Reading over the forms, typed in fine legal print, Liam noted they were already near completion. More evidence Ms. Hartwell knew her students, if that was even needed. With the paperwork as it was, it took mere minutes for him to complete what would’ve taken ten.

When the forms were done, Liam handed them back to Ms. Hartwell, who placed them in his file without a glance. The paperwork would be sent to the teams later tonight. Then, they’d decide if they wanted to meet with him or not. In truth, most teams already knew which students they wanted to interview. They had full access to every student’s records coming into the final. Giving them ample time to evaluate who was a good match for their team and allowing them to focus on those students during the final. Occasionally, there’d be a student who performed exceptionally well during the final and drew additional attention. The night between the test and the interviews gave teams time to evaluate these special candidates.

From Liam’s limited understanding of the process, Ms. Hartwell already knew what teams wanted to interview him. Her not batting an eye at the three teams he was interested in was a clear giveaway he would get the opportunity to speak with them.

With the paperwork taken care of, he bid Ms. Hartwell goodnight. Allowing her to speak to the students still waiting their turn.

Leaving the office, Liam found a new door at the end of the hallway. A bright red exit sign illuminated above it. He could have sworn the door wasn’t there when he first came back. But these little changes had stopped surprising Liam a long time ago. When you trained in an academy for Heroes your definition of odd started to change.

Walking through the new door Liam found himself in one of the many training areas of the academy. Weight equipment and treadmills lined one wall while the other had dozens of training dummies and punching bags. Countless hours of Liam’s life were spent in this very room, striving to become a Hero. And now he had achieved it. Every drop of sweat had been worth it Liam told himself as a smile spread across his face.

Like a man on top of the world Liam glided across the training room. Nothing could bring him down from this high. Making his way through the familiar hallways he headed to one of the academy’s many hidden exits.

Approaching it Liam spotted a group of his classmates huddled together. The animated nature of their conversation highlighted their excitement long before the sound of laughter reached him. As he was passing, one of them called out, “Liam! We’re headed to the bar to celebrate, come join us!”

“Sorry, but I’m tired and heading back to my apartment,” Liam said.

“Oh come on, you never go to the bars.”

“You’ll have a blast we promise! I’ll even buy your first drink.”

That got a round of laughs from the group.

Another classmate said, “So you’ll buy him some tap water?”

“What can I say, Liam’s into the expensive stuff.”

Liam let the comment pass before saying, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tonight. Maybe we can meet tomorrow for another celebration. This one after we find out where we’re all going?”

“A last hurrah. I like it.”

“Yeah, let’s do it! Person who joins the worst team buys the first round.”

“How do we even decide that?”

“I’m sure we can come up with something.”

Liam left his classmates to figure out tomorrow’s plan. Once past them, he quickened the pace. There was one last thing to do tonight, and it was the highlight of it all.

Exiting the academy he breathed in the cold night air. With his emotions running wild Liam found it hard not to run around campus screaming. It wouldn’t do for a future Hero to be so easily influenced by his excitement, Liam thought. His face broke into a giant smile when he brought up the Hero title again. That would probably happen for a while Liam conceded.

Continuing his trek home he saw few people on the streets. The still dark world made Liam flashback to the house from earlier. He half expected a pair of guards to walk around a corner or come chasing after him at any moment. However, that was only his imagination, still running wild from the energy of today’s test.

After a short walk Liam reached his apartment building. It was small, but well maintained, with units facing outside.

Walking up to the building Liam passed a newspaper stand. The headline of a front-page article caught his attention ‘Contract Season is Upon us, LA and NY Team’s Look to Gain New Members’. He was tempted to buy the paper and take a look, but decided against it. There was no way any reporters would even know about him. The entire article was likely about older Heroes who were competing for the opening. No reason to read too much into that. Though it would be funny, in a couple of days, when the news reported an apprentice took the spot.

With a pop to his step Liam walked into his room. The tiny studio wasn’t much to look at. It was filled to the brim with his work. What space didn’t hold his bed was crammed full of work benches, overflowing with his half finished creations. Someone visiting for the first time could be told a tornado had torn through the room and wouldn’t think twice.

Liam didn’t mind the cramped quarters and thought the clutter helped with the building process. That said, a separate room to sleep in would be nice. Getting that would likely be his favorite part of becoming a Hero. Well maybe not favorite, but it would make the list. Unfortunately for now, poor college kids who spent all their money on old gadgets, couldn’t afford a large apartment.

Once inside Liam hurried through his nightly security review. Checking the security system and finding no warnings, he shifted his focus to the workbenches themselves. Making sure none of his newest tech was moved. Even the staff, with it’s newly upgraded capacitors, was where he’d left it. Having a physical backup plan in addition to technology was something Liam learned through his time building devices. Technology can be beaten, but a trained eye was much harder to fool.

Liam assumed anyone sneaking into his room would be after his technology and be prepared to defeat a techie’s security. So the backup plan was a very specific layout of tools and parts around the space. To others the room was in chaos, however he saw through that to the pattern in the parts. All of them in the precise positions Liam left them. With the check complete he could relax.

Plopping onto his bed Liam moved to the last, and most important, order of business. Picking up the phone he called his sister. The phone rang and rang as he waited for her to answer. Finally, on the seventh ring she picked up. Saying, “Liam do you have any idea how late it is?”

How late was it Liam wondered? He Looked at the clock and his cheeks caught fire as a red blush washed over them. It was already closing in on one o’clock. He’d been so excited to share his good fortune that he hadn’t looked at the time, “I’m sorry Mel, but I have great news! I just finished the final!”

“As in…” there was a pause on the other end as his sister digested the news, “How did it go! Tell me everything!” Yep, that woke her up. Melody’s agitation from a second ago was gone, replaced by a wide awake and enthusiastic sister.

“Yep, you’re talking to Source, the amazing new Hero!” Liam said in his best Hero impersonation.

“That’s great news! I’m so proud of you. What about the name? I can’t believe you picked that one.”

“Hey it’s the best one we came up with.”

“I always liked Mr. Wires or The Amazing Human Calculator!” Mel said, laughter chiming in her voice.

“I haven’t been looking at those since I was seven or eight and you know it.”

“But you still thought of going with ‘The Human Calculator’! Your superpower could’ve been doing my homework.”

“See if I ever help you with it again,” Liam jokingly threatened.

“Oh fine already, Source it is, no need to threaten me with something so horrible,” Mel said. “So tell me about the test.”

“Where to start. Well I finished ranked fourth in the class,” Liam went on to tell his sister about the exam. Being part of the Hero program he couldn’t tell her everything, even so he could share enough that she could get an idea. They talked late into the night. The call ended around three. It would be a long day tomorrow, but it was worth it to share this moment with his sister.