Seven Steps to Becoming a Superhero

Zack continued to sprint down the twisty concrete path towards the Administration and Records building. All around him, the unfamiliar shapes and spires of Innshadow University passed by. Even after months of pouring over the map, Zack confessed to himself he still only possessed a hazy-at-best idea of his destination’s location. He really should have been paying more attention during his tour with what’s-her-name, but his mission came first.

A dark-haired girl in a blue T-shirt and jogging shorts sprinted towards him on the path. Zack had been so consumed with his mission he barely noticed her until it was too late. He struggled to stop, but by then he had broken into a fall-on sprint. Zack braced himself for the collision. He was so close he could smell her black orchid perfume.

He looked at the girl’s face, expecting to see some combination of fear or uncertainty. Instead he saw determination. A strange tingling sensation spread throughout Zack’s frame, somewhere between pins and needles. When Zack opened his eyes next, the girl was gone.

“Hey, guys! Wait up!” Zack turned around to see the girl behind him now.

She had phased right through him.

Droves of students surged around him, all heading in the opposite direction. Some were streaking by at super-speed, while others were soaring just inches above the ground. Zack noted a couple others were phasing through the buildings.

This didn’t surprise Zack at all. They were in the midst of a supervillain attack after all.

What surprised Zack was the direction they were going. If they kept running in that direction, they would be running into the path of Icer’s ice attacks, as his unfortunate tour guide had found out.

Perhaps they had pre-planned evacuation spots along the route? That made the most sense.

Soft-bellied academics. That’s what Dad always called the students of Innshadow U. Suckers gifted with superpowers and money and no common sense.

His father had no problem with regular college for everyday people looking for the knowledge and training needed to pursue their careers. But that was just it, wasn’t it? As Dad always told Zack, superheroes were a calling, not a career path.

Innshadow University possessed no training grounds, no fancy holographic simulations for students to fight in simulated bouts with their arch-nemesis. Instead, students spent all their time with their noses in a book, so they could learn how to suck up to lawyers and cops while managing their Instagram accounts.

They weren’t interested in turning out heroes, his dad had told him on numerous occasions. This place was a factory for faces, pristine and ready for prime-time. Zack could smell the sweet, pungent aroma of gasoline and oil coating his father’s hardened hands. All of it brought a stinging pain to Zack’s chest, but he didn’t slow his pace. He continued his sprint towards the Administration and Records building on the far side of the quad.

The number of students didn’t decrease the closer he came to the bland, unremarkable building. If anything, the sprawling crowds of students and onlookers only thickened as he grew closer. As Zack neared the Administration and Records building, he wondered if he might look suspicious running against the massive crowd.

Zack couldn’t think about that. His eyes darted towards the watch on his wrist.

A little over five minutes.

Everything was right on schedule.

He reached the building several seconds later. The doors swung open, nearly flattening Zack had he not jumped out of the way. Two women in professional attire pushed through the doorway, oblivious to the student they had nearly pummeled against the door.

“The villain attack is less than a mile away,” one of them said. “My app says he’s barely a one point five in strength, but he’s got a decent power projection.”

“Awesome,” her co-worker replied. “This will make up for skipping leg day.”

“I also need to burn off some calories from the brownies Carlie brought over!” the first one replied.

“You had those?” her co-worker gave a question glance. “You know they were from their last dorm party fight?”

“So what?” The other replied. “They left me feeling really chill all afternoon, but now I got a bad case of the munchies.”

The two disappeared in a burst of light as both of them lifted into the sky. Zack watched the pair launch into the air with contrasting energy signatures - one was corvette red while the other a dark shade of blue.

This could be bad. This could be really bad.

The students and faculty should be running away from the danger, not straight towards it. This could really complicate his plans. At the very least, it moved up his timetable.

Zack pulled up his watch and shaved off two minutes. He stood on the doorway, emitting a low sigh while he stretched his neck from side to side.

That’s fine.

No plan survives contact with the enemy, as Dad always said.

Zack could still make this work. He had arrived at Administration and Records. He just needed to get in, do what he needed to do, and then get out.

If everything went well, he could launch the next phase of his plan. If it wasn’t too late.

If.

Zack couldn’t think that way. He had to act. There was no room for error, much less second-guessing.

He moved into the Administration and Records building. The floor plan matched what he had found online. Neutral light blue walls so pale they bordered on bones white. A small window for students and other customers, leading to rows of computers behind the glass, along with several phone lines. The Administration and Records building stood as the nervous system of Innshadow U.

Empty cubicles spanned a sea of beige carpet. Apparently everyone had cleared out due to the supervillain attack.

Just as Zack had planned.

Everything was going according to plan.

Almost.

Something stirred behind him.

Zack spun around, ready to face whatever complication awaited him. Maybe someone didn’t get the memo. Maybe someone went to the bathroom when the supervillain attack began. Perhaps the staff just left one person behind just in case someone needed help.

Zack had planned out every eventuality.

Except this one.

A lanky figure stood in the middle of the empty room, wearing a tight red fitted shirt alongside blue track pants with white highlights. Recognition flooded his brown eyes as Zack scanned his chiseled features up to his spark of red hair.

Zack had prepared for every eventuality except one - a stroll down memory lane.

Scott Stephens.

Zack’s best friend in high school.

Emotion surged through Scott’s features, from his jot of reddish hair down to his square jaw.

“Zack?” His name dropped out of Scott’s mouth, his posture lax, clearly uncertain of who stood before him.

Zack honestly didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t seen Scott in a little over two years. After what had happened to his Dad, Zack went completely radio-silent. He’d deleted all of his social media profiles and removed any trace of his presence, digital or otherwise. He’d left his friends at Sideclique high and dry. He hadn’t had any contact with his former team of fellow sidekicks since the day his father died. He hadn’t simply ghosted them. Zack himself had become a ghost, searching for his father’s killer like a supernatural phantom, divorced from life altogether.

Rachel must hate him after what he did. But hopefully she had moved on. Hopefully they all had. After all, people come and go after high school. His circumstances weren't all that different, was it?

He was about to find out.

“Zack?” Scott repeated his question.

Scott looked the same, for the most part. He still resembled the tall and lanky track star Zack had known in high school, except he looked to have filled out even more in the ensuing two years.

Zack didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how to respond.

Scott suddenly cleared the gap between them with lightning speed. His super-speed topped out around three hundred miles per hour. That was actually middle of the road, as far as super-speed was concerned, but it was still pretty damn fast when it was barrelling right towards someone.

Zack searched Scott’s face for any sign of his intentions, realizing in this situation Scott was every bit as liable to shake his hand as he was to throw a punch. Zack really didn’t know what he was going to do. Zack could only wait to see what Scott would do next, as he neared him, his thick aftershave filling his nostrils.

The confusion past, and intention became more clear.

“It is you!” Scott said.

He was on top of him before Zack could do anything. He braced for the attack as Scott moved closer, lifting him off the ground. Zack prepared to defend himself against the blow.

The blow never came.

Scott lifted Zack up into the air in a bear hug, his powerful arms wrapped around the helpless Zack.

“Holy crap! How long has it been?” Scott cried.

“Yeah…uhhh…yeah, it has...been a minute,” Zack said. “Scott…”

“What are you doing here?” Scott said.

Uhhh….it’s complicated. Zack thought. Did he tell him why he needed to be in Administration and Records? Did he risk telling Scott the truth about his father’s death?

“You go here now?” Scott asked.

Zack blinked and then responded. “Yeah, uhhh, I just started.”

“Awesome! Where’d you transfer from?” Scott said, beaming with a big grin on his face.

“Nowhere,” Zack said, looking away as he put his hands in the pockets. “I…took some time off.”

“You took a year off? What did your old man say to that?” Scott replied. “He must not have been happy with you slacking off.”

“He was… fine with it…all things considered,” Zack said, a bold-faced lie given the circumstances. His father probably still rolled in the makeshift grave out in the backyard at the thought of him even going here. The idea of Zane letting his son “take a year off” to figure everything out was laughable - he’d put him to work in the garage before he let him go on a journey of self-discovery.

Scott, for his part, didn’t question it, and Zack took the opening to reframe the conversation towards him.

“What about you?” Zack asked.

Scott smirked. “I’m majoring in Advanced HQ Construction. It’s gonna be sick!”

“That’s awesome,” Zack said. Scott was always interested in architecture, though he was more than a little confused why Scott didn’t pursue something there instead of going all the way to super-school. He’d never shown much interest in becoming a full-time hero before.

“And I’m part of Sigma Alpha!” Scott said. “Sigma Alpha represent!”

Zack had heard of the name. The frat was one of the longest-running on campus, and among the oldest.

“I’m actually out running errands for them,” Scott said. “Literally.”

Zack nodded. He looked at his watch. He had burned a minute he didn’t have talking with Scott Stephens.

“Well, I gotta-” Zack started.

“We’re having a mixer tomorrow night!” Scott said. “Where ya staying?”

“On Six One Eight Seventh Street,” Zack said, and then immediately thought better of it. Why had he just given his address, even to his best friend? Had he just compromised the operation?

“Cool, I’ll shoot you a text with the details,” Scott said. “Now if I could only find someone to sign this.”

“There’s a supervillain attack down the street or something….” Zack said.

“Seriously! I gotta see this!” Scott immediately streaked to the exit. He turned to him.

“You coming?” Scott turned back to him.

“You go ahead, I’ll catch up,” Zack told him.

“It will just be like old times,” Scott said as he left.

Zack watched him leave without saying a word.

That was weird, he thought. Weird and random. But also kind of cool. Zack looked at his watch.

What wasn’t cool was the one minute he had lost engaging with his old friend.

Zack picked the lock on the nearby door and made his way to one of the abandoned computers. He removed the flash drive from his pocket and plugged it into the nearby computer’s port. The virus he had cooked up systematically wiped out all of the computer’s defenses, paving the way for his access into the system.

Within thirty seconds, he was in. Within a minute, he had already edited his schedule, putting himself into one of Dirk Saber’s several self-defense classes. He reached for his phone as he began the next phase of his plan.

He just hoped he wasn’t too late.