Hero Academy

HERO ACADEMY

A Just Cause Universe Novel

By Adrienne Dellwo

Copyright 2018 Adrienne Dellwo

Published by Local Hero Press

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

A substantially different version of a portion of this book appeared in the anthology Caped, in the short story Dax and the Red Eyes, written by Adrienne Dellwo and published by Local Hero Press.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This book, its contents, and its characters are the sole property of Ian Thomas Healy. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without written, express permission from the author. To do so without permission is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Cover art by Scott Story

Book design by Local Hero Press, LLC

Books From Local Hero Press

The Just Cause Universe

Just Cause

The Archmage

Day of the Destroyer

Deep Six

Jackrabbit

Champion

Castles

The Lion and the Five Deadly Serpents

Tusks

The Neighborhood Watch

Jackrabbit: Big in Japan

Arena

Hero Academy

The Path (Fall 2018)

Just Cause Universe Omnibus, Vol. 1

Just Cause Universe Omnibus, Vol. 2

The Bulletproof Badge

Pariah of Verigo Novels

Pariah’s Moon

Pariah’s War

Three Flavors of Tacos Novels

The Guitarist

Making the Cut

The Scene Stealers

Other Novels

Assassin

Blood on the Ice

Hope and Undead Elvis

Horde

Rooftops

Space Sharks

Strings

Starf*cker

The Milkman

Troubleshooters

Collections

Airship Lies

High Contrast

Tales of the Weird Wild West, Vol. 1

The Good Fight

The Good Fight 2: Villains

The Good Fight 3: Sidekicks

The Good Fight 4: Homefront

Caped

Nonfiction

Action! Writing Better Action Using Cinematic Techniques

All titles and more available wherever books and ebooks are sold.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

CHAPTER ONE

Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

WyldWing zipped around one tall pine tree to see an impenetrable thicket just feet away. She angled up, whipping her head to move a stray lock of brown hair from in front of her goggles. Her dragonfly wings buzzed faster than they had in the four months since they’d sprouted from her back. She cleared the tree tops in moments, racing her unseen opponent. Below, a dense evergreen blanket stretched for miles, all the way to Hayden Lake’s glistening waters. She had no time to take in the view, though—she was on a mission. She dropped down beyond the thicket, staying focused and intent on her destination deep in the heart of the Coeur d’Alene National Forest.

You have to get these plans to the secret government base before Drone finds you, her mission coordinator had told her before she set out. The fate of the world depends on it!

She heard a whirring sound and glanced to the side to see the black device she’d been trying to evade, the one with Gotcha Chloe painted on its side. The drone’s pilot must’ve found a passageway through the thicket while she’d had to go over it. Very sneaky, Dad, she thought. Annoyed at herself for failing yet another training mission, she stuck her tongue out at the drone’s little camera, which was trained right on her . . .

And slammed head-first into a tree.

* * *

Chloe, how you feeling, honey? her dad asked from the doorway. She sat propped up on pillows with a tray over her lap. It contained the wrappers from two protein bars, a tall milkshake glass, a large bowl with the remains of clam chowder sticking to its sides, and a plate covered in sandwich crumbs. Next to the plate, three dirty face wipes showed all the grit and grime that always covered her after flying. Her dad liked to tease about her reverse superhero mask—white around the eyes, where the goggles covered, and dirt-brown everywhere else.

My head doesn’t hurt as bad, she said, but my neck’s killing me. How long’s this gonna take?

Phil Wyld chuckled. Believe it or not, hitting a tree at fifty miles an hour is a pretty big deal. Just be glad you’re not frail like us wimpy humans, or you’d have a long hospital stay ahead of you. He held up her cracked helmet for emphasis. This could have been your skull.

She sighed and shifted the wings behind her back, trying to get comfortable. She still wasn’t used to leaning back against them. Yeah, but it’s just a few days until I go to the Hero Academy. I need to be on my game.

They don’t expect you to already be a top-notch hero, kiddo. He sat on the side of her bed and looked up at the gymnastics medals hanging from hooks above the headboard, next to a poster of Mustang Sally, until recently the field commander of Just Cause New York. You’re not going to Nationals—it’s your freshman year. You’re a noob.

But they said there’d be testing . . .

He put a hand up. Just to gauge where you are. It’s not a competition. They have to determine your baseline before deciding what kind of training you’ll most need. Remember how much you hated balance beam, especially when your coaches made you do it twice as much as floor and bars?

Yes. Chloe made a pouty-face. She still hated balance beam, even though she’d never get to compete on it again.

"It doesn’t do nearly as much good to train at something if you're already good at it. Coach Amy knew that. That’s why you got to spend all those extra hours on the beam, and that’s why it doesn’t matter how good you are at flying now. There will be other areas you’ll need more training in, and the Academy will design a course program to fit your needs. Now, why don’t you settle in and watch that episode of Heroes Among Us Mom told you about?"

She rolled her eyes but laughed while she did it. Fine, Dad, I’ll be good.

Well, that’ll be a refreshing change. He grinned and winked, then handed her the remote off her nightstand and left the room, closing the door behind him.

She shook her head, then winced at the pain it caused, grabbing at taut neck muscles. Work faster, superpowers, she grumbled as she turned on her tablet, hoping to have a message from Lindsay Malone, her soon-to-be roommate. She’d gotten Lindsay’s email in an Academy welcome packet a few days ago, but Chloe didn’t know what to say so she hoped the other girl would start the conversation.

Her finger hesitated above the email icon. Taking a deep breath, she tapped the screen to open it.

The first three subjects made her shrivel up inside, as she did every time she opened email these days. Cheater, the first one said. The sender was named Flip, a poor cover for a gymnast trying disguise her identity. Chloe knew it was Jessi, her former teammate and, unfortunately, former best friend. Back in their first year of competition, their coach had nicknamed them Flip and Flop, because every time one did well, the other flopped. Whoever did better at any particular meet got to be Flip. Chloe had hated the names even then. She deleted it. The next was from the cleverly named Anonymous and the subject line was, Coach is being investigated cause of your cheating. She deleted it, too.

She did hope Coach Amy wouldn’t get in trouble. It wasn’t her fault Chloe had sprouted wings during a meet.

She’d never forget the moment. She released the high bar and focused on flying to the lower one, when she felt some kind of muscle spasm in her back and realized she was hovering between the bars. Not moving forward, not falling—stuck in the air somehow. A loud buzzing sound filled her ears.

Chloe didn’t understand what was happening and watched as her coach ran across the gym to her and her parents stood at the edge of the floor, staring with terrified expressions.

What’s going on? she’d asked the coach in a trembling voice.

Chloe, I don’t know how to tell you this, but—you’re flying, Coach Amy said. You have wings.

Chloe looked over shoulder and saw them, blurred with motion, and still couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

Can you get yourself on the ground? Coach asked.

Chloe’s head spun. How?

Coach took her hand and pulled her down until Chloe could swing her feet down onto the mat. Everyone stared. A few people clapped while most of them sat in stunned silence.

Instead of getting to finish out the meet, she’d been taken to the hospital for a battery of tests and examinations of her new appendages. There was no question in her mind who had flopped at that meet. It was her.

The bylaws of the gymnastics association had no provision for parahumans, but it had only taken the officials a few minutes to determine that her points earned in competition were void. She had new muscles in her back, and the muscles and wings constituted an unfair advantage. They booted her off the team. With her scores nullified, it had meant the team was ineligible to compete in State for that season, which was why her former teammates were so incensed with her.

The third email, from X and titled Bitch, also went to the trash.

The fourth message raised her spirits a little. It was what she’d been hoping for. Chloe clicked on it, butterflies replacing the knots from moments earlier.

Hey! It’s so awesome to meet you! I saw you on the news and it’s so cool how your wings came out. Flying must be the best thing ever.

Are you on ParaFrosh yet? If not you should totally get on it. Some of our other classmates are there already.

Chloe remembered seeing something in the welcome packet about ParaFrosh—an incoming-freshmen-only part of the Academy’s social media site—but she’d dropped off all social media after the harassment started and wasn’t anxious to get back into it.

Maybe it’ll be okay, she thought, since it’s just parahuman kids, like me. She did a quick search for the welcome email and got registered.

She accepted an invitation to friend Lindsay, whose profile pic showed a white girl with freckles and long black hair. Next, she found a list of the nine members of her class. It included photos and she recognized the name Zayden Lord right away. Everyone did—he was probably the most famous parahuman outside of Just Cause and the Champions. He was the subject of the Heroes Among Us episode her mom had wanted her to watch. Her stomach fluttered when she looked at his smile and bright blue eyes.

Icons next to everyone’s names showed her five classmates already on the site. There was a girl named Rhiannon, with white-blond hair, deep tan, dark eyeliner, and bright pink lips. Also signed up were Isabella Machado and Jacob Cotton. His name seemed familiar, so she Googled it.

That’s right, I remember now, she murmured as headlines popped up about him rescuing kids from a flooding daycare, along with a Black Lives Matter meme in the image results. It showed a white neo-Nazi kid who’d shot up a black church and threatened police when they arrived, yet was arrested without being hurt, in a split screen with Jacob. Above the Nazi was written Drop Out with History of Violence. Above Jacob, it said Hero & Honors Student, and below his face, 2.5x more likely to be shot by police.

A second meme showed Jacob with cross hairs over his face. It had the N-word AND parahuman? written above him, and below, Better shoot him twice.

Chloe sucked in a breath and felt nauseous. She knew how much she’d hated all the attention, both positive and negative, after her wings’ dramatic appearance during the televised meet. Every time she saw the video, she wanted to run and hide. How horrible must it be for Jacob to know that meme existed?

She clicked on an article and learned he was a speedster, just like Mustang Sally. A reporter had asked what made him run into the daycare and he’d answered, Why wouldn’t I? I mean, no one would let kids drown if they could help them, right? Chloe decided she liked this guy and marveled over having two classmates who’d already performed superhero rescues while she’d only just figured out how to maneuver in the air.

She Googled the rest of her classmates but just found social media sites, so no others had made the news, apparently.

A chat window popped up and she expected it to be Lindsay, but it turned out to be Isabella. Her profile pic featured the singer Selena Gomez.

Hey! I’m Izzy. You’re Lindsay’s roomie, right?

Yeah, Chloe sent back. It’s so cool meeting ppl before school starts!

Right? I’m stoked to get to the academy. Do you know who Zayden Lord is?

Chloe’s face got hot. Ya kinda, my mom’s trying to get me to watch a show about him.

You totally should watch it, it’s pretty good. And OMG, he’s so cute I’m dying.

Hahaha. Srsly. Have you met him? Or anyone else in our class?

No, I just know my twin brother irl and Lindsay and Rhiannon here. Well and you now. Heehee. Plus my big sis goes to the academy.

Wow, you’re all three paras? Chloe asked.

Yep. Not our other brother tho. He doesn’t have the gene. Gotta go but ttyl, k?

Ttyl

* * *

From the TV series Heroes Among Us, Season 2, Episode 7, The Lord Family: Triumphs & Tragedies

Segment 1

The Lord family looked like any other, raising their sons in Lee’s Summit, Missouri—America’s heartland. Little did they know what changes were in store for them.

In 2009, Nathan and Anna Lord welcomed the first change: their seven-year-old son Zayden’s parahuman powers revealed themselves when the family witnessed a grisly car wreck—and Zayden used his telekinesis to separate the cars so the occupants could escape, and in the nick of time. Just as the last person got to safety, the engine burst into flame.

But then, tragedy stuck. The very next day, three-year-old Daxton—previously described as a chatterbox—went silent. He was listless, eyes unfocused, and Anna rushed him to the emergency room. What doctors found remains a mystery to this day. In the ER, on one of the worst days of her life, Anna Lord says she felt attacked by medical personnel.

The ER doctors said it had to be exposure to some kind of toxic chemical and asked me what he’d been into, like I’m a horrible parent who lets my toddler play with nuclear waste or something.

Weeks later, she’d find an ally in Dr. Preston Huxley, the country’s preeminent parahuman neuropsychologist.

Portions of Dax’s brain were simply gone, as if they’d been eaten or burned away somehow. It’s similar to the damage we see with high-level mercury exposure, but tests showed no trace of mercury or other known neurotoxins in his system. Right away, I suspected another cause.

The ER doctors said Dax’s brain could perform only the most basic activities—those that kept the little boy alive. But Doctor Huxley disagreed, seeing activity in what remained of young Dax’s brain that was anything but normal.

You see these areas here, how they’re lit up? This is consistent with Dr. Grace Devereaux’s well-documented findings of parahuman brain activity. I believed from the start that, rare as it is, Dax’s powers had surfaced at just three years of age. For some reason we don’t yet understand, those powers destroyed these areas—here, here, and here. It’s unprecedented. No one has ever seen anything like it.

Return to Table of Contents

CHAPTER TWO

Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Feeling almost well when she woke up the next morning, Chloe slammed down a few bowls of cereal, a grapefruit, two bananas, and a glass of chocolate milk. She knew if she took in enough calories, she’d heal at maximum speed. In gymnastics, she had always recovered quickly from falls, muscle pulls, ankle twists, and the other myriad bumps and bruises that came from the life of a competing gymnast. She’d never once stopped to consider that her healing might be parahuman in origin, at least, not until a torn ligament miraculously stitched itself back together a few years ago. That hadn't gotten her booted off the team, but it was one more thing to separate her from her former friends and teammates.

After a quick shower, she got dressed in her training clothes—a gymnastics leotard with a deep-cut back to allow her wings freedom of movement, tights, and goggles. She’d discovered small foot movements helped her steer and control her speed during flight, so she wore five-finger shoes even though she thought they looked weird. She emerged from her bedroom into the hallway.

Just where do you think you’re going? her mom said from behind her.

Chloe startled and spun around. Seriously, mom, you need to wear a bell. I’m going out to train. Where else would I go dressed like this? The mall?

Heather Wyld ran one hand through her bed hair as she closed the distance to her daughter and put an arm around her back between the two sets of wings. "Not today, you’re not, Fly Girl. Dad and I agreed—you’re taking the day off, no matter how good you say you feel."

But, mo-o-o-om . . . Chloe drew it out into several whiny syllables.

Heather shook her head and chuckled. "But mom! Nope, sorry kiddo, but you’re grounded for the day. She grimaced at her choice of words. Sorry, that was supposed to be a flight joke, but it sounded more like you were in trouble, didn’t it?"

Chloe wrinkled up her face. Probably better if you left the jokes to dad.

Yeah, you’re right. Her mom leaned in conspiratorially. Just don’t tell him I said so, okay? I’ll never admit to it.

Chloe chuckled. Deal, but only if you let me train for an hour or two tonight.

Not fair, negotiating before I’ve had coffee. You know it makes me soft. Heather sighed and started toward the stairs. Fine, one hour. Until then, get some rest.

Chloe went back into her room and changed into pajamas while wondering how she’d fill a whole day without training. After six years on the gymnastics team, then moving right into flight training, she didn’t know how to do anything besides working out.

She decided maybe she’d watch that episode on Zayden Lord after all. She grabbed the remote from her nightstand, scrolled through the menu until she found it, and settled in to watch. Despite her intent not to enjoy it, she found it a lot more interesting than she’d expected, especially the more recent footage of Zayden.

As the closing credits rolled, Chloe’s stomach rumbled and she smiled when her mom came in moments later, carrying a tray piled high with food.

Oh good, you watched it. What did you think?

Her face flushed. Zayden Lord’s really cute.

Her mom laughed. That’s your take-away, really?

* * *

Honey, let me do that—you should still be taking it easy, Chloe’s mom said as they packed. A tower of boxes now dominated one corner of the room.

Chloe sighed and grabbed more clothes from a drawer, then arranged them in an empty box. Mom, I told you, I’m fine.

Her phone dinged and she checked the alert. It was an email from a name she didn’t recognize, something she’d learned not to trust. Won’t they ever give up? she wondered about the girls who’d been like family until a few months ago.

Everything okay? Heather eyed her, worried. Chloe shrugged and tried to look casual. Yeah, just spam.

The pinched brows let her know her mom knew better, but she didn’t press.

The bedroom door swung open to reveal her dad with sandwiches piled high on a plate. How’s it going in here?

Good. I think we’re about done with my clothes and sheets and stuff. Chloe hadn’t realized she was hungry until she saw the food. She grabbed a PB&J. Thanks, dad. Can I be off house arrest soon? I’m dying to get out and fly.

How’s your neck? he asked.

Totally fine. That was true, but she would’ve said the same thing even if it still hurt a little.

Phil looked sideways at his wife, who rolled her eyes and chuckled. Fine, Coach Phil. You can take her out to train once we’re finished here.

* * *

Chloe’s phone dinged again as she stepped from the shower and shook the water off her wings, spraying droplets onto the bathroom walls that she’d have to remember to wipe dry. She’d had a short but fun training session in which she’d flown low over a beach along Lake Coeur d’Alene, racing a yellow lab who thought a flying human was the most fun thing ever. His owners, aging hippies, laughed and cheered and said it reminded them of some old Heart song, but Chloe had no idea what they meant.

When she turned on the phone, she saw she’d left her email open earlier. She stared at the unknown name next to the subject line Winners Only and wondered if it was yet another harassing message from a former teammate. If so, they’d found a new name and tactic. Although her anxiety spiked a little, she tapped it and read.

You’re special. You’re better than the people around you, yet they do everything they can to keep you down. Don’t you get tired of that? Don’t you want to be part of a group of people like you, who have superior abilities?

Of course you’re tired of it, and of course you’re looking for other parahumans—and not those with just any powers, but those with truly superior abilities. We’ve left the rest behind genetically, and now it’s time to set ourselves apart from them in every other way. Join us now! Be part of something that will shock them into realizing how superior we truly are!

The words join us now were hyperlinked, but Chloe had no intention of finding out where the link went. If it was an attempt to harass her, she didn’t get it. She deleted it and checked the new alert, which was a message from Lindsay on ParaFrosh.

Yay, you’re here!

They chatted about their favorite superheroes and how they wanted to decorate their room. Chloe grinned over how good it felt to just talk to another girl without fear of being hurt.

So, before you meet my mom, Lindsay said, there’s something I should tell you.

* * *

From the TV series Heroes Among Us, Season 2, Episode 7, The Lord Family: Triumphs & Tragedies

Segment 2

Despite his parents’ best efforts, as well as the staff of a highly rated special-needs pre-school, Nathan Lord says Dax never spoke again.

He eventually started making nonsensical sounds, but that was it. My wife swore he was trying to talk, but it was just wishful thinking on her part. It never made any sense.

However, he and Anna disagree on that point.

"He