The next couple of days became very hectic all of a sudden. Darion's parents have apparently talked with some government representatives for a long time while he was sleeping. They were able to secure a full scholarship for him, provided that Darion was able to meet two criteria:

One is the fact that he, Darion, is able to manifest his powers and be able to register himself with the local government. And the second one is his willingness to work for the government as a registered hero.

Darion wasn't exactly thrilled getting shackled by the government, but he wasn't complaining either. To his parents, they knew that it was the best they will ever get from their son at the moment.

For Darion, going back to regular school is a rather embarrassing experience at the moment. He could probably accept it if he is given a chance to be part of his original batch but he’d rather crush his left nut than return to school as a high school freshman when he is already 17.

So he is stuck working for the government instead, as their hired hero. He will receive vocational study courses for the next year, and if he passed that, then he will be considered to have pass high school itself.

First, he needed to go on a crash course education program, both in the morning, with several dozen other enhanced beings. In the afternoon, they will go to specific sites where their powers are needed, but by night their lecture will continue.

Unfortunately, this accelerated hero training program can only be done outside his state and sometimes it takes several days for him outside to finish a job before he could return home.

His last job was on a construction site, and he ended floating bricks to the 3rd floor one by one for hours. In the end, he is able to transport over 6,000 bricks and the supervisor told him that if this superhero business doesn’t pan out for him he is always welcome in the construction trade.

Darion laughed and said he’d rather be a street hero even if it is in a different state.

The state of Georgia, for some reason, was blessed with some of the highest density of enhanced beings. So the state can boast a cadre of superhero teams on call at any given time. Darion and the others being trained are going to be exported to other states who are not so blessed with superhumans.

Even so, the training he is going to receive is expected to be intense and very rigorous. Whatever the powers they might have, the superhumans are facing a possible danger that might force them to lose a limb or their lives.

As was explained to him, he and the others will be trained inside a military base by professional NCO sergeants who have actual combat experiences.

So the next three days were spent preparing for his quick departure, and the dinner in a fancy restaurant the night before the departure was a bit melancholy for everyone concerned.

That night he tried to ask in the most subtle way he can about blue screens. After several probing questions, he realized that his dad, nor any of his family members, knew nothing or heard about the blue screen or anything about what he started to refer to as the system.

Janiya started to give him the suspicious eye and is forced to stop his questions. Luckily, his dad said something about the Heroball that Janiya completely disagreed with and it produces a passionate debate between the two.

That night, he started to do several hundred pushups, squats, and sit-ups. He could feel a slight strain in his body and he can see the sweat pouring out of him, but for the life of him, he can’t seem to feel fatigued coming anytime soon. He diligently continued but stop when he reached a thousand repetitions in sit-ups, fearing that he might suddenly just break his body without warning. Instead, he took a shower, brush his teeth, and slowly laid down on his bed, still frowning.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and suddenly he was asleep.

******

Darion is on a bus with metal bars for a window, like a fucking prisoner, as he watched the vast Georgian field outside. He glanced inside the bus and noticed the five other occupants equally apprehensive as he feels.

There are two females, and four guys, including him. No one is talking, and everyone kept to themselves. The youngest girl is on the verge of crying while the white dude with scars on his biceps seems ready to explode at any minute.

"What are you looking at, fagboy?" He said the moment he caught Darion's eyes on him. "Haven't seen a real man like me before?"

Darion ignored him. In the last two days, he continued his wild experiment and forced his body to do ever more back-breaking exercises. On day 2, he receives what he was hoping for.

Congratulations! Due to your diligence, you are able to increase your AGILITY attributes by one.

Current AGILITY: 1

Right about now, he feels he is tough enough to deal with anyone. Well, at least, deal with them long enough before the authorities arrive to break them up.

Luckily, believing he made his point, the biker dude simply slumped back in his chair and brooded. Besides the six of them, there is also the fat driver and a government lackey wearing a tight-fitting, white short sleeves business casual attire.

The lackey was supposedly there to escort them to the base while answering any of their questions. Maybe the dude was new to his job, or he was simply incompetent, but it soon becomes obvious that he didn't know much more than the pamphlets they gave them before they left town.

Eventually, they reached the base, Fort Clydell, Georgia.

The place looked more like a FOB, or forward operating base than an actual permanent one. For one thing, everything looks brand new.

8 to 10 feet defensive berms ran for miles in every direction to actually hide the base from prying eyes. They passed through several checkpoints, including places with machinegun nests and further away on smaller hills, were alert missile batteries monitoring the sky for intruders.

Darion watched as another group of heavily armed, battle-ready soldiers inspected the paperwork given by their government lackey before letting them in.

The last group of soldiers directed the bus into a wide-open area where a black dude in impeccable military uniform and a sergeant hat waited for them. They were lined up outside the bus, and their belongings dropped on one side carelessly. Then the soldier and the bus left them alone with the sergeant.

"My name is Sgt Donald Mahoney, and I will be your training officer in the next three weeks," he said in an effortless rumbling voice as he casually walked around them. Darion is just thankful that they are not getting the shouting and in your face treatment he normally see on television about sergeants and recruits.

Maybe there was something in his face, but the sergeant read what he was thinking at that very moment. "You are all probably thinking why you are not getting spittle on your faces right about now and ordering you guys to call me master chief. There is one simple reason for that. You are all civilians and will continue being civilians in the near future. You people are not going to join my army, and therefore you do not deserve to be disciplined like a true soldier. I admit we tried that during the first few training batches and ... well, let's just say it is not an experience that both sides ever wanted to taste again."

Putting that aside, I can guarantee you that after the three weeks is done, you will be better prepared in being a street hero, better control of your powers, and will be a productive member of society that serves not only the people of this great country of ours but the very core of our ideals.

You will know not only how to fight properly, but learn the proper rules of engagement and protect yourself from the scum of the earth, lawyers! I will teach you the laws that a so-called empowered human must abide by, and then use this knowledge in an acceptable procedure to make it work for them. The laws of the registration act are not your enemy. They are your friend."

Now get your gear and follow me to your bunkhouse. There are already another dozen men and women sharing that bunk, and you will learn to work with them. After all, a successful hero has a network of social contacts. It is one of your strengths, so use them wisely."

As the rest followed the sergeant, Darion took a moment to look around the place one more time.

I guess this will be my home for the next couple of weeks.

He sighed as he followed the group to their new bunkhouse. As he walked, he continued to think about how drastic the changes in his life had become just because he blacked out.

He gave a final sigh and started following the rest of his group.