Londyn walked down the hallway, heading to the hanger. She glanced at a tablet as she did. Construction was complete, now she just needed to find people.

As she turned a corner she found Captain Hot Devil waiting by the elevator.

“Director.”

“Captain, what do you need?”

He let out a sigh.

“You’re making some kind of school right? A place to train new heroes?”

Londyn nodded.

“...I would like to help with that.”

Londyn raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you wanted to remain in the field.”

Captain Hot Devil heaved a sigh.

“I did. But…it’s time for me to be honest. I’ve just about reached the limits of what I can do. Once upon a time, I was one of the strongest, the best. Now? The Necrosaurus, this new girl. Heck, even Icy Falcon could have beaten me on his best day. The world is growing, and leaving me behind.”

“I’m sure you could catch up.”

“Maybe…if I was a bit younger and a lot more foolish. But I have a family now, something else that’s more important to me, I can’t go off training and fighting for the rest of my life. But I can make sure that the next generation is as prepared as they can be, so that they don’t make the mistakes I did.”

Londyn nodded.

“I see. In that case, I’ll put you down as potential staff. Would you mind cleaning up some last few jobs until then?”

Captain Hot Devil nodded and the two departed. Londyn let out a sigh. Losing the Captain on the frontlines would hurt, but if this school worked out it would pay off in the end.

Now she just needed to find some students.

Londyn knocked on the door to a house in the suburbs of Montreal. A woman with bags under her eyes and frazzled hair opened the door.

“Hello, Mrs. Rousseau. I’m Director Green, from the ILS.”

Mrs. Rousseau’s eyes quivered as she looked at Londyn.

“Can you…can you help us?”

Londyn nodded.

“That’s what I’m here to find out.”

Mrs. Rousseau let her inside.

“Um, do you want water, or coffee, or anything?”

Londyn shook her head.

“Ok, um, she’s in her room upstairs…”

Londyn walked up the stairs and opened the door. She looked to find an average room for a young girl, with one exception. That exception…being the floating teddy bear, glowing with a yellow light. A girl, about twelve years old or so, stared at the teddy bear, waving her hand around with a blank expression. The teddy bear followed the movements of her hand.

Londyn opened her mouth.

“Hello Director Green. Or is it Londyn? I’m never quite sure with the adults. Oh, Director Green then? I see…I suppose your job is more the real you. Not bad, you’re not as weirded out as they normally are. But I guess you deal with a lot of weird stuff, huh? Are you here to deal with me too?”

“No.”

Londyn finally got a word in. The girl kept her eyes on the floating toy as Londyn stepped forward.

“Ah, yes, I know, you want to talk with me normally. Most people seem to. But I already know how this goes so I hope you don’t mind me speeding this up. You’re going to offer to help me. Then you’ll try to use me. You’re afraid, and…hurt? By…a guy? Huh, that’s kind of a surprise. But you’re looking for more power, something to help you stop the threats, but also something to help you maintain the feeling of control.”

Londyn let out a deep sigh.

“That…is true. But it is also true that I want to help you, Roxanne.”

“That’s what they all say. Though, I guess with you it might be true. My answer is the same regardless. Prove it…oh? Ohhh?”

Roxanne turned to face Londyn.

“...I want to see them. Let’s go.”

Londyn raised an eyebrow but led her out of the room. A quick conversation, or rather monologue by Roxanne to her mom, and the pair were headed to Londyn’s grav-jet.

A few hours later and the grav-jet landed on a rocky coastline in Scotland. Londyn led Roxanne to the edge of the water, a bottle in her hand.

There eight plumes of water as the Otter King and his retinue landed ashore.

“Hello Director, nice tae see ya.”

“Hello, Your Majesty.”

Roxanne froze.

“They’re…THEY’RE SO CUTE!”

“Oi, who ya callin’ cute?!”

“This is His Majesty dae Otter King!”

“An’ we’re his Royal Guard!”

“Ohmygosh they talk! This is amazing! This is…”

Roxanne turned to the Otter King and froze.

“I…can’t hear you?”

“Of course ya cannae, ya wee runt! His Majesty’s dae best rune masteh in dae whole world!”

The Otter King smacked the black otter on the head.

“We talked aboot this! Ya cannae just go an blast my skills for dae world tae hear!”

He then turned to the girl, arms crossed.

“But aye, lass, he’s right. Ya powers cannae git past my runes.”

Londyn walked forward and held out the bottle to the Otter King.

“A drink, Your Majesty? A bit stronger than last time, as requested.”

“Ah, many thanks, Director. Surprisingly ‘ard to git a good drink underwater.”

“And…could you help the girl? Something to help her control her powers?”

The Otter King hummed and rubbed his chin, then stepped forward to the girl.

“Show me what ya git, lass. Ah need tae see dae full extent of what ya can do.”

Roxanne nodded and held out her hand, closing her eyes. The ocean began to boil and rumble as a massive boulder lifted out of the water, floating in the air.

“Ah see, ah see. Then, this’ll do.”

The Otter King held up his arm. A blue circle of light appeared before his paw, just over Roxanne’s forehead. He tapped her head and the circle imprinted onto her head, flashing once and then fading.

“That should do it. Stop dae leaking a bit. She’ll need tae use ‘er powers on the regular though, since they won’t be dispersing as they used tae.”

Roxanne’s eyes went wide as she felt her forehead with her hands.

“It’s…quiet. The voices…I don’t hear them anymore…”

Londyn smiled and crouched down to face the girl eye to eye. Roxanne made eye contact with her for the first time.

“How about it, Roxanne? We’ll help you learn to control your powers, and in return you use them to help us and others.”

Roxanne slowly nodded.

“I’ll do it. Um, do you want me to try and read that guy, whoever he is? Figure out how to get him or get back at him?”

Londyn let out a sigh as she covered her face with her palm.

“...please forget about that. Just…focus on learning your powers..”

The door of the laboratory burst open, fire and smoke billowing out from the other side. Captain Hot Devil stepped into the room…

And leapt to the side as a crystal shard shot into the doorway.

In front of him was a teenage boy, covered in teal crystals from head to toe. The boy blinked.

“Captain Hot Devil?”

Captain Hot Devil nodded.

“Yes, and you are?”

“I’m…”

“Test Subject 143, what do you think you’re doing! Eliminate this intruder immediately!”

A man in military uniform and far too many medals stood on a scaffolding high above the room. The crystal boy bit his lip and raised his hand.

“I’m sorry!”

Captain Hot Devil sighed as crystals fired from the boy's hands, starting to duck and weave around the projectiles.

“You’re fighting for these guys, kid?”

“I’m sorry! I don’t have a choice!”

The boy placed his hands on the ground as Captain Hot Devil grew closer. A large crystal thrust from the ground, forcing the Captain back.

“And why’s that?”

“They have my parents! I have to do what they say or else…”

Captain Hot Devil’s eyes narrowed.

“I see. Sorry kid, but this is going to hurt.”

Captain Hot Devil put his hands together, a massive fireball forming in between. He thrust it forward, the ball howling as it surged towards the boy. The boy cried out and placed his hands on the ground, a wall of crystal rising in front of him.

The wall exploded, sending crystal shards showering through the room. The boy let out a sigh, one hand over his pounding heart.

And that’s when Captain Hot Devil appeared behind him, delivering a flame-jet powered chop to the boy’s neck. He caught the boy before he fell, crystals receding from the boy’s body into bits of crystal embedded in his skin. He slung the boy over his shoulder and then jumped into the air.

Captain Hot Devil landed on the scaffolding in front of a hastily retreating man. He lifted a blazing fist.

“Going somewhere?”

A short while later and Captain Hot Devil stood handing off a man and his goons to ILS security staff. He let out a sigh and then turned to the side. A short distance away, a teenage boy with crystals embedded in his skin was hugging his parents. The Captain gave them a moment before heading over.

“Hey kid, how are you doing?”

The boy spun around, and nodded slowly.

“I-I’m ok. Thank you so much, Captain Hot Devil!”

The parents thanked him as well. Captain Hot Devil nodded and stuck his hand out to the boy.

“Just doing my job. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up here?”

The boy looked down at the ground.

“After…the meteor…something happened to me. I could…do these things that normal people couldn’t. So…when something happened…I thought I could help…be like…the heroes.”

His eyes narrowed.

“But…it didn’t work out. Later, these people showed up at home and…”

Captain Hot Devil nodded.

“I see.”

He rubbed his chin for a bit.

“The ILS will make sure nothing like that happens again. In the meantime, let’s talk about the future.”

The boy’s parents stepped up in between Captain Hot Devil and the boy.

“Excuse me, Captain Hot Devil, but what do you mean about the future?”

Captain Hot Devil looked them in the eye and sighed.

“Like it or not, your boy has become part of a wider world now, I think that much is clear. But, the ILS is building a school, a place for people like him. We can teach him what he needs to know, to stay as safe as he can. We’re not starting just yet, so you’ll have time to rest from all this and think about it, but I wanted to put it out there as an option.”

The parents looked at each other, then at the boy. His eyes widened.

“An ILS…school?”

His parents looked back at Captain Hot Devil.

“What…kind of school, Captain?”

“A school for heroes.”

A teenage boy stood in a dark alley in Mexico, looking out at a convenience store. He wore a hoodie that bulged out behind his back, hood pulled up. He fidgeted about, rubbing his hands together.

“Ok, deep breaths, you can do this, you can do this.”

“Do what?”

He screamed.

After the high-pitched wailing ceased, he spun about. A woman had appeared behind him in the alley. The one way alley.

“W-Who are you?”

“Dr. Ueda, nice to meet you. May I have your name?”

“Oh u-um, it’s…Edmundo…I-I mean! It’s, um, El Mantis! G-Get lost lady! I-I’m a supervillain!”

Dr. Ueda raised an eyebrow.

“Really? You don’t seem like a villain.”

El Mantis furrowed his brow.

“That’s because you haven’t seen me, not really.”

He pulled off the hoodie, revealing his face. Red chitin covered his neck and extended up his chin and the sides of his face. On his back was an extra set of appendages, two curved chitinous claws ending in wicked clubs.

“See, I’m a monster. Now go before you get hurt.”

Dr. Ueda just tilted her head.

“You look fine to me.”

“Huh?”

“Is that why you want to be a villain?”

The boy took a step back, just staring at Dr. Ueda for a minute. Finally, he let out a sigh, crossing his arms and looking at his feet.

“...what else am I supposed to do? They kicked me out, they don’t want anything to do with a drug smoking monster.”

“I see…do you want to talk about it? I might know some other places if you want some other options.”

“Good afternoon all you citizens of the planet Earth! This is GNN and I’m your host, Brendan Baird. Today we’re here to talk about the only thing anyone’s talking about: Director Green’s new International Academy for Gifted Youth, an ILS-sponsored educational institute. While there have been many attempts at hero schools and hero bootcamps before, this is the first to offer a fully-fledged academic program in addition to the shorter hero training camps, and also the first to feature active ILS members on its staff. Notably, Captain Hot Devil himself has committed to the program and will work full-time as a part of its staff. As mentioned the Academy also offers a full standard curriculum and Director Green has stated the school will not be exclusive to aspiring heroes, nor require its graduates to engage in hero work. Still, we cannot help but anticipate what a hero-focused curriculum will look like! Join GNN later tonight as we consult the experts on both heroes and education to discuss the future of this exciting development!”