"I have been trying to be ok with doing things your way, being patient, putting in the work. I can't do that anymore. I got to the top of the board because I did it my way. I see now that I have no choice but to leave, I can't do things my way here."

Arcturian and Camilla looked at each other for a silent moment and then both nodded.

"You don't have to go anywhere Jam. You're right, you've bested the HoD multiple times doing things your way. We're failing you not the other way around." Arcturian told him. Arcturian stood and pressed a button on his desticom. "Juniper, call an emergency meeting for all HoD captains. I need them here immediately."

"What are you doing?" Jam inquired.

"Fixing things." Camilla answered him.

Within the hour the captains of the Heroes of Destiny were all in the meeting room except for Might Guy who showed up fashionably late to be the last one in.

"So what's this about Arcturian?" Might Guy interrogated as he walked in.

Arcturian stood, "I motion for Jamal Wilson to be verified as a hero."

"What?" Might Guy hissed.

"I second that motion." Voodoo Priestess added.

"Our bylaws state that you get say in hero status for those joining the Heroes of Destiny, but we have voting power on it as well. You've been shown multiple times to have a conflict of interest in this situation. We all let it go because we thought you would be able to separate your own feelings from the situation but now it has become apparent that you're unable to put your grudges aside. You will be able to speak your case and Jam will have his time.

"You'll regret this." Might Guy threatened.

"Maybe," Arcturian answered. "Fellow Heroes of Destiny, we voted to summon a champion to Arcturus and that choice gave us young Jamal Wilson here. Due to unknown circumstance Jam was our fiercest enemy Apex however he has given me his word that he is here to fight against the Lunar King. Immediately after that, he took down a spy for the Lunar King. ."

"One that he sent here!" Might Guy argued.

"That is true, but that supports my argument. He knows the way that the Lunar King thinks because the Lunar King was him. We could lock him up and throw away the key. Keep doing what we've been doing and hope to take down the Lunar King. Maybe it will work this time. Or, we could try something different. Anyone in this room could turn evil if they wanted and any villain could come to the side of good if given the chance. Let's not push Jam away from the side of good because we won't give him the same chance for reform we'd give anyone else.

"We brought Jam here because what we've been doing wasn't working," Voodoo Priestess spoke up.

"But if he chooses to turn on us, the Lunar King would be that much harder to defeat." Cyprus Bleak mentioned, playing devil's advocate.

"What's actually stopping him from joining Lunar King? Have we had him under surveillance or wearing a power limiter?" Dr. Gemma Stone, the wife half of the Elementwins, asked.

"No, he's had the run of the place and hasn't done anything that we can tell." Kid Mighty answered her.

"The one time he did stay out longer than he was allowed to, he fought against the assassin 21 to protect me," Inspector added.

"LionHead, you had him out with you right? Were there any indications that he might not be on the up and up?" Dr. Felix Stone, of the Elementwins, asked.

"He had an issue with following the rules. However, he was eager to help people." LionHead responded.

Might Guy slammed his fist against the table and stood up. "Are you people insane? This is clearly a ploy to get us to trust him. I wouldn't be surprised if this was some plan by the Lunar King to get his clone out. Has anyone actually seen the Lunar King in the 3 months since he got here? How do we know he isn't the Lunar King?"

"Because we summoned him," Voodoo Priestess protested. “We were there when the summoning went down and we can assure you that it was completed correctly.”

"Also, the Lunar King can't use magic," Universa added.

"The Lunar King always seemed to have some new power under his belt when we fought him. What's to stop him from developing magic power?"

"That is true." Cyprus agreed.

"Just today, he attacked Kid Mighty in the simulation room," Might Guy argued as he pulled up the footage on the table's projector.

The footage showed Kid Mighty jumped out of the way of Jam's eye blasts, then Jam changing into a beast and lunging at her. The video froze on the beastly face of Jam.

"See, and he calls her a friend. Who knows what he will do from moment to moment. He can't be trusted."

"Continue the video," Kid Mighty demanded.

The video continued showing Jam's recognition of Camilla and stopping his attack.

"See, he was out of his head but he still recognized me and stopped."

"But what about the next person? He tried to kill me, you all saw it."

"After you attacked him. He was calm and you flew in and attacked."

"Because you were in danger."

Jam snorted, "always the hero huh Might Guy. Saving the damsel in distress from the big scary beast. I might not remember exactly what happened; but I know for a fact that I wouldn't intentionally hurt Camilla. Also, you've tried to kill me at least three times since I've been here and threatened to do it even more."

"It's not a threat, it's a promise." Might Guy hissed.

"I'm right here buddy," Jam taunted with a “bring it” hand motion.

"Enough!" Arcturian demanded. "Might Guy, you have the floor to say your piece and Jam will say his; then we will move on with the vote."

"Fine," Might Guy huffed. "I honestly don't understand why we're having this conversation in the first place. There is no reason that we should even consider allowing him off the leash. I guarantee he will eventually turn against all of you. Earlier he said it himself that some day we may become the villains and heroes will be obsolete. Isn’t it obvious that he will just keep garnering favor as a hero until his eventual betrayal? He is trying to undermine heroes and turn the populace against us. Why am I the only one who sees through his scheme here?”

“Because it doesn’t make any sense Might.” Cyprus explained. “What would he gain? Have we not had heroes turn to crime before now? Do you think their popularity affected how the people of Empire City felt about it?”

“The people of Arcturus are always going to fear our turn to villainy. It’s not something people talk about regularly but it is something that is in the back of our minds at all times. The truth of the matter is, we are all dangerous and despite claiming that we could never do such things, we can never fully predict what situations we may find ourselves in. Some view killing as a form of evil but few in this room haven’t done just that. Sure it’s not a first choice but it happens. Our choices on a daily basis affect the lives of millions of Arcturians, whether to put on the suit or not,” Arcturian preached.

“He has a point Might Guy,” Dr. Felix agreed. “Whether or not he eventually becomes a villain is no different than any other hero we’ve approved in the past. If anything, he would have been better off by now becoming a villain. There’s no verification for villainy, but he is still here petitioning to help. You can say it is due to weakness but if the story is true, the Lunar King started at the bottom as well and still built an empire.”

“It’s a game to him. He is doing it just to see if he can, to convince you all to believe in him and then to take you down from the inside. I know the way the Lunar King thinks and this is exactly the kind of plan he would come up with. Tear us apart, then dismantle everything we’ve built. Why can’t you see it?” Might Guy desperately asked.

“Alright Might, let’s just move on. Jam, you can go ahead.”

“Thanks Arcturian,” Jam said standing up. “A lot has been said today that I can’t disagree with. You guys don’t necessarily need me. You can lock me up and throw me in a cell in the lowest depths of Destiny Hall and nobody would even chance a side glance. You could kill me right now and you probably wouldn’t be in the wrong. I was the villain king Apex and I caused all of this. If you want an apology for that I can’t give you one. I did what I was good at and at the time, all I was good at was hurting people. However, you summoned me here to help and I can’t do that being locked up in here. I was living an okay life back on Earth; it wasn’t perfect but it was mine. You robbed me of that when you summoned me here, but I chose not to be bitter and to work to help. I chose to stay here because I made Arcturian a promise. Even with this face, I could have gotten approved by another team eventually but I chose to dance with the ones who brought me. I was patient and I did everything I could to help but that hasn’t been enough to earn verification yet. Every time I saved someone I was subsequently punished for it but if I hurt someone then any naysayers would just be proven right. I just need a decision to finally be made. Lock me up, send me home or let me clean up my mess my own way,” he concluded before sitting back down.

“Is there a way to send him back to Earth?” Inspector asked Voodoo Priestess.

Voodoo shook her head sadly, “it could be possible to but we couldn’t allow it. He has been changed permanent by the summoning. It’s the same reason Kid Mighty is still with us. Sending a super to a planet without supers would be incredibly dangerous and irresponsible.”

“We owe him at least the benefit of the doubt. We made the choice to summon him here without care of how it might affect his life,” Universa argued.

“What about the summoning,” Might Guy said.

“What about it?” Voodoo inquired.

“You failed the first time. Remind us again exactly what happened the fifth time.”

An annoyed exhale, “you still holding that against us. We all know the story.”

“Yeah but does he?” Might Guy nodded toward Jam.

“What happened?” Jam interrogated Voodoo Priestess.

Voodoo Priestess stared at the ceiling for a reflective moment before she spoke, “the first summoning we did requested a hero, someone on the side of good and justice, that could defeat the Lunar King. It failed. Four times. We concluded that it wasn’t possible to summon a hero to defeat the Lunar King. The final time we decided to ask for anyone who could defeat the Lunar King but for their strength to be diminished until they proved themselves worthy. It brought you and I believe that is why your power has levels.”

“It brought him here after we stopped asking for someone good and on the side of justice. Doesn’t that strike anyone as odd?”

“Well duh, I wasn’t a hero on Earth. I was just one of the only people who could defeat the Lunar King.”

Might Guy growled in irritation, “I’m tired of this. You all have a choice, I won’t allow this to happen as long as I’m field commander. So, if you decide to approve him for hero status, I’ll be stepping down.”

“Music to my ears,” Voodoo exclaimed.

“It’s time to move on,” Arcturian sighed. “Voting will now commence. For the motion to approve Jamal Wilson’s hero status, Universa?”

“I abstain.” She answered.

“Voodoo Priestess?”

“Aye”

“LionHead?”

“I abstain”

“Kid Mighty?”

“Aye,” She answered to the angry gaze of Might Guy.

“Might Guy?”

“No”

“Twins?”

“Aye” they answered in Unison.

“Inspector?”

“Aye”

“Cyprus?”

“Aye”

“The ayes have it. Motion is carried.”

Role Change: Hero

You have been offered the role of Hero.

Hero status will allow you to legally face villains.

Subsequent powers awarded in power roulette will be based on supporting current role.

Do you wish to take on the role of Hero?

[ Yes ] [ No ]

Yes

Congratulations: New Role Chosen.

You are now a Hero.

Next powercycle will reward 3 powers worthy of a hero.

Heroes and civilians will look to you for support.

{Exp Gained}

“When this comes back to bite you all, I want you to remember this moment. Remember that when you had the choice to think of what was best for Arcturus you chose wrong.” Might Guy said before angrily leaving.

“This was complicated but I’m glad we’re past it,” Kid Mighty said.

“Is he joining one of our teams?” Dr. Felix asked.

“Teams?” Jam asked.

“We all have teams that we use for missions. We train all hero candidates and then decide which team they’ll be working with once they’re verified,” Universa explained.

“I honestly think it would be best to give him a permanent seat at the table. Give him his own team; we know for a fact that he can lead a group of people.” Arcturian suggested.

“Are you sure? That seems kind of fast,” Jam questioned.

“I think it’s time we gave you the full support of the Heroes of Destiny. Plus we do have team 9 to deal with.”

“That is true.” Dr. Gemma agreed.

“What is team 9?”

“Team 9 is a group of recently verified heroes that we haven’t really figured out who best to put them with. We usually team up with people who fit under our umbrellas; magic users usually go with the magical girls, elementals with us, psychics with Cyprus, beasts and shifters with LionHead, street levels with the Inspector and the higher classed heroes with either Might Guy and Kid Mighty or Arcturian,” Dr. Gemma explained.

“I can’t fight myself but I can at least help prepare the younger generations,” Arcturian expressed.

“If you’re not interested, you don’t have to take them. It’s just complicated out there. It’s best to have back up,” Cyprus warned Jam.

“If you guys are ok with it, it’d be great to have them,” Jam nodded.

“Alright, all in favor of promoting Jam to captain and assigning him Team 9 say aye.”

“Aye” Everyone but Universa and LionHead voted.

“Ayes have it.”

New Rank Achieved: Faction Captain

You have been added to the faction: Heroes of Destiny and upgraded to a faction captain.

New faction tab unlocked. New faction leader buffs unlocked.

+7 leadership skills

[ Skill Learned: Diplomacy Lvl 1 ]

[ Skill Type: Passive ]

[ Skill Learned: Command Lvl 1 ]

[ Skill Type: Passive and Active ]

[ Skill Learned: Public Speaking ]

[ Skill Type: Passive ]

[ Skill Learned: Group Heal ]

[ Skill Type: Active and Passive ]

{ Exp Gained }

Level UP times 2

Congratulations, You’ve Reached level 26

+1 Heroism Point

All attribute received +2 points per level up.

All currently known skills gain one level per level up until maxed out at current player level.

“Thanks everyone. I won’t let you down.”

“See that you don’t” LionHead said.

"I do have one request though," Jam said.

"What's that?" Arcturian asked.

"I'd like to requisition a rooftop garden. I was hoping some quality soil and material could be put on the roof for it. If that's alright."

"I think that's a great idea," Dr. Gemma commented. "I don't think we need to vote for that, I'll go ahead and bring some material up later today."

"Thank you so much.'

"My pleasure," Dr, Gemma nodded.

“If Might was serious about his stepping down, we’ll need to appoint an interim field commander.” Cyprus mentioned.

“Kid Mighty, as Might Guy’s sidekick, you are first in line as his temporary replacement,” Arcturian told her.

“I can’t. As of last night, I am no longer his sidekick,” Camilla explained taking off her cowl and placing it on the table to the tune of their collective gasps. “I’m not Kid Mighty anymore.”

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.” Dr. Gemma exclaimed.

Arcturian cleared his throat, “well, Cyprus, you have the most seniority of the active captains.”

“Sure, it’s fine.”

Jam slipped out as they continued to talk about other daily decisions that needed to be made. Although he was a captain now, he didn’t need to be in on every move everyone made. Halfway to the elevator he was intercepted by Might Guy who pushed him against the wall with a hand around his throat.

Ugh, jeez. Does he have any other moves?

“You may have fooled the rest of them but you haven’t fooled me. I see through you and whatever you’re planning I will stop it.” Might Guy barked his eyes glowing red behind his sunglasses.

“Really? You think so?”

“I know so.”

“Well, you see Might Guy. My plan is already complete. I’ve sat back and let you dig your own grave and now I’ve buried you in it. I took all the shit you threw at me with a smile on my face and now everyone else sees who you really are. I beat you, took everything away from you and I didn’t even have to lift a finger to do it. You did it all yourself with your petty jealousy. This is how the weak do battle. Now I’m going to do the one thing you could never do,” Jam started with a cocky grin spread across his face. “Beat me,” he concluded, punctuating it with a wicked chuckle.

Might Guy’s eyes burned even brighter as his anger boiled, he punched the wall beside Jam’s head denting it and then stormed off. Jam rubbed his neck to get rid of the lingering pain and continued his walk to the elevator and got on.

“You know, the way you said that, it sounded like you were going to go beat yourself,” Audrey joked.

“Get your orb out of the gutter” Jam chuckled

“I’m glad you’re free now, I need you to get your level up fast.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s what I wanted to talk about before. If I get a high enough level, I can forge myself a new body. I saw on my list that one of them is a full humanoid type, with nerve endings and everything,” Audrey explained.

“Wow that should be interesting. We’ll have to level you up soon. What level are you at now?”

“30”

“What? How?”

“I help you a lot more than you think. Plus I just saved your life yesterday.”

“Hey J, wait up,” Jam heard as he reached his door. He turned to see Camilla jogging up behind him.

“What’s up Cam?”

“I was hoping to talk to you about something.”

“Oh yeah, hey I’m sorry to hear about your separating with Might Guy. What are you going to do now?”

“You’re not sorry, but that’s actually what I was hoping to talk to you about,” she explained meekly.

“What’s up?”

She suddenly seemed a lot shyer than she usual was around Jam, “now that you’re a hero. I was wondering if, maybe you wouldn’t mind taking me on as your sidekick. I’d prefer we be partners of course but for the sake of the game system, I’d like to be your sidekick.”

Camilla has offered to be your sidekick

Would you like to take her on as your sidekick?

{ Yes } { No }

Jam gave her a soft smile.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to, I can always request another hero. I just won’t get any exp if I’m not assisting a hero.”

Jam sighed, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Audrey, tell her what you told me.”

“You’ve been here for 4 years and you’ve only gotten to level 30 but Jam and I have been here a couple months and he is already at 25. . .” Audrey started.

“Wow, ok. I get it,” Camilla interrupted annoyed and began to walk away.

“Let her finish,” Jam requested.

Camilla stopped and turned back.

“You’ve fought a number of much higher level villains and yet you’re still growing remarkably slower, don’t you think that’s odd?” Audrey asked.

“I guess. I don’t really get much exp for the villains I fight.”

“You’re not getting any support exp. You’re only getting exp for the villains you defeat personally. It’s because you have to be assisting a hero that is also affected by the game in order to get support exp.”

“So, we’re kind of stuck together,” Jam smiled. “I am really only good at hurting people. I need you to be my moral compass, to make sure I don't go too far into the darkness. Yes, I’d love to have you as my sidekick/partner.”

{ Exp Gained }

Congratulations! You’ve gotten your first sidekick

Camilla has chosen to become your sidekick.

New attribute buffs unlocked.

New Team Chat Function Unlocked.

[ Ability Developed: Team Chat ]

[ Skill Learned: Teamwork ]

[ Skill Type: Passive ]

Level UP

Congratulations You’ve Reached Level 27

+2 Heroism Points

All attribute received +2 points per level up.

All currently known skills gain one level per level up until maxed out at current player level.

Jam became very much aware of his proximity to Camilla and the distance between them, like he could track her with his mind. On the minimap in his hud, a second blue dot appeared where she was standing.

“Whoa, I feel different. Stronger somehow, and I leveled up,” he heard Camilla say, but her lips didn’t move.

“Can you hear me?” he tried to mentally send her.

“Yeah, you’re standing right there,” she said still looking at her hands.

“Look at me,” he sent her and she did as requested. “We can talk with our minds.”

“Holy shit, wait does that mean you’ll always be reading my mind?”

“I don’t think so; I think it’s only what you want me to hear.”

“Good”

“I think you’re getting stat buffs from being my sidekick.”

“Then I really couldn’t get any help from Might Guy.”

“If you’d like Camilla, I could plant myself into your systems to help you run them better much like I assist Jam,” Audrey suggested.

“You can?” Camilla and Jam asked in unison.

“Yes, you’d just have to allow it.”

“Well, go ahead then.”

“Right then,” Audrey said and her orb floated a few inches above Camilla’s outstretched arm and scanned the phone. “It’ll take me a couple of hours to fully integrate but afterward we should be fine.”

"Well, now that that’s done, I need a way to go out without being attacked by every hero that comes through. The system said I wouldn't be attacked without provocation now that I have a hero status but I still have the same face as the Lunar King. I'm not sure I can trust it."

"I have something that can help with that," Audrey told him. "Printing it now."

"You're just now telling me this? I could have gone out way sooner."

"Nope, you just unlocked it when you got hero status," Audrey defended. A slot opened in her orb and a pair of glasses appeared.

"Glasses? Really?" Camilla deadpanned.

[ Skill Used: Analyze+ Lvl 26 - Successful ]

{ Item Name: Secret Identity Glasses

Item Description: Walk among others in total anonymity with these glasses.

Item Notice: +2 Perception, +1 Wisdom }

"Turn around Camilla," Audrey requested.

"This is ridiculous," Camilla complained while doing as asked.

Jam slid the glasses onto his face but didn't feel any different.

"You can turn around now."

Camilla turned around and her face scrunched up in confusion. She looked around for a moment. "Umm. Excuse me sir, this area is not open to the public. I'll have to ask you to return to the lobby," she said in her most business like tone.

"Stop playing Camilla," Jam dismissed.

"How do you know my name?"

"Take the glasses off Jam," Audrey told him.

"Jam?" Camilla asked confusion evident.

Jam slid the glasses off of his face and Camilla jumped back in shock.

"What the hell? You looked like a completely different person but I can't remember what you looked like. You were like some uninteresting blur," Camilla blurted out.

"Secret identity glasses, they make you as unassuming as possible," Audrey explained.

"So weird," Camilla commented. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Well," Jam started and slid his glasses back on. "First I'm going to get my suit, then I'm going to get my lady."