, he wanted to be on an A ranked team. They weren’t the most prestigious teams out there, that honor went to The Watch. But only veterans could join them. The A ranked teams were just behind The Watch in notoriety, but they were the best an apprentice could hope for. And two of them were looking for apprentices this year. They were the teams in New York City and Los Angeles. With his fourth placed ranking, Liam should be in the hunt for both of them.

“I’ll apply for the New York and Los Angeles teams,” Liam said as a smile spread across his face.

“Both are good teams, have great track records, and exceptional leadership. Each would benefit from having you join them. And with a top 5 ranking both would welcome an interview with you. But I wonder, what do you expect to do with those teams?” Ms. Hartwell asked.

What did he expect? That was an odd question. He wanted to be out there fighting crime, keeping people like his little sister safe. That was the entire point of a Hero after all.

“I’m going to be on the front lines fighting Cowls. Keeping the community safe. Being a true Hero,” Liam said. He could feel his blood burning knowing how close he was.

“I expected nothing less from you. But you have to realize how both teams will use you. They’ll see the tape of the test earlier. All the gadgets you made with so little funding. And both of them will fight to have you on their team. But not out on the streets fighting Cowls. They’ll want you to stay safely in the back. You’re too much of an asset for them to risk you in a fight. Techies like you, who can create amazing new technologies, are too rare to throw into the lion’s den,” Ms. Hartwell said.

“I’ve seen other Hero techies on the news,” Liam said.

“Yes, but that was after they were on a team for years if not decades. Even then they only go on the safe calls, or as a last resort.”

What was she talking about? Of course he’d be in the thick of things. What was the point of being a Hero if he sat in the shadows the entire time, never actually going out and helping people?

“As you know a techie’s power set is very rare, but also valuable. Companies spend millions to hire people like you because of what you can create. Due to that most techies join the corporate world and don’t become Heroes. The techies that do join the Hero’s are treated as a special resource, something to be nurtured and protected. I know it’s unfair for you, but that’s how things work out there.”

And there it was. Liam had always wondered why he saw so few techie Heroes on the news. Now it made sense, if only he’d figured that out earlier.

Liam found it strange how fast a person’s mood could swing. Shouldn’t there be some delay between his excitement at reaching the top five and the knowledge it would all be in vain? But that didn’t come. There was only a newly opened pit inside of him.

“Now before you get upset there is another option to consider,” Ms. Hartwell said. Liam piqued up at that, listening to what the head of the academy had to say, “If you want to be on patrol right away, look at The Hunt. They’re a small team working out of the Midwest, but their loyalty to society will never be questioned. The Hunt desperately needs some helping hands and will be glad to let you go on patrol. Finish your apprenticeship with them and then go back to the A ranked teams. The experience you gain should be enough to convince one of them to take you on as a more active part of the team.”

The Hunt, Liam knew he’d heard of that team before, but couldn’t pinpoint where.

“Of course you could still apply to New York and LA. Your request might sway them for front line time. But I would advise also applying to The Hunt as a backup,” Ms. Hartwell said.

That might be a good plan, Liam thought. He didn’t want to be in the back lines forever. Working with an A ranked team would be great but if they didn’t give him the opportunities he needed, then was it worth the effort? The obvious answer was no. But until he saw what they suggested he wouldn’t lose out hope in joining them. He’d keep the smaller team in reserve in case something went wrong.

As he was figuring out a plan going forward, Liam abruptly remembered where he’d heard of The Hunt. They were the team Blue Feather was on. With everything that happened with her, Liam could understand why the team needed some help. If he joined them now, he’d be filling her shoes, that would get a lot of attention. Enough that a big name team wouldn’t be able to justify hiding him away. It’d be worth it to at least talk to them.

“I’ll apply to all three,” Liam said. His mind set on the future.

“I was hoping you’d say that. Now fill out these forms and we’ll get the process underway,” Ms. Hartwell said as she handed Liam three forms, one for each of the teams he was requesting an interview with, “The interviews will start tomorrow. Please be ready and make sure the team you pick is a good choice for you. Not simply a famous one. This is a big decision, but remember regardless of where you end up the team will be lucky to have you.”

That was a good way to look at it Liam decided. He had to realize his own worth to be of value to a team.

“The last thing you need to figure out is your Hero code name. Make sure you have it before the interviews,” Ms. Hartwell said.

“That one I already figured out,” Liam said as he smiled and got to work filling out the forms. Tomorrow would be an exciting day regardless of what team he ended up on.